Right from the outset, Pedro Diniz has struggled to gain respect as an F1 driver. However, who will ever forget the sight of Pedro dancing in the pitlane following the 1995 Brazilian GP when he finished 10th.
The reason why Pedro initially found it so hard to be accepted, is because his father is one of the wealthiest businessmen in Brazil. as a result, he was able to secure Pedro an F1 drive - albeit with the totally uncompetitive Forti team.
His debut season was one long struggle, never qualifying in the top twenty in an outclassed car but a move to the Ligier team gave him an opportunity in a far more competitive car. He improved slowly through the season winning his first points with a sixth place in Barcelona and grabbing another at Monza.
In 1997 he switched to Arrows, driving alongside the defending World Champion Damon Hill, and began to show signs that he was not simply a cash incentive, indeed on quite a few occasions he outpaced Hill. The main problem was the unreliability of the Arrows, in 33 races for the team his car expired on 13 occasions, most memorably when his fuel tank leaked during the 1997 Argentinean GP, turning his car in to a giant fireball.
In 1999, Diniz moved once again, this time to the Sauber team. By now, people were beginning to take the Brazilian seriously, especially as he often outshone team-mate Jean Alesi. A clear indication of how highly Pedro is now regarded, is the fact that in 2000 for the first time he is to be paid to drive. Proof positive that Pedro is a bona fide F1 driver.