Where are they now? All 20 International F3000 champions

Elizabeth Blackstock
Where are they now Nick Heidfeld International Formula 3000 PlanetF1

Nick Heidfeld in 2018 compared to 1999.

Between 1985 and 2005, International Formula 3000 served as a Formula Two replacement, named for the maximum 3000cc capacity of its engines. In 2005, it was replaced by GP2.

Today, we’re looking back through all 20 champions of this feeder category to see where those drivers have ended up.

All 20 International Formula 3000 champions: Where are they now?

1985: Christian Danner

German racer Christian Danner won the inaugural Formula 3000 championship after four years in European Formula Two. So impressive was his performance that he was invited to start two Grands Prix that year with Zakspeed, though he retired from both events.

Danner popped from Osella to Arrows to Zakspeed and ultimately to Rial in a career that saw him make 36 starts over four years. After leaving F1, he experimented with IndyCar and served as a test driver for several F1 teams, including Jaguar and Super Aguri.

In recent years, Danner has since moved on to TV commentary, GT racing, and has served as a driving safety expert.

1986: Ivan Capelli

Italian racer Ivan Capelli had been a regular sight in the junior open-wheel ranks by the time he had won the 1986 International Formula 3000 title — and he’d even debuted in Formula 1!

Capelli made a handful of starts for both Tyrrell and AGS before being signed to Leyton House March on a full-time basis in 1987. He took three podiums with the team, but it was otherwise so unreliable that he retired from most races he started in his career. His career ended with a 1992 season at Ferrari and two 1993 events with Jordan.

After leaving F1, Capelli competed in various touring car series and took up a job as an F1 commentator on Italian station Rai 1. He remains involved in both of those pursuits on a much less regular basis.

1987: Stefano Modena

Stefano Modena won F3000 in his debut year with On and was awarded with a chance to start F1’s season finale in Australia at the end of the year with Brabham.

He signed with EuroBrun full-time in 1988 before returning to Brabham for the next two years, taking his first of two career podiums. In 1991 it was off to Tyrrell, and he left the sport after an unfortunate 1992 season with Jordan.

Between 1993 and 2000, Modena was a regular fixture in the touring car world. After that, he served as a tire tester for Bridgestone which saw him travel around the world to test that rubber in various different climates.

1988: Roberto Moreno

Roberto Moreno had an established racing career before winning the 1988 F3000 title, which included three Formula 1 starts, a runner-up finish in the 1984 European F2 championship, an outing at Le Mans, and a handful of races in IndyCar.

The F3000 championship saw him earn a full-time F1 seat with Coloni, which was, frankly, a disaster. He raced in the sport for four more years but struggled to finish a race thanks to unreliable equipment.

He had a much more fruitful career heading off to the US to compete in IndyCar, taking on endurance, touring car, and stock car racing events up through 2014.

More recently, he can be spotted taking part in Historic Grands Prix and spends most of his time serving as a driver coach and building light aeroplanes.

1989: Jean Alesi

Jean Alesi performed so well in the 1989 F3000 series with Eddie Jordan Racing that he was able to skip the season finale to debut in F1 with Tyrrell. In a career lasting 12 years, he started 201 Grands Prix with six different teams and took just one win at the 1995 Canadian Grand Prix.

After F1, Alesi raced full-time in DTM and tried his hand at both Le Mans and the Indianapolis 500 before retiring for good in 2012.

In 2013, Alesi was appointed an ambassador for Pirelli, a role he holds to this day. He owns a vineyard and makes wine near his hometown of Avignon and supports his children in their career ventures.

1990: Erik Comas

Erik Comas moved from winning the French Formula Three Championship in 1988 to winning International Formula 3000 two years later, in his sophomore year with DAMS.

He was hired by the French Ligier team to debut in Formula 1 the following year for two seasons, followed by two seasons with Larrousse. Unfortunately, his 59 starts were largely without distinction.

Like many other drivers, Comas moved to GT and touring car racing but is now fully retired. Rather, he runs Alpines in historic rallies via his Comas Historic Racing team.

1991: Christian Fittipaldi

Christian Fittipaldi comes from racing royalty, so it came as no surprise that he followed in the footsteps of his uncle Emerson and father Wilson. And he looked promising, too, as he took an international F3000 title in his rookie year.

Fittipaldi moved to F1 for the next three years, serving the first two with Minardi and the third with Footwork. In sum, he scored 12 points and soon after opted to move to the US, where he tried his hand at both CART (where he took two wins) and NASCAR.

His most recent racing success came at the 2014 Rolex 24, when he took victory in a Corvette DP. Now, he’s a motorsport pundit appearing on podcasts and speaking for ESPN Brazil.

1992: Luca Badoer

Another rookie F3000 champion, Luca Badoer leveraged his success into a drive with BMS Scuderia Italia the following year. The team merged with Minardi in 1994, leaving Badoer without a ride until the following year. A move to Forti in 1996 was unsuccessful, as was a return to Minardi in 1999. When Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa was injured in 2009, Badoer substituted for the Brazilian for two races.

He served as a test driver for Ferrari until 2010 and has now largely stepped back to serve as a mentor for his children. Brando Badoer is part of the McLaren Driver Development Programme.

1993: Olivier Panis

Winner of the 1993 F3000 title was none other than Frenchman Olivier Panis, who made his F1 debut the following year in 1994. In 157 starts, he won exactly one Grand Prix — Monaco in 1996, in shock conditions — before he left F1 at the close of 2004.

In 2008, he competed at Le Mans and in 2020, he returned from a five-year break to race in the FFSA GT Championship.

But not much has been heard since then of the 57-year-old as he enjoys a quiet life.

1994: Jean-Christophe Bouillon

Jean-Christophe Bouillon was a promising young star in the open-wheel world, taking an impressive championship in the 1994 F3000 season with DAMS. Partway through the following year, he started 11 races with Sauber in Formula 1.

