Esteban Tuero facts for kids
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Tuero in 2017
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| Born | 22 April 1978 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Argentine |
| Active years | 1998 |
| Teams | Minardi |
| Entries | 16 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1998 Australian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1998 Japanese Grand Prix |
Esteban Eduardo Tuero, born on April 22, 1978, is a former racing driver from Argentina. He competed in Formula One for the Minardi team during the 1998 season. When he joined Formula One, he was only 19 years old. This made him one of the youngest drivers to ever start a Formula One race at that time. He raced alongside Shinji Nakano but left the championship after just one season.
Contents
Early Life and Racing Start
Esteban Tuero grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Formula One was very popular there because the Argentine Grand Prix was held nearby. His family loved motor racing, and his father was also a race car driver.
Esteban started karting when he was seven years old. He raced karts until 1992. The next year, he moved up to more advanced racing series called "Formula" races.
Moving Up in Racing
In 1993, Tuero began racing cars in the Formula Renault series. In 1994, he became a champion in Formula Honda. All his early racing was in Argentina. Even though he was only 14, he started traveling for races in South American Formula Three.
In 1995, he moved to Europe to continue his racing career. He won the Italian Formula 2000 National Trophy. His skills started to get noticed by Formula One teams. In 1996, he joined a bigger team called Coloni Motorsport in Italian F3. Even though he was only 18, the Minardi Formula One team hired him as a test driver.
Path to Formula One
In 1996, Tuero had some good races in Formula Three. He finished fourth in one race. In another, he crossed the finish line first but was disqualified for using illegal fuel. He also raced in a special event in Monaco.
Tuero decided to move to International Formula 3000 halfway through the 1996 season. His results there were not as strong. In 1997, he moved to the Formula Nippon series in Japan. He scored only one point in that series. However, he completed enough racing miles to get a special license called an FIA Super Licence. This license is needed to race in Formula One. Because he kept impressing Minardi as a test driver, they offered him a full race seat for the 1998 Formula One season.
Formula One Career
The 1998 Season
When Tuero was chosen to race for Minardi in 1998, some people wondered if he was ready. He was very young and didn't have much experience in top-level racing. But the FIA (the main racing organization) gave him his Super License. This made him the third-youngest Formula One driver at the time.
In his first race in Australia, Tuero surprised many by qualifying in 17th place. This was ahead of his teammate and even a former Grand Prix winner. However, the race itself was tough. He made a mistake at the start and got a penalty. He also sped in the pit lane and later had to stop due to engine problems.
His next two races in Brazil and Argentina also ended early due to car problems or spins.
Challenges and Finishes
Tuero finally finished a race at the San Marino Grand Prix, coming in 8th place. He finished 15th in Spain. But after that, he had a tough streak of five races where he didn't finish. He spun off the track in Monaco and Austria. He also retired in Canada, France, and Great Britain.
He finished 16th in Germany, which stopped his run of retirements. But he retired again in Hungary and Belgium. He finished 11th in Italy before another retirement in Luxembourg.
Final Race and Retirement
Tuero's last Formula One race was the 1998 Japanese Grand Prix. He crashed into another driver, Toranosuke Takagi, on lap 29. Tuero accidentally hit the gas pedal instead of the brake. His car went over Takagi's car, and Tuero hurt his neck. This crash also affected the championship battle between Michael Schumacher and Mika Häkkinen. Schumacher had to retire because of debris from the crash, which helped Häkkinen win the championship.
Esteban Tuero did not score any points in his single Formula One season. Minardi had planned for him to race again in 1999. However, just before testing the new car, Tuero announced he was leaving Formula One. He decided to move back to Argentina.
After Formula One
After leaving Formula One, Esteban Tuero joined the Argentinian TC2000 touring car racing series in 1999. He struggled at first but later won two races. He continued to race in TC2000 for several years and had some good performances.
In 2008, he raced part-time in the FIA GT Championship with a Ferrari car.
Esteban Tuero officially retired from all racing after the 2016 TC2000 season.
Racing Records
Here are some of Esteban Tuero's racing results in different series.
Complete International Formula 3000 Results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Draco Engineering | NÜR | PAU | PER | HOC | SIL 14 |
SPA 17 |
MAG 10 |
EST Ret |
MUG 13 |
HOC Ret |
24th | 0 |
Complete Formula Nippon Results
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Team LeMans | SUZ Ret |
MIN Ret |
FUJ 9 |
SUZ 11 |
SUG Ret |
FUJ 6 |
MIN | MOT | FUJ | SUZ | 16th | 1 |
Complete Formula One Grand Prix Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Minardi | Minardi M198 | Ford V10 | AUS Ret |
BRA Ret |
ARG Ret |
SMR 8 |
ESP 15 |
MON Ret |
CAN Ret |
FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
AUT Ret |
GER 16 |
HUN Ret |
BEL Ret |
ITA 11 |
LUX Ret |
JPN Ret |
NC | 0 |
See also
In Spanish: Esteban Tuero para niños
