Former Formula 1 driver Antonio Pizzonia was arrested after allegedly assaulting a man in the paddock of a junior race at the Speedsportz Racing Park in New Caney, Texas on Saturday, January 10.
Video footage shared to social media appears to show Pizzonia, 45, running up behind the man and kicking him in the back as he leapt onto him in a karate kick. Pizzonia then appeared to throw a punch before the two were separated.
Pizzonia addressed the incident via his Instagram Story on Monday, January 12.
“Guys im fine. I’m at home,” he wrote. “There was actually one episode of which I would have reacted differently today. I understood at that moment that my child, a child, was being coerced by another adult and instinctively defended him. Thank you everyone for the messages of support.”
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Pizzonia was booked in a Montgomery County jail on Saturday evening, according to TMZ.
Racing runs in Pizzonia’s family, as his son, Antonio Pizzonia Neto, was competing at the time of the incident. Brazil’s Grande Premio reports that Neto, 13, was having an argument with the individual Pizzonia allegedly assaulted, who was another competitor’s father. Neto finished ninth in the race.
Pizzonia shares Neto and daughter Antonella with his wife, Bárbara Balbeque. He also shares daughter, Sophia, 21, with ex-girlfriend and Brazilian track and field Gold medalist Maurren Maggi.
The F1 star was previously the subject of controversy in 2017 when video surfaced of him and Balbeque arguing while in a Mercedes. Balbeque was seen leaning out of the vehicle and screaming for help.
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PIzzonia denied any physical altercation between the two at the time, claiming the incident was just a “normal little situation, a couple’s argument. I left with the car door open. There was an argument, just couple stuff,” according to Grande Premio.
The former driver began his Formula 1 career with Jaguar in 2003, but was replaced midway through his first season when he failed to acquire any points. The next year, he caught on with Williams, where he raced from 2004 to 2005.
“There were a lot of things going on at Jaguar,” Pizzonia said in a 2004 interview with Atlas F1. “I don’t really want to go back to that – for me it’s part of the past – but it was very frustrating for me. Right from the very start, things went completely wrong with the team – things just seemed to happen that didn’t help much, and I think the team didn’t help me much either.”
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Pizzonia participated in 20 Grand Prix during his Formula 1 career, with his best result being four seventh-place finishes, all while racing for Williams.
Williams technical director Sam Michael, who worked with Pizzonia, recalled the promise that he had early on in his career.
“If you go right back to the end of 2001, when we first tested him, it was pretty clear that he was talented right away, so we gave him the test drive for 2002, and there were no fewer than five or six times where he was exceptional compared to Juan Pablo [Montoya] and Ralf [Schumacher] in terms of talent,” he told Atlas F1.