According to a report from Brazil's Globo, the former race driver of Toyota has been gifted the very Formula 1 car he used to drive for the Japanese constructor back in 2004. The Toyota TF104 was delivered to his home in Curitiba, and the 34-year old admitted it was a dream come true.
“I wouldn't say it's a trophy, but it was a part of my life,” said Zonta. “What happened is that when they left F1, I kept in touch and I always asked to have my car. They managed to fulfill my dream of having an F1 car in my house.”
We're not sure exactly why Toyota has chosen to gift their 2004 Formula 1 car to Zonta, given the fact that the Brazilian's time at Cologne was spent mainly for testing purposes. He was the constructor's reserve driver for no less than 4 years, but only got to drive the TF104, in 2004, after replacing ousted Cristiano da Matta.
Zonta started his Formula 1 career at BAR, where he struggled with injuries in his first season back in 2000. The following year, he got to score his first points in the Great Circus for the same team, before being ousted and joining Jordan as a reserve driver. Later on, he joined Toyota as a reserve driver and got to race the TF104 in 4 races in 2004, before returning to his testing duties until 2006.
After another short stint as a reserve driver for Renault, Zonta left Formula 1 for Brazilian stock car racing, followed by sporstcar programmes in the Le Mans 24 Hour race and Grand Am Championship.
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