Alexander Wurz

Alexander Wurz Wurz at the 2013 6 Hours of Silverstone Born 15 February 1974 Waidhofen an der Thaya, Lower Austria, Austria Formula One World Championship career Nationality Austrian Active years 1997–2000, 2005, 2007 Teams Benetton, McLaren, Williams Entries 69 Championships 0 Wins 0 Podiums 3 Career points 45 Pole positions 0 Fastest laps 1 First entry 1997 Canadian Grand Prix Last entry 2007 Chinese Grand Prix 24 Hours of Le Mans career Participating years 1996, 2008–2015 Teams Joest Racing, Team Peugeot Total Best finish 1st (1996, 2009) Class wins 2 (1996, 2009)

Walk of fame - Le Mans, Handprints and signatures from the winners of the 1996 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans

Alexander Wurz (born 15 February 1974) is an Austrian retired professional racing driver, driver training expert and businessman. He competed in Formula One from 1997 until 2007, and is also a two-time winner of the Le Mans 24 Hours.

He is currently under contract to race for the Toyota factory racing team in the WEC (World Endurance Championship). He is linked to Formula 1 as consultant, expert for TV and media, Williams F1 Team's driver coach, member of FIA Institute safety group, FIA road safety ambassador, president to the GPDA (Grand Prix Drivers' Association),^[1] and works occasionally as F1 driver steward. Wurz and his father Franz Wurz established Test & Training International, a leading driver training and road safety expert group.

Career

Cycling

Born in Waidhofen an der Thaya, Wurz first tasted competition in the BMX World Championship, which he won in 1986 at the age of 12. This gave him an underlying physical fitness suitable for motor racing. In 2000, Wurz returned somewhat to his cycling roots, starting an MTB team with countryman Markus Rainer. The team, Rainer-Wurz.com, is currently sponsored by sponsors McLaren, Siemens, and Cannondale amongst others. They are multiple World Cup winners. In the early 2000s, niche bicycle brand Katarga presented a limited edition high-end mountain bike called the Alexander Wurz EVO SL, whose frame prominently featured Wurz's autograph.^[2]

Auto racing

Early career

Like most Formula One drivers, Wurz's motorsport career began with karting. In 1991, Wurz drove in Formula Ford. In 1993, he switched to the German Formula Three Championship. During his time in Formula 3, Wurz crashed out of the lead at a race at AVUS in 1995 after a collision with the safety car.^[3] From 1996, Wurz drove an Opel Calibra for the Joest Racing touring car team in the DTM. Also in 1996, Wurz, together with Davy Jones and Manuel Reuter, won the Le Mans 24 Hours and in so doing became the youngest ever winner of the 24-hour race. He still holds the record to this day.^[4]

Formula One

Benetton (1997–2000)

Wurz at the 1997 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.

Wurz's Formula One debut was on June 15, 1997 at Montreal for Benetton filling in for fellow Austrian Gerhard Berger, who couldn't race due to illness.^[5] Wurz impressed with a podium position in his third race (1997 British Grand Prix) before returning to being a test driver upon Berger's return to the cockpit at the German Grand Prix, which Berger won.

However, Wurz was rewarded with a full-time race seat for the 1998 season with Benetton and spent three more seasons at the team, partnered each year by Giancarlo Fisichella. A strong start to 1998 suggested a bright future, and even attracted the interest of Ferrari , but the three-season stint at Benetton turned out to be a disappointment. Toward the end of his Benetton time, Fisichella produced better results, although in 1998 Fisichella had one point less than Wurz, finishing 9th whereas Wurz finished 8th in that Season with 17 points (together with Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who finished 7th.) and five 4th places. One notable race was the 1998 Monaco Grand Prix, where he was running 2nd ahead of Michael Schumacher for a brief period. His hopes of a podium finish were ruined when Schumacher tried to pass through at Loews hairpin, but collided together with him and like Schumacher's Ferrari, his suspension broke, causing him to spin off and crash at the Nouvelle Chicane exiting the tunnel. He retired and Schumacher finished 10th in the end after the German pitted for repairs.

Testing (2001–2006)

Wurz testing for Williams at Silverstone in 2006.

In 2001 he took on the role of third (i.e., test) driver for McLaren.

In April 2005, with Juan Pablo Montoya injured, Wurz drove for McLaren in the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix, finishing fourth in the race, but taking third place after both BAR-Honda drivers were disqualified. This gave him a unique record, as no other driver has had such a long gap between podiums as Wurz, who went eight years without one. His drive at Imola was all the more notable because he was still not comfortable in the car, and at times had to drive with one hand.

