Alex Dias Ribeiro had an eventful if undistinguished racing career. Born and raised in Belo Horizonte in Brazil, he built his first racing car and went on to compete in 20 Formula One Grand Prix for Hesketh and March but did not pick up any Championship points. His best result was finishing 8th in both the German and Canadian GP in 1977. In 1978 he set up a privately-owned F2 and won a dramatic race at the Nurburgring. His car was painted with the slogan ‘Jesus Saves’. At the Brazilian GP in 2002 he narrowly avoided serious injury when the open door of his medical car he had been driving was smashed into by Nick Heidfeld. He mentored the late Ayrton Senna and today he lives in Sao Paulo with Emerson Fittipaldi among his closest friends.
Alex talks to Adrian Barnard about his motor racing career and faith.