Karl Wendlinger

Karl Wendlinger Nationality Austrian FIA GT1 World Championship career Debut season 2010 Current team Swiss Racing Team Car number 3 Starts 4 Wins 0 Poles 0 Fastest laps 0 Previous series 2004-09 2002-03 2001 1999 1998-99 1997 1996 1991-95 1990-91 1990-92 1989-90 1988-89 1988 FIA GT Championship DTM V8Star Series American Le Mans Series FIA GT Championship Italian Superturismo Super Tourenwagen Cup Formula One International Formula 3000 World Sportscars DTM German F3 Austrian F3 Championship titles 1999 1989 1988 FIA GT Championship German F3 Austrian F3 Formula One World Championship career Active years 1991–1995 Teams Leyton House, March, Sauber Entries 42 (41 starts) Championships 0 Wins 0 Podiums 0 Career points 14 Pole positions 0 Fastest laps 0 First entry 1991 Japanese Grand Prix Last entry 1995 Australian Grand Prix 24 Hours of Le Mans career Years 1991–1992, 1996–2001 Teams Team Sauber Mercedes, Peugeot Talbot Sport, Porsche AG, Roock Racing, Viper Team Oreca Best finish 3rd (1996) Class wins 2 (1999 and 2000)

Karl Wendlinger (born 20 December 1968 in Kufstein) is an Austrian sportscar racing and former Formula One driver.

Mercedes Juniors

Wendlinger started his career in karting and in Formula Ford before entering the German Formula 3 Championship in 1988. After managing tenth place in that inaugural season, Wendlinger won the crown in 1989, which earned him also a drive in the Mercedes-Benz sportscar team for 1990.

Driving the Sauber-Mercedes C11 - alongside Michael Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Mauro Baldi and Jean-Louis Schlesser - the quintet managed to achieve fifth place in the 1990 World Sportscar Championship standings.

In 1991, he continued to race with Mercedes sportscars - alongside a Formula 3000 programme with the Helmut Marko team. Towards the end of the year, Mercedes' team boss Jochen Neerpasch placed two of his protégés in Formula One. Schumacher went to the Jordan team before signing for Benetton, whilst Wendlinger made a low key Formula One debut with the Leyton House outfit for the final two Grand Prix.

Formula One

1991-1992: Leyton House/March

Wendlinger's Formula One debut came at the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka. He qualified in 22nd place in a field of 26, but was unable to convert that into anything more, after he retired due to a big collision at turn one, between himself, J.J. Lehto, Andrea de Cesaris and Emanuele Pirro. His second race didn't fare much better as the Adelaide circuit was a wash-out, torrential rain leading to a curtailed event. Wendlinger was classified in 20th place, two laps down on eventual winner Ayrton Senna, after aquaplaning on some of the huge puddles of water present that day.

Wendlinger was kept at the re-named March team in 1992, alongside Paul Belmondo. The highlight coming at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, in which a race of attrition allowed Wendlinger to bring the car home in fourth position, albeit a lap down - but nonetheless a huge result considering the financial troubles his team were in. These three points, allowed Wendlinger to finish 12th in the drivers championship ahead of respected names such as Ivan Capelli, Thierry Boutsen and Johnny Herbert.

1993-1995: Sauber

For 1993, Wendlinger was re-united with Peter Sauber who had taken the plunge into Formula One team ownership in 1993. Wendlinger finished in fourth place at that year's Italian Grand Prix at Monza. Other points finishes in Portugal, Canada and Hungary helped give Wendlinger 12th in the Championship again with seven points, two points, and a place ahead of more experienced team-mate J.J. Lehto. He also impressed with several strong qualifying performances, frequently putting the Sauber in the top eight.

1994 started well for Wendlinger, he notched up a point in the first race of the year at Interlagos, subsequently picking up fourth place in the San Marino race, a race marred by the deaths of both Wendlinger's countryman Roland Ratzenberger and the Brazilian racing legend Ayrton Senna.

The whole Formula One fraternity was in a state of shock after Imola, and the shockwaves were still rippling as the teams turned up in Monaco for the fourth round of the Championship. It was here that Wendlinger's career in Grand Prix racing changed.

During the first practice session, approaching the famous Nouvelle Chicane in the harbour, Wendlinger lost control coming out of the preceding tunnel. Under braking, the Sauber hit the wall sideways at some force. Wendlinger's head had struck a water-filled barrier lining the armco wall, in large part due to the low cockpit sides present in Formula One cars of that era. The FIA doctors were quickly on the scene where they found Wendlinger unconscious, and although his vital signs would soon be stabilized, he would remain in a coma for weeks to come.

Wendlinger recovered from his injuries, but when Sauber granted him an opportunity to drive in 1995 he was relieved of his duties before the Monaco event a year on from the accident, as his performances were disappointing. He was replaced by Jean-Christophe Boullion.

Wendlinger came back briefly for Sauber in two Grands Prix at the end of the season, as Boullion also proved uncompetitive in relation to team-mate Heinz-Harald Frentzen. However, this return also proved to be a failure, and the 1995 Japanese and Australian Grands Prix proved to be his Formula One swansong.

After Formula One

Since then, he has competed successfully in sports cars and touring cars, winning the FIA GT Championship (with Olivier Beretta) in 1999. After a spell racing for Abt-Audi in DTM in 2002 and 2003 he raced for JMB Racing in FIA GT again, driving a Maserati MC12 with Andrea Bertolini.

Since 2006, Wendlinger has been part of the JetAlliance Racing team, competing again in the FIA GT Championship. His team-mate in 2006 was Phillip Peter, and in 2007 his team-mate was Scottish driver, Ryan Sharp.

2008

Wendlinger has been competing for JetAlliance Racing in 2008 alongside Ryan Sharp. They started well at the RAC Tourist Trophy round from Silverstone. Wendlinger and Sharp won the GT1 class and overall race ahead of Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini's Maserati MC12.

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	WDC	Points
1991	Leyton House Racing	Leyton House CG911	Ilmor V10	USA	BRA	SMR	MON	CAN	MEX	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	ESP	JPN Ret	AUS 20		NC	0
1992	March F1	March CG911	Ilmor V10	RSA Ret	MEX Ret	BRA Ret	ESP 8	SMR 12	MON Ret	CAN 4	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 16	HUN Ret	BEL 11	ITA 10	POR Ret	JPN	AUS		12th	3
1993	Sauber	Sauber C12	Sauber V10	RSA Ret	BRA Ret	EUR Ret	SMR Ret	ESP Ret	MON 13	CAN 6	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER 9	HUN 6	BEL Ret	ITA 4	POR 5	JPN Ret	AUS 15		12th	7
1994	Sauber Mercedes	Sauber C13	Mercedes-Benz V10	BRA 6	PAC Ret	SMR 4	MON DNS	ESP	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	JPN	AUS		19th	4
1995	Red Bull Sauber Ford	Sauber C14	Ford V8	BRA Ret	ARG Ret	SMR Ret	ESP 13	MON	CAN	FRA	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	POR	EUR	PAC	JPN 10	AUS Ret	NC	0

External links

• Official site [in German]
• Profile at DriverDB.com