Alexander Wurz

Alexander Wurz is an Austrian former racing driver, motorsport executive, and businessman who competed in Formula One between 1997 and 2007. He also enjoyed great success in endurance racing, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans twice — first in 1996 with Joest and again in 2009 with Peugeot.

Nationality	Austrian
Born	Alexander Georg Wurz 15 February 1974 Waidhofen an der Thaya, Lower Austria, Austria

Across six F1 seasons, Wurz started 69 Grands Prix with Benetton, McLaren, and Williams, taking three podium finishes. Since retiring from racing, he has worked as a television commentator, a driver steward, and has served as Chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association (GPDA).

Formula One Career

Benetton: 1997–2000

Wurz made his F1 debut at the 1997 Canadian Grand Prix, standing in for fellow Austrian Gerhard Berger. Just three races later, he stunned the paddock with a podium at Silverstone. When Berger returned, Wurz resumed test duties, but secured a full-time seat from 1998 onwards.

In his first full season, he narrowly outscored teammate Giancarlo Fisichella, finishing joint 7th in the championship. At Monaco that year, he briefly ran second ahead of Michael Schumacher before the two collided at Loews hairpin, ending Wurz’s chance of another podium. Benetton’s form dipped in 1999 and 2000, with Fisichella grabbing podiums while Wurz’s best result was a single points finish at Monza in 2000. In 2001, he was replaced by Jenson Button, who was on loan from Williams.

McLaren Test Driver: 2001–2005

Wurz joined McLaren as a test driver in 2001. He was strongly linked with a race seat at Jaguar in 2003, but McLaren blocked the move to retain his development input.

His long-awaited return to racing came at the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix, when he substituted for the injured Juan Pablo Montoya. Wurz finished fourth on track, later promoted to third after BAR’s disqualification — setting the record for the longest gap between podiums (eight years).

Williams: 2006–2007

Wurz became Williams’ test and reserve driver in 2006 before stepping up to a race seat in 2007, partnering Nico Rosberg. He scored points in Monaco with 7th place and delivered a surprise third at the Canadian GP, his third and final F1 podium, after starting 19th in a chaotic race.

At the 2007 European Grand Prix, he nearly repeated the feat, chasing Mark Webber to the finish line. However, that proved to be his last points finish. On 8 October 2007, Wurz announced his immediate retirement, citing doubts over his motivation. His final race was the 2007 Chinese Grand Prix, after which Williams handed his seat to Kazuki Nakajima.

Honda & Brawn GP: 2008–2009

Wurz stayed in F1 as Honda’s test driver in 2008, continuing when the team transformed into Brawn GP in 2009. He also briefly drove the medical car at the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix when the regular driver fell ill. After 2009, he stepped away from Formula One permanently, later returning to Williams in 2012 as a mentor to Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado.

Alexander Wurz Formula One World Championship career

F1 Career	1997–2000, 2005, 2007
Teams	Benetton, McLaren, Williams
Entries	69 (69 starts)
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

Alexander Wurz Teammates

8 drivers	Involvement	First Year	Last Year
Jean Alesi	3	1997
Giancarlo Fisichella	49	1998	2000
Kimi Raikkonen	8	2005
Pedro de la Rosa	2	2005
Juan Pablo Montoya	6	2005
Nico Rosberg	34	2006	2007
Mark Webber	18	2006
Kazuki Nakajima	5	2007

Alexander Wurz Complete Formula One Results

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	McLaren MP4-20	Mercedes FO 110R 3.0 V10													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