Sadly, that was the sum total of his F1 career, and Bouillon moved on to touring and sports car racing. His most recent outing came in the 2012 World Endurance Championship, but an injury sidelined him before Le Mans. He has since maintained his privacy.

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1995: Vincenzo Sospiri

Italy’s Vincenzo Sospiri debuted in International Formula 3000 in 1990, but it took him until 1995 to secure the title. There weren’t many options available for race seats, so he served as Benetton’s test driver in 1996 and secured a seat with MasterCard Lola the following year.

Unfortunately, the car was slow, and after just one failed attempt at qualifying, the team withdrew entirely. He moved to the Indy Racing League afterwards, but in 2001, he retired from competition and is now team manager for Vincenzo Sospiri Racing, which competes in various forms of GT racing.

1996: Jorg Muller

Much like Sospiri, 1996’s Formula 3000 champion Jorg Muller never got a chance to start a Formula 1 Grand Prix despite taking victory in F3000 in his rookie year. Instead, he had to content himself as a test driver for Arrows, Sauber, and BMW.

Instead, in 1997, he moved to touring and sports car racing. His best finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1988, when he took second overall with Uwe Alzen and Bob Wollek. In the American Le Mans Series, he won the 2001 GT Championship and also took overall wins at Sebring and Silverstone.

Muller is still an active competitor in the Porsche Sprint Challenge of Southern Europe, where he just started a race, and also serves as a driver coach.

1997: Ricardo Zonta

Brazilian racer Ricardo Zonta moved to Europe in 1996 to compete in open-wheel racing, taking home his first International Formula 3000 title the following year. As a result, Jordan signed him as its official test driver for 1997, but he wouldn’t debut in a Grand Prix until 1999.

In three years with BAR and Jordan, Zonta only scored points three times; soon after, he was back to serving as a test driver.

In 2007, he chose to enter the Stock Car Brasil series, now better known as the Stock Car Pro Series, and has competed in that discipline all the way through 2024.

1998: Juan Pablo Montoya

Colombian racer Juan Pablo Montoya took the open-wheel world by storm, securing an International Formula 3000 title in 1998. Afterward, he moved to CART in America, taking the 1999 title (as well as the Indianapolis 500 the following year, before finally joining Formula 1 with Williams and then later McLaren between 2001 and 2006.

In F1, Montoya won seven races in 94 starts but ultimately decided he’d be a better fit for the American racing world. He took five more IndyCar wins, including a second Indy 500, and also took two victories in NASCAR, an IMSA title, and two Rolex 24 wins.

Today, Montoya has largely retired from racing, but he’s still an active presence in the F1 paddock as a pundit.

1999: Nick Heidfeld

Quick Nick Heidfeld competed in F3000 for West Competition in 1999, winning the title by a mile over runner-up Jason Watt.

He moved up to F1 the following year and remained in the sport through 2011, making 183 starts for six different teams. Sadly, his time in the sport was marked by injuries and a failure to make it to the top step of the podium.

After leaving F1, he competed three times in WEC, including in Le Mans in the 2012 season, and moved into Formula E in 2014.

His most recent racing venture came in 2022 with one appearance in the Rallycross Championship for QEV Motorsport.

2000: Bruno Junqueira

Down in Formula Three Sudamericana, Bruno Junqueira was king, and when it came time to move to F3000, the Brazilian proved that his pace was no fluke by winning the 2000 title.

Despite serving as a Williams test driver for years, Junqueira never graduated to a seat in the top level of international open-wheel racing.

Instead, he headed off to America to compete in Champ Car and IndyCar, taking eight wins. After his seat there fell apart, he turned to endurance racing and competed in a handful of Stock Car Brasil events. Now, he’s a real estate broker and Formula 1 pundit.

2001: Justin Wilson

It took Justin Wilson three years to master International Formula 3000, but when he did in 2001, he took a title with Nordic Racing. He had to wait a year to make his F1 debut, which he did with Minardi and Jaguar — but it wasn’t much of a success.

Instead, Wilson headed off to America to compete in Champ Car and IndyCar, taking six total wins. Sadly, Wilson sustained a head injury due to flying debris in the 2015 ABC Supply 500 at Pocono. He succumbed to his injuries the next day, leaving behind a wife and two daughters.

2002: Sebastien Bourdais

Sebastien Bourdais secured a Formula 3000 championship in 2002, after which the Frenchman moved off to Champ Car. In the American series, he won four consecutive championships before finally earning 27 F1 starts with Toro Rosso.

Sadly, his F1 career never quite got off the ground, but Bourdais hasn’t stopped racing since. He’s a class winner at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 2014 winner of the Rolex 24.

In 2025, he’ll be racing in IMSA’s LMP2 category.

2003: Bjorn Wirdheim

Swedish racer Bjorn Wirdheim’s primary career success was his 2003 International Formula 3000 championship. He signed as a third driver for Jaguar in 2004, then moved to Champ Car in 2005, ultimately leaving the sport early due to a lack of performance from an underfunded team.

In the last decade, he’s competed in Super GT and the European Le Mans Series; he won an LMP2 title in the latter in 2015. Now, he helps coordinate Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia and contributes to Viaplay as an F1 expert.

2004: Vitantonio Liuzzi

Italian racer Vitantonio Liuzzi was the final International Formula 3000 champion. In 2005, he joined Red Bull Racing for four races, then signed to Toro Rosso, Force India, and HRT before his international open-wheel career came to a close.

Since departing F1, he’s competed in Super GT, Super Formula, WEC, Formula E, and other GT series. He and his wife now run a restaurant named Penelopina.

Read more:?How Watkins Glen truly defined F1’s place in the United States

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