Since his signing to McLaren as test driver, Wurz had been eager to return to racing. At various times during this time he was linked in rumours to a return to a full race seat. His large size for a Formula One driver (186 cm/6'1.5") has perhaps been a factor that has not helped. In fact, because they were so sure he would be driving for Austrian-owned Red Bull Racing in 2005, the designers at McLaren neglected to allow for his size, meaning he could not physically fit in the car. In 2003 he was strongly linked to a race seat at Jaguar, where the under-fire Antônio Pizzonia was struggling. However, McLaren were struggling with their abortive new car and blocked the move to retain Wurz as a development driver. Jaguar then decided to give Pizzonia more time to prove himself, before drafting in Justin Wilson.

Williams (2007)

Wurz at the 2007 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Alexander Wurz signed a deal with WilliamsF1 to become the team's official test and reserve driver at the beginning of 2006. He drove the third car at all Grand Prix Fridays in 2006. It was announced on 3 August 2006 that Wurz would replace Mark Webber as a race driver at Williams for the 2007 season. This was Wurz's first full-time race drive since 2000, and his team mate was Nico Rosberg. At the Monaco GP on 27 May 2007, Wurz scored his first points for the Williams F1 team, finishing in 7th place after qualifying 11th. He came 3rd for the 3rd time in his F1 career at the Canadian Grand Prix on 10 June 2007, staying out of trouble from 19th on the grid in an action packed race. He actually damaged his rear wing early on in the race, but battled against it and finished on the podium. He nearly repeated this at the European Grand Prix, but just didn't make it past Mark Webber at the final chicane. That race turned of to be Wurz's last points finish and especially from now on, team mate Rosberg distanced him. The qualifying for the Japanese Grand Prix, where Rosberg started from 16th on the grid, although he lost 10 places due to an engine change in practice, and Wurz started even further back in 18th without being put further back on the grid. On October 8, 2007 Wurz announced his immediate retirement from Formula One, meaning that the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix was his final race.^[6]

The official Formula One website announced that "Williams driver Alexander Wurz has confirmed that he is to retire from Formula One racing with immediate effect".^[7] Wurz himself also released a statement saying "I would like to thank my family and fans, everyone at AT&T Williams and my previous teams, as well as the media, for all of their support during my Formula One racing career. I may race again, perhaps in Le Mans or other categories and certainly some of my time will now be committed to the very important subject of road safety." The 33-year-old cited doubts over his own commitment as the main reason for his departure despite having a relatively successful season racing with Williams.^[8]

He was replaced by Williams test driver Kazuki Nakajima for the final race of the 2007 season in Brazil.^[9]

Honda and Brawn GP (2008–2009)

Wurz demonstrating a Honda RA108 at the 2008 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Wurz was the Honda F1 test driver for the 2008 Formula One season,^[10] a role he kept on the transition to Brawn GP in 2009.^[11]

Williams (2012)

For the 2012 Formula One season, Wurz rejoined the Williams F1 Team, this time to guide the team's inexperienced drivers Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado.^[12]

Sportscars

Wurz signed with Peugeot to be part of their driving squad for the 2008 24 Hours of Le Mans and he also participated 1000km of Spa in the Le Mans Series.

In 2009, together with Marc Gené and David Brabham, he took outright victory in the Le Mans 24 Hours, driving a works Peugeot.^[13] The 13-year gap between Wurz's victories is the largest in the event's history.^[4] Together with his victory in 2010 of the 12hrs race of Sebring with Marc Gené and Anthony Davidson and his victory of the 1000 miles race of Road Atlanta with Stéphane Sarrazin and Franck Montagny in 2011 it made him win the 3 big Sportscar Classic Races in a Peugeot 908.^[14][15] Wurz continued to race for Peugeot Sport Total through 2010 and 2011, though no further Le Mans wins were forthcoming. In November 2011, Toyota Motorsports confirmed Wurz as one of their factory drivers for the companies planned return to the 24 Heures du Mans in 2012.^[16] Wurz will drive their new LMP1 Hybrid Prototype alongside Nicolas Lapierre and Kazuki Nakajima.^[17]

Road safety

Wurz is involved in many projects regarding road safety and driver education and training. In 2006, he and his father founded the company Test and Training International, a leader in the field of road safety and driver training. He also works closely with the FIA (Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile), since 2011 as an operating partner of the FIA Institute Young Driver Excellence Academy.

