Antonio Pizzonia arrested in Texas after alleged altercation at kart event; ex-F1 driver says he was defending his son
Former Williams and Jaguar Formula 1 driver Antonio Pizzonia was detained in Texas last weekend following an alleged physical altercation at a karting event. The 44-year-old Brazilian has since been released and issued a brief statement on social media.
Pizzonia was taken into custody by Montgomery County police on Saturday evening after an incident at Speedsportz Racing Park during the Superkarts! USA Winter Series, where his 13-year-old son — also named Antonio — was competing.
According to booking information from Montgomery County Jail, Pizzonia was arrested on a Class A misdemeanour charge of Assault Causing Bodily Injury. Brazilian media report he has been released on bail. A Class A misdemeanour in Texas can carry a jail term of up to one year if convicted, though penalties depend on the specifics of the case and any prior record.
“Everyone, I’m fine. I’m at home,” Pizzonia said in a short message posted after his release. “In fact, there was an incident to which, today, I would have reacted differently. I understood at that moment that my son, a child, was being coerced by another adult, and I instinctively defended him. Thank you all for your messages of support.”
Footage circulated by Brazilian outlet Globo appears to show a man, alleged to be Pizzonia, striking another person with a punch and a flying kick during a confrontation behind a chain-link fence before track officials intervened. The identities of the other individuals involved have not been disclosed, and no further official details about the condition of the alleged victim have been made public.
Montgomery County authorities released a mugshot following the arrest. As of now, there’s no formal comment from event organizers on the incident.
Pizzonia’s name will be familiar to long-time F1 watchers. He made his Formula 1 debut with Jaguar in 2003 but was replaced by the late Justin Wilson mid-season. A year later, Williams turned to him as a substitute for the injured Ralf Schumacher; Pizzonia delivered three seventh-place finishes from four starts, banking six points under the scoring system of the time. He returned for Williams again in 2005 and took another seventh at Monza, bringing his F1 total to eight points from 20 Grands Prix.
After F1, Pizzonia carved out a varied career in single-seaters and tin-tops alike — stints in Champ Car, Superleague Formula, Brazilian Stock Car, and the FIA GT1 World Championship among them. Most recently, he collected back-to-back Boss GP Open class titles in 2023 and 2024 in a Dallara T12-Gibson, showing the raw speed that earned him his “Jungle Boy” moniker in his junior days.
Saturday’s incident is now a matter for the local authorities. For the moment, the facts are these: an alleged altercation at a grassroots kart event, an arrest on a Class A misdemeanour charge, and a terse, defensive statement from a former F1 racer who says he acted to protect his son. The rest will unfold off-track.
