Karl Wendlinger


Karl Wendlinger is an Austrian professional racing and former Formula One driver.

Mercedes Juniors

Born in Kufstein, 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's 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 Grands Prix of the season.

Formula One

1991–1992: Leyton House/March

Wendlinger's Formula One debut came at the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, bringing some money to the beleaguered Leyton House team in place of long-serving Ivan Capelli. 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, JJ 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 renamed March team in 1992, alongside Paul Belmondo. The team were struggling financially due to the withdrawal of the Leyton House organisation, the only modifications to the 1991 car being reworking the cockpit to accommodate Wendlinger's tall frame. The results were very encouraging, including starting 7th at the opening South African Grand Prix but results were limited by the team's financial restraints. For example, at the Spanish Grand Prix the drying track at the start saw the Footwork team make a late change of tyres to their cars on the starting grid, incurring a fine but finishing 5th and 7th. Wendlinger was 8th, March being unable to afford the fine for changing his tyres at the same time. However, at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal 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, Johnny Herbert and former Brabham and Tyrrell driver Stefano Modena.

1993–1995: Sauber

For 1993, Wendlinger was re-united with Peter Sauber, who that year had become a Formula One team owner. Much was expected of the team and early on Wendlinger and teammate JJ Lehto mixed with the front runners. Initially he was out-paced by the Finn, who scored points in two of the first four races though some of this was down to bad luck; Wendlinger had qualified 5th at Donington for example, only to be eliminated by Michael Andretti on the first lap. At the Monaco Grand Prix Wendlinger and Lehto collided, the team blaming the Finn. After that, Wendlinger's results improved. He scored his first point of the season in the next round and added three more points scores — the best being 4th at the Italian Grand Prix after a long battle with Andretti. Other points finishes in Portugal and Hungary helped give Wendlinger 12th in the Drivers' Championship again with seven points — two points and a place ahead of the more experienced Lehto.
For 1994 Wendlinger was retained as Mercedes made their official return to Formula 1, buying a stake in Ilmor and becoming the team's engine suppliers. Heinz-Harald Frentzen arrived in place of Lehto. The season started well for Wendlinger; he scored a point in the first race of the year at Interlagos and drove to fourth place in the San Marino race, an event marred by the deaths of both Wendlinger's countryman Roland Ratzenberger and the 3-times world champion Ayrton Senna.
The next race was in Monaco for the fourth round of the Championship. During the first practice session, Wendlinger exited the tunnel and lost control of the car under braking for the Nouvelle Chicane. The Sauber hit the wall sideways with considerable force. Wendlinger's head struck a water-filled barrier within the metal crash barrier. FIA doctors found Wendlinger unconscious, and although his vital signs were quickly stabilized, he remained in a coma for several weeks and did not drive in a race for the rest of the year. He had planned to make his comeback at the Japanese Grand Prix but pre-race testing revealed his neck was not strong enough.
Wendlinger recovered from his injuries before the start of the 1995 Formula One season, where he would be driving at Sauber alongside Frentzen. However, he performed poorly and was reluctantly replaced in the team before the Monaco Grand Prix, a year on from the accident, by Jean-Christophe Boullion. Peter Sauber then recalled Wendlinger for the final two races of the season in one last attempt to regain his pre-accident form, without success. These were his last races in Formula One.

After Formula One

Since then, he has competed successfully in sports cars and touring cars, winning the FIA GT Championship 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 teammate in 2006 was Phillip Peter, and in 2007 his teammate was Scottish driver, Ryan Sharp.
2007 Wendlinger competed at the 24 Hours of Daytona with Sigal Sport team in a BMW powered Riley DP. He crashed during the night on his in lap at the end of his second stint and was sent to the hospital as a precaution. The car eventually was retired from the damage.

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.

Racing record

Complete International Formula 3000 results

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234567891011Pts
1990RSM MarkoLola T90/50CosworthDON
DNQ		SIL
14		PAUJER
DNQ		MNZ
Ret		PER
Ret		HOC
5		BRH
DNQ		BIR
10		BUGNOG
9		21st2
1991RSM MarkoReynard 91DCosworthVALPAUJER
5		MUGPER
Ret		HOC
3		BRHSPA
Ret		BUG
Ret		NOG12th6

Complete Formula One results

YearEntrantChassisEngine1234567891011121314151617WDCPts
1991Leyton House RacingLeyton House CG911Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10USABRASMRMONCANMEXFRAGBRGERHUNBELITAPORESPJPN
Ret		AUS
20		NC0
1992March F1March CG911Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10RSA
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		JPNAUS12th3
1993Team Sauber Formula 1Sauber C12Sauber 2175A 3.5 V10RSA
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		12th7
1994Broker Sauber MercedesSauber C13Mercedes-Benz 2175B 3.5 V10BRA
6		PAC
Ret		SMR
4		MON
DNS		ESPCANFRAGBRGERHUNBELITAPOREURJPNAUS19th4
1995Red Bull Sauber FordSauber C14Ford ECA Zetec-R 3.0 V8BRA
Ret		ARG
Ret		SMR
Ret		ESP
13		MONCANFRAGBRGERHUNBELITAPOREURPACJPN
10		AUS
Ret		NC0

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft/Masters results

YearTeamCar12345678910111213141516171819202122Pts
1989Star-Marko RSMMercedes 190 E 2.3-16ZOL
1
27		ZOL
2
Ret		HOC
1
23		HOC
2
16		NÜR
1
23		NÜR
2
DNS		MFA
1
17		MFA
2
14		AVU
1
25		AVU
2
DNS		NÜR
1		NÜR
2		NOR
1
Ret		NOR
2
DNS		HOC
1
18		HOC
2
19		DIE
1
22		DIE
2
14		NÜR
1
17		NÜR
2
Ret		HOC
1
17		HOC
2
20		30th20
1990AMG Motorenbau GmbHMercedes 190 E 2.5-16 EvoZOL
1		ZOL
2		HOC
1		HOC
2		NÜR
1		NÜR
2		AVU
1		AVU
2		MFA
1		MFA
2		WUN
1		WUN
2		NÜR
1		NÜR
2		NOR
1
23		NOR
2
15		DIE
1
12		DIE
2
13		NÜR
1		NÜR
2		NC0
1990AMG Motorenbau GmbHMercedes 190 E 2.5-16 Evo IIHOC
1
Ret		HOC
2
DNS		NC0
2002Abt SportslineAbt-Audi TT-RHOC
QR
10		HOC
CR
6		ZOL
QR
12		ZOL
CR
18		DON
QR
7		DON
CR
5		SAC
QR
21†		SAC
CR
DNS		NOR
QR
Ret		NOR
CR
12		LAU
QR
10		LAU
CR
Ret		NÜR
QR
6		NÜR
CR
12		A1R
QR
13		A1R
CR
16		ZAN
QR
9		ZAN
CR
19		HOC
QR
4		HOC
CR
Ret		14th3
2003Abt SportslineAbt-Audi TT-RHOC
15		ADR
12		NÜR
16		LAU
13		NOR
11		DON
15		NÜR
11		A1R
16		ZAN
8		HOC
17		16th1

YearTeamCarClass1234567891011Pts
1998Viper Team OrecaChrysler Viper GTS-RGT2OSC
2		SIL
Ret		HOC
2		DIJ
2		HUN
Ret		SUZ
2		DON
3		A1R
1		HOM
Ret		LAG
DNS		3rd38
1999Chrysler Viper Team OrecaChrysler Viper GTS-RGT2MNZ
1		SIL
1		HOCHUN
2		ZOL
1		OSC
1		DON
1		HOM
2		GLN
2		ZHU
1		1st78
2004JMB RacingFerrari 575-GTC MaranelloGTMNZ
Ret		VAL
4		MAG
2		HOC
11		BRN
2		DON
1		SPA
4		IMO
9		OSC
4		DUB
Ret		ZHU
5		8th50.5
2005JMB RacingMaserati MC12 GT1GT1MNZ
5		MAG
1		SIL
4		IMO
4		BRN
2		SPA
2		OSC
2		IST
3		ZHU
6		DUB
4		BHR
Ret		4th71
2006Race AllianceAston Martin DBR9GT1SIL
Ret		BRN
Ret		OSC
7		SPA
8		PRI
4		DIJ
2		MUG
1		HUN
Ret		ADR
Ret		DUB
5		14th32.5
2007Jetalliance RacingAston Martin DBR9GT1ZHU
9		SIL
4		BUC
4		MNZ
1		OSC
Ret		SPA
Ret		ADR
1		BRN
2		NOG
5		ZOL
1		2nd57
2008Jetalliance RacingAston Martin DBR9GT1SIL
1		MNZ
7		ADR
Ret		OSC
1		SPA
Ret		BUC
DNS		BUCBRN
1		NOG
5		ZOL
3		SAN9th44
2009K plus K MotorsportSaleen S7RGT1SIL
1		ADR
Ret		OSC
10		SPABUC