Medical car driver

In the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Wurz drove the medical car after regular driver Jacques Tropenat fell ill.^[18]

Team management

Team Superfund

Wurz lodged an entry for his own team into Formula One (announced on May 31, 2009), but the application was unsuccessful. Team Superfund was one of several new applicants hoping to compete in the sport from the 2010 season onwards. It was believed that Wurz would prefer to align the team with an existing constructor based in the UK, perhaps renting space, facilities and staff from its factory, while Superfund takes time to build up its own headquarters, possibly based on existing resources in Austria.^[19] The team would have been funded by Christian Baha, the owner of the Superfund Group, and the cars would be powered by Cosworth engines.

Personal life

Wurz is the second son of former rallycross driver Franz Wurz, who won the European Rallycross Championship in 1974, 1976 and 1982.

Wurz is married to Julia and has three sons, Charlie, Felix and Oscar (b. September 30, 2007).^[20] He used to race with different coloured boots on each foot, but since his return to racing in 2007, he wears matching pairs. On 10 November 2015 Wurz announced via his Twitter that after 20 years he would retire from racing.^[21]

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Poles	Wins	Points	Position
1992	German Formula Ford 1600	?	?	?	?	?	1st
1993	Austrian Formula Three	?	?	?	?	?	1st
	German Formula Three	RSM Marko	16	0	0	27	13th
	Masters of Formula Three	RSM Marko	1	0	0	N/A	17th
1994	German Formula Three	G+M Escom Motorsport	19	1	3	219	2nd
	Macau Grand Prix	G+M Escom Motorsport	1	0	0	N/A	15th
	Grand Prix de Monaco F3	G+M Escom Motorsport	1	0	0	N/A	10th
	Masters of Formula Three	G+M Escom Motorsport	1	0	0	N/A	26th
1995	German Formula Three	G+M Escom Motorsport	15	0	0	74	6th
	British Formula 3	G+M Escom Motorsport	1	0	0	4	21st
	Macau Grand Prix	G+M Escom Motorsport	1	0	0	N/A	7th
	Grand Prix de Monaco F3	G+M Escom Motorsport	1	0	0	N/A	6th
	Masters of Formula Three	G+M Escom Motorsport	1	0	0	N/A	NC
1996	International Touring Car Championship	Opel Team Joest	20	0	0	43	16th
	Le Mans 24 Hours	Joest Racing (LMP1)	1	0	1	N/A	1st
1997	Formula One	Mild Seven Benetton Renault	3	0	0	4	14th
	FIA GT Championship	AMG Mercedes	10	5	1	25	10th
1998	Formula One	Mild Seven Benetton Playlife	16	0	0	17	8th
1999	Formula One	Mild Seven Benetton Playlife	16	0	0	3	13th
2000	Formula One	Mild Seven Benetton Playlife	17	0	0	2	15th
2001	Formula One	West McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
2002	Formula One	West McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
2003	Formula One	West McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
2004	Formula One	West McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
2005	Formula One	West McLaren Mercedes Team McLaren Mercedes	1	0	0	6	17th
2006	Formula One	Williams F1 Team	Test driver
2007	Formula One	AT&T Williams	16	0	0	13	11th
2008	Formula One	Honda Racing F1 Team	Test driver
	Le Mans 24 Hours	Team Peugeot Total (LMP1)	1	0	0	N/A	5th
2009	Formula One	Brawn GP F1 Team	Test driver
	Le Mans 24 Hours	Team Peugeot Total (LMP1)	1	0	1	N/A	1st
2010	Le Mans Series	Team Peugeot Total (LMP1)	1	0	0	11	31st
	Le Mans 24 Hours	Team Peugeot Total (LMP1)	1	0	0	N/A	DNF
2011	American Le Mans Series	Peugeot Sport Total (LMP1)	2	0	1	N/A	NC
	Le Mans Series	Peugeot Sport Total (LMP1)	1	0	1	N/A	NC
	Intercontinental Le Mans Cup	Peugeot Sport Total (LMP1)	4	0	2	N/A	N/A
	Le Mans 24 Hours	Peugeot Sport Total (LMP1)	1	0	0	N/A	4th
2012	FIA World Endurance Championship	Toyota Racing (LMP1)	6	3	3	96	3rd
	Le Mans 24 Hours	Toyota Racing (LMP1)	1	0	0	N/A	DNF
2013	FIA World Endurance Championship	Toyota Racing (LMP1)	6	3	1	69.5	4th
	Le Mans 24 Hours	Toyota Racing (LMP1)	1	0	0	N/A	4th
2014	FIA World Endurance Championship	Toyota Racing (LMP1-H)	8	2	1	116	5th
	Le Mans 24 Hours	Toyota Racing (LMP1-H)	1	0	0	N/A	DNF
2015	FIA World Endurance Championship	Toyota Racing (LMP1)	8	0	0	79	6th
	Le Mans 24 Hours	Toyota Racing (LMP1)	1	0	0	N/A	6th

^* Season still in progress.

