The 45-year-old Brazilian, who raced alongside Webber at Jaguar during the 2003 F1 season, was arrested and booked into a Texas jail on Saturday, according to reports in the US.
The incident occurred at Speedsportz Racing Park, where Pizzonia had been attending the 2026 Superkarts! USA Winter Series to support his son.
Footage circulating on social media appears to show Pizzonia launching a flying kick at another man before following up with a punch, after running towards him from behind.
The man is reported to have been arguing with Pizzonia’s young son, Antonio Pizzonia Neto, who competed in a junior race earlier that day and finished ninth.
Pizzonia was briefly held in custody before being released, and no further details surrounding the incident or the assault charge have been confirmed.
In his first public comments since the arrest, Pizzonia addressed the incident in an Instagram post.
“Everyone I’m okay and I’m back at home,” he wrote.
“Indeed there was an incident to which today, I would have reacted in a different way.
“I understood at that moment that my son, a child, was being coerced by an adult and instinctively I defended him.
“Thank you to everyone for your messages of support.”
Pizzonia raced in Formula 1 between 2003 and 2005, debuting with Jaguar before later competing for Williams as a stand-in during periods of injury and driver changes.
He lined up alongside Webber during the Australian’s first season with Jaguar in 2003, before later working with him again at Williams while serving as a test and reserve driver.
Since leaving F1, Pizzonia has continued to race across a range of categories, including Auto GP and BOSS GP, while remaining involved in junior karting through his son.
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