Pedro Chaves

Who is Pedro Chaves?

Pedro António Matos Chaves is a Portuguese racing driver.

Chaves was the second Portuguese Formula Ford Champion, in 1986, starting an international career in 1987 in the British Formula Ford Championship. In 1990 he won the British F3000 Championship with the Madgwick Motorsport outfit, also racing in a few rounds of the FIA F3000 series.

In 1991, he suffered a disastrous season in Formula One, failing to pre-qualify for 13 Grands Prix with an under-financed and uncompetitive Coloni. After failing to pre-qualify for the Portuguese Grand Prix, Chaves left the team, taking the remainder of his sponsorship money with him.

At the end of that year Chaves had an agreement with Leyton House to compete in 1992, however the sponsorship money came too late, and Karl Wendlinger took the place.

In 1992, Chaves returned to F3000, first with GJ Racing and later in the season moving to the more competitive Il Barone Rampante, with no results. Chaves then spent three years in the American Indy Lights series, winning one race, in Vancouver, always with Brian Stewart Racing. He and Robbie Buhl were the only drivers to win that season other than Greg Moore, who the rest of the events. In 1996, he moved to touring car racing and was second in the Spanish Touring Car Championship in a BMW, before racing a Porsche in the FIA GT Championship.