Complete International Touring Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	Pos.	Pts
1996	Opel Team Joest	Opel Calibra V6 4x4	HOC 1 Ret	HOC 2 Ret	NÜR 1 12	NÜR 2 DSQ	EST 1 10	EST 2 8	HEL 1 Ret	HEL 2 9	NOR 1 12	NOR 2 8	DIE 1 9	DIE 2 8	SIL 1 7	SIL 2 4	NÜR 1 Ret	NÜR 2 DNS	MAG 1 10	MAG 2 6	MUG 1 6	MUG 2 9	HOC 1 Ret	HOC 2 DNS	INT 1	INT 2	SUZ 1	SUZ 2	16th	43

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	WDC	Points
1997	Mild Seven Benetton Renault	Benetton B197	Renault RS9 3.0 V10	AUS	BRA	ARG	SMR	MON	ESP	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 3	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	AUT	LUX	JPN	EUR			14th	4
1998	Mild Seven Benetton Playlife	Benetton B198	Playlife GC37-01 3.0 V10	AUS 7	BRA 4	ARG 4	SMR Ret	ESP 4	MON Ret	CAN 4	FRA 5	GBR 4	AUT 9	GER 11	HUN 16^†	BEL Ret	ITA Ret	LUX 7	JPN 9				8th	17
1999	Mild Seven Benetton Playlife	Benetton B199	Playlife FB01 3.0 V10	AUS Ret	BRA 7	SMR Ret	MON 6	ESP 10	CAN Ret	FRA Ret	GBR 10	AUT 5	GER 7	HUN 7	BEL 14	ITA Ret	EUR Ret	MAL 8	JPN 10				13th	3
2000	Mild Seven Benetton Playlife	Benetton B200	Playlife FB02 3.0 V10	AUS 7	BRA Ret	SMR 9	GBR 9	ESP 10	EUR 12^†	MON Ret	CAN 9	FRA Ret	AUT 10	GER Ret	HUN 11	BEL 13	ITA 5	USA 10	JPN Ret	MAL 7			15th	2
2005	West McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4-20	Mercedes FO 110R 3.0 V10	AUS	MAL	BHR TD	SMR 3	ESP	MON TD	EUR TD	CAN	USA	FRA	GBR	GER TD								17th	6
	Team McLaren Mercedes															HUN TD	TUR	ITA	BEL TD	BRA TD	JPN	CHN
2006	Williams F1 Team	Williams FW28	Cosworth CA2006 2.4 V8	BHR TD	MAL TD	AUS TD	SMR TD	EUR TD	ESP TD	MON TD	GBR TD	CAN TD	USA TD	FRA TD	GER TD	HUN TD	TUR TD	ITA TD	CHN TD	JPN TD	BRA TD		–	–
2007	AT&T Williams	Williams FW29	Toyota RVX-07 2.4 V8	AUS Ret	MAL 9	BHR 11	ESP Ret	MON 7	CAN 3	USA 10	FRA 14	GBR 13	EUR 4	HUN 14	TUR 11	ITA 13	BEL Ret	JPN Ret	CHN 12	BRA			11th	13

Notes

^† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix, but was classified as they completed over 90% of the race distance.

Sports car racing

Le Mans 24 Hours results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1996	Joest Racing	Davy Jones Manuel Reuter	TWR Porsche WSC-95	LMP1	354	1st	1st
2008	Team Peugeot Total	Stéphane Sarrazin Pedro Lamy	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP	LMP1	368	5th	5th
2009	Team Peugeot Total	David Brabham Marc Gené	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP	LMP1	382	1st	1st
2010	Team Peugeot Total	Marc Gené Anthony Davidson	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP	LMP1	360	DNF	DNF
2011	Peugeot Sport Total	Anthony Davidson Marc Gené	Peugeot 908	LMP1	351	4th	4th
2012	Toyota Racing	Nicolas Lapierre Kazuki Nakajima	Toyota TS030 Hybrid	LMP1	134	DNF	DNF
2013	Toyota Racing	Nicolas Lapierre Kazuki Nakajima	Toyota TS030 Hybrid	LMP1	341	4th	4th
2014	Toyota Racing	Stéphane Sarrazin Kazuki Nakajima	Toyota TS040 Hybrid	LMP1-H	219	DNF	DNF
2015	Toyota Racing	Stéphane Sarrazin Mike Conway	Toyota TS040 Hybrid	LMP1	387	6th	6th

Le Mans Series results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	1	2	3	4	5	Rank	Points
2010	Team Peugeot Total	LMP1	Peugeot 908 HDi FAP	Peugeot HDI 5.5 L Turbo V12 (Diesel)	M	CAS	SPA ovr:4 cls:4	ALG	HUN	SIL	31st	11
2011	Peugeot Sport Total	LMP1	Peugeot 908	Peugeot HDI 3.7 L Turbo V8 (Diesel)	M	CAS	SPA^1 ovr:1 cls:1	IMO	SIL	EST	NC	N/A

¹ Driver run for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, no points awarded for the Le Mans Series.

American Le Mans Series results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Rank	Points
2011	Peugeot Sport Total	LMP1	Peugeot 908	Peugeot HDI 3.7 L Turbo V8 (Diesel)	M	SEB^1 ovr:8 cls:8	LNB	LIM	MOS	MID	AME	BAL	MON	PET^1 ovr:1 cls:1	NC	N/A

¹ Driver run for the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup, no points awarded for the American Le Mans Series.

Intercontinental Le Mans Cup results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
2011	Peugeot Sport Total	LMP1	Peugeot 908	Peugeot HDI 3.7 L Turbo V8 (Diesel)	M	SEB ovr:8 cls:8	SPA ovr:1 cls:1	LEM ovr:4 cls:4	IMO	SIL	PET ovr:1 cls:1	ZHU

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Rank	Points
2012	Toyota Racing	LMP1	Toyota TS030 Hybrid	Toyota 3.4 L V8 (Hybrid)	SEB	SPA	LMS Ret	SIL 2	SÃO 1	BHR Ret	FUJ 1	SHA 1	3rd	96
2013	Toyota Racing	LMP1	Toyota TS030 Hybrid	Toyota 3.4 L V8 (Hybrid)	SIL 4	SPA Ret	LMS 4	SÃO	COA	FUJ 1	SHA 2	BHR Ret	4th	69.5
2014	Toyota Racing	LMP1	Toyota TS040 Hybrid	Toyota 3.7 L V8 (Hybrid)	SIL 2	SPA 3	LMS Ret	COA 6	FUJ 2	SHA 2	BHR 1	SÃO 4	5th	116
2015	Toyota Racing	LMP1	Toyota TS040 Hybrid	Toyota 3.7 L V8 (Hybrid)	SIL 4	SPA 5	LMS 6	NÜR 6	COA Ret	FUJ 6	SHA 5	BHR 3	6th	79

References

1. http://www.fia.com/news/accident-panel
2. "Mountain-bike Alexander Wurz Edition". Veni, vidi, velo!. 2014-04-21. Retrieved 2014-05-01.
3. Safety car hits Wurz
4. "Third-time plucky for Peugeot". Autosport 196 (12): 36–47. June 18, 2009.
5. F1 Racing magazine, December 1997, pg 46
6. "Wurz confirms immediate retirement from F1". autosport.com. 2007-10-08. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
7. "Wurz announces retirement from Formula One competition". formula1.com. 2007-10-08. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
8. Wurz retirement statement
9. "Williams confirm Nakajima for Brazil". autosport.com. 2007-10-09. Archived from the original on 11 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-09.
10. "Wurz joins Honda as test & reserve driver". autosport.com. 2008-01-10.
11. "Wurz retains ties to Brawn GP". autosport.com. 2009-03-29.
12. "Wurz to mentor Williams duo | Williams F1 Team News | Formula 1 Teams | Sky Sports". 2012. Retrieved 28 February 2012.
13. "Peugeot win Le Mans 24-hour race". BBC. 2009-06-14.
17. Wurz leaves Peugeot to head Toyota driver lineup
18. "Wurz drove F1 medical car in Singapore". GMM. 2008-09-28.
19. Strang, Simon (2009-05-31). "Wurz set to lead Superfund into F1". autosport.com. Haymarket Publications. Archived from the original on 5 June 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
20. Wurz is father for third time – Racing news and opinions – Auto123.com – Canadian automotive network
21. https://twitter.com/alex_wurz/status/664012479572373504

External links

• Official website
• Alexander Wurz career summary at DriverDB.com
• interview: Tyler's Long One: Alex Wurz, interviewer: Graham Tyler, Radio Le Mans, access date: 27 SEP 2011