Name:
Alexander WurzBorn:
February 15, 1974 in Waidhofen Thaya, Austria
Team:
HondaHeight:
6'1"Weight:
174 lbs.
Hobbies:
Kite surfing, mountain biking, free climbing, trial biking, canyoning, airbrush painting
Previous F1 Teams:
- 1997 - 2000 Benetton
- 2001 - 2005 McLaren (test driver, and one race)
- 2006 Williams (test driver)
- 2007 Williams
- 2008 Honda (test driver)
Victories:
0Background:
Alex raced first in trial cycling, where he became BMX cycling world champion at the age of 12. But his father was a rallycross racer and Alex says that he himself only raced on bicycles as a way of dreaming about racing in cars. He then took up go-karting, where he raced from 1989 to 1990, finishing second in the Autrian championships and fourth in the Middle East championships. He started racing in cars in 1991, in Austrian Formula Ford, winning the series the following year. He then won the Austrian F3 series in 1993, before finishing second in German F3 in 1994. He won Le Mans 24 Hours in a Porsche in 1996.
His Career Thus Far:
Alex started as a young sensation at Benetton when, unfortunately, the team entered its post-Michael Schumacher period of struggle. He raced in only three races in his first year, 1997, rising to the podium in his third race, at the British Grand Prix. He scored a handful of points each year, but never taking another podium finish, and also proved to be a little accident prone.
Wurz then joined McLaren as a test driver, where his articulate communications skills and understanding of engineering helped the team develop the car. When Juan Pablo Montoya injured himself in 2005, Wurz replaced him at the San Marino Grand Prix. He finished the race in fourth place, but after the BAR Honda's were disqualified he inherited third, and the podium. He followed that season with a year at Williams, again in the role of test driver, where Sam Michael, the technical director, said he had never worked with any other driver who could provide as good technical input as Alex. Alex retired from Formula 1 racing at the end of the 2007 season, only to join the Honda team at the beginning of 2008 as a test driver. His technical input and experience will be a great advantage to the team.
Driving Style:
Although Alex has always proven to be fast during tests and practice sessions, and while his technical input is unquestionably strong, he has yet to prove himself to be as solid, gutsy and effective as a racer. Maybe at the age of 33 and in what amounts to a third F1 career, the Austrian will prove what he is really worth in 2007 at the Williams team.
Character:
Alex is one of the most intelligent and agreeable drivers to talk to in F1. But he also has a sense of color and personality: early in his career he was forced into wearing a blue racing shoe and a red racing shoe as he had lost his shoes. He won the race that day and decided always to wear a blue one and a red one. He only dropped the habit when he joined the serious, image conscious McLaren team.
