Mário Veloso de Araújo Cabral was a Portuguese Formula 1 driver who competed in five races between 1959 and 1964. He drove Coopers entered by Scuderia Centro Sud and Derrington-Francis modified ATSs, albeit not managing a points finish.
He was nicknamed "Nicha" by his compatriots in the racing community.
Career[]
Pre-Formula 1[]
Cabral rarely raced in his native Portugal, instead opting for races in Spain and throughout Africa. He managed to win races, either F1 or GT, in Belgian Congo, Angola, Mozambique and Rhodesia. These successes led to him entering Formula 1 in 1959.
Formula 1[]
Cabral first raced in Formula 1 at his home race in Lisbon, driving a Cooper-Maserati T51, entered by Scuderia Centro Sud. He qualified near the back of the grid and was the final finisher in tenth. He notably was involved in an incident with championship leader Jack Brabham, while getting lapped. Brabham misjudged his line and ended up out of the race, lucky to escape injury after crashing into a telegraph pole.
He returned the following year, at his home race, this time held at the city of his birth, Porto. He was driving with the same car and for the same team as the previous year. He qualified 15th and last and retired on lap 37 with gearbox issues, when lying seventh.
He made no championship appearances in the following two years, although he did manage to score a fourth-place finish at the non championship Pau Grand Prix in 1961. In 1962, he completed military service in Angola, so was unable to race in any serious capacity.
He returned for Centro Sud in 1963, driving a brand new Climax power Cooper T51. Despite the new machinary, he qualified last and retired due to gearbox trouble yet again. He reappeared at Monza, and qualified at the back of grid. However, he was not to start as the organisers wished to have the ATS car of Giancarlo Baghetti to race, so bribed Cabral and three others to withdraw. This meant that Cabral did not start the race and he returned home.
He made his final appearance in the Championship in 1964 at Monza, ironically driving an ATS, modified by the Derrington Francis team. He qualified near the back yet again and was forced out the race by ignition issues. This marked the end of Cabral's brief Formula 1 career.
Post Formula 1[]
Cabral continued racing, mostly in Formula 2 until 1975. He had to take an enforced break between 1965 and 1968 due to a heavy accident.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 |  Scuderia Centro Sud
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Cooper-Maserati | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1960 | Scuderia Centro Sud
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Cooper-Maserati | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1963 | Scuderia Centro Sud
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Cooper-Climax | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1964 |  Derrington-Francis Racing Team
|
Derrington-Francis-ATS | 0 | NC | Report |
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Pts | Pos | |||||||||||||
| 1959 | 
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||||
| 10th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1960 | 
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0 | NC | |||||||||||||
| Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1963 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||||||
| Ret | DNQ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1964 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||||||
| Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||