Markus Winkelhock
Template:F1 driver Markus Winkelhock (born June 13, 1980 in Stuttgart) is a German Formula One racing driver. He is the son of the late Manfred Winkelhock and nephew of Joachim Winkelhock, both of whom were Formula One drivers in the 1980s.[1]
Early career
.jpg)
Markus won races in a string of junior formulae including Formula Konig, German Formula Renault and the Formula Renault Eurocup from 1998-2000.[2]
In 2001, Winkelhock joined the German Formula 3 Championship, where he remained until the championship became the F3 Euroseries in 2003. His record was fifth overall in 2001 (three wins), seventh in 2002 (one win) and fourth in 2003 (two wins).[2]
He switched to touring car racing in 2004, with a season in the DTM in an AMG-Mercedes CLK. But he failed to score a point all year with the Persson team.[2]
Winkelhock switched back to single-seater racing in 2005, joining the World Series by Renault with Draco. He won three times but there were also some less than shining moments - notably when he crashed at Monaco in qualifying and on the first lap of the race.[2]
Formula One
On January 24 2006, Marcus Winkelhock was confirmed a test and reserve driver in the Midland F1 team, (formerly Jordan Grand Prix) for the 2006 Formula One season.[3] He participated in Friday test sessions for the team at the Bahrain, Australian, German and Hungarian Grands Prix.[2]
He was re-signed for 2007 by the team, now in its Spyker F1 guise.[4] He also made a brief return to the DTM in 2007, starting three races.[2]
Following Christijan Albers' departure from Spyker after the 2007 British Grand Prix, Winkelhock was confirmed as his replacement for the European Grand Prix on July 18.[5] The deal was only for one race with Sakon Yamamoto set to race for Spyker for the rest of the season.[6]
Leads on Grand Prix debut
Winkelhock qualified last on the 22-car grid alongside team mate Adrian Sutil. But on the formation lap with the rest of the field already on dry-weather tyres, the team made a last-second decision to call Winkelhock into the pits to switch to intermediate tyres. When pouring rain forced almost all the others to pit at the end of the first lap, Winkelhock was able to move into the lead, passing some cars as they pitted, and even passing Kimi Räikkönen on the track as the Finn tip-toed around to the pits, eventually building a lead of 33 seconds.
As the rain got heavier the race stewards first sent out the safety car, and then suspended the race following a series of spin-offs in the first corner behind the safety car. The race re-started after the rain had eased. Winkelhock and his team chose to start on full wet tyres on a drying track in the hope of further showers, as the team expected he would be overtaken by faster cars anyway. The gamble failed and, having re-started the race from pole position, Winkelhock quickly fell down the order. He retired on lap 15 with hydraulic problems that caused a small fire. He had led for a total of six laps.[7]
According to Bob Varsha of the US SPEED Channel commentary team, Winkelhock is the only driver in Formula One history to start last on the grid and lead the race in his first Grand Prix, and due to the red flag and restart, is also the only driver in Formula One history to start both last and first on the grid in the same Grand Prix.
Despite leading his debut race, the Spyker team eventually opted against giving Winkelhock a drive for the remainder of the 2007 season, and instead decided to give the drive to former Super Aguri driver Sakon Yamamoto.
In the weeks since Winkelhock led his first race, he has become something of a cult figure within the F1 community, being nicknamed "The Super Winkle". [citation needed] Former F1 commentator Murray Walker was quoted saying "Lewis who..?" in an interview (referring to F1 rookie Lewis Hamilton). [citation needed]
Complete Formula One results
(key)
| Yr | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | MF1 Racing | Midland M16 | Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 | BHR TD |
MAL |
AUS TD |
SMR |
EUR |
ESP |
MON |
GBR |
CAN |
USA |
FRA |
GER TD |
HUN TD |
TUR |
ITA |
CHN |
JPN |
BRA |
- | - |
| 2007 | Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team | Spyker F8-VII | Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 | AUS |
MAL |
BHR |
ESP |
MON |
CAN |
USA |
FRA |
GBR |
EUR Ret |
HUN |
TUR |
ITA |
BEL |
JPN |
CHN |
BRA |
-* | 0* |
* Season in progress
References
- ^ "F1's famous names return". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
- ^ a b c d e f "Who's Who: Markus Winkelhock". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
- ^ "Markus Winkelhock is MF1 Racing's test driver". NewsOnF1.net. 2006-01-25. Retrieved 2006-11-12.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Spyker announces four test drivers". F1Racing.net. 2007-02-01. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Winkelhock name to return to F1". news.bbc.co.uk. 2007-07-18. Retrieved 2007-07-18.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "Spyker confirm Yamamoto deal". Autosport.com. 2007-07-26. Retrieved 2007-07-26.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ "European Grand Prix 2007 statistics and facts". F1Fanatic.co.uk. 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-23.
External links
- Official website
- Markus Winkelhock's career statistics at Driver Database
- Who's Who: Markus Winkelhock at F1Fanatic
