Alexander Wurz
A BMX champion and kart graduate, Alex made a massive impression in the 1994 German F3 championship when he took the runner-up slot behind Jörg Müller and finished ahead of both Ralf Schumacher and Norberto Fontana.
Results dipped somewhat the following season, but the Austrian’s latent talent was recognised by the management of Team Joest, who gave him a chance in their Opel Calibra for the 1996 ITC season. This gave the Austrian a chance to gain experience in a high-profile environment, and his career received an unexpected but massive boost when he shared Joest's Porsche WSC95 at Le Mans with Manuel Reuter and Davy Jones to become the youngest-ever winner of the Sarthe classic.
With healthy personal sponsorship, Wurz not only gained a foothold on the Grand Prix ladder with a testing contract with Benetton in 1997, but also had a seat in the works Mercedes squad to race their CLK-GTR alongside Bernd Schneider in the FIA GT championship. When the lanky Austrian stepped into the big time, replacing sinusitis victim Gerhard Berger in Montreal, he was still, however, largely an unknown quantity. Benetton's faith in their test driver was not without foundation, though, as he had already proved to be a fast, thoughtful and reliable performer with over 2700 km of track time behind the wheel of an F1 car.
His three-race stint, which culminated in a fine third place in the British Grand Prix, naturally sealed a full-time drive for 1998. Teamed with Italian hot-shot Giancarlo Fisichella, the quiet but tough Wurz showed he was no soft touch as he banged wheels with Michael Schumacher in Monaco and emerged from a roll into the gravel in Montreal seemingly completely unperturbed. A string of solid drives into the points increased Alex's credibility, but his inexorable rise to the top was about to come to an end in 1999 when the Austrian found the inherent characteristics of the B199 at odds with his particular driving style.
Huge changes in both management and design personnel cannot have helped Benetton in their quest to get back to the top, but Wurz stayed on board for another season, hoping that the simpler B200 would return him to the top six on a regular basis. It was not to be, however, and the Austrian was forced to endure a trying season that yielded just one points scoring finish - fifth in Italy - before being ousted from Benetton in favour of the then latest rising star, Jenson Button.
Despite his race and qualifying performances, however, Wurz remained much in demand as a talented test driver, and slotted easily into the McLaren fold for 2001 - replacing the BAR-bound Olivier Panis, who had resurrected his career after a year of development work at Woking.
Despite having no glimpse of a race seat with Ron Dennis' team, Wurz again showed his loyalty by remain on board as chief tester during 2002 and 2003, while 2004 saw him once more take on the role of 'third driver', despite rumours linking him to a drive at Jaguar at the end of November. Obviously interested in reclaiming a place on the grid, Wurz was torn between McLaren, an acknowledged F1 power, and the inconsistent Jaguar, but eventually lost out to the then rising F3 star Christian Klien.
Race opportunities continued to be linked to the lanky Austrian over the winter of 2004-05, particularly with Austrian drinks brand Red Bull buying out the ailing Jaguar squad. Wurz's nationality failed to pay dividends, however, as Dietrich Mateschitz steered the team towards the younger talents of Klien and F3000 champion Vitantonio Liuzzi as partners for Wurz's former McLaren team-mate David Coulthard.
As a result, Wurz marked his fifth term at McLaren on the reserves bench, having seen Juan Montoya drafted in to replace the departing Scotsman. Along with Pedro de la Rosa, the Austrian began to share development duties and the chance to impress the pit-lane with runs in the Friday morning practice sessions, afforded by McLaren's disappointing performances in 2004. Both men were to get an opportunity to shine for longer than expected when Montoya's shoulder injury saw Wurz given his car for the San Marino Grand Prix. The Austrian delivered a solid fourth place (which was elevated to third following Jenson Button's exclusion).
No doubt eager for more race action, Wurz accepted an offer from Williams to bring his undoubted testing skills the Grove outfit in 2006. He once again took on the supporting role, (to Webber and Rosberg), with the promise of promotion to the race seat that he was denied at McLaren. In the event his return to Grand Prix racing proper for the Austrian was perhaps all he had hoped for. His qualifying performances were often a little disappointing, leaving him much to do in the hunt for points on race day.
The stand out moments of the season for Alex came in Canada, where his one stop strategy brought the team podium in a race heavily compromised by safety car interruptions and at the rain-afflicted Nürburgring when he steered the Williams home in fourth spot. However when it became apparent that his place on the team was going to be taken by Kazuki Nakajima, Alex graciously stepped aside for the youngster to drive in 2007 finale in Brazil.
However, is undoubted skill as a test and development driver was still in demand, and for 2008 he was quickly snapped up by Honda (ironically replacing Christian Klien) to help rebuild after their disastrous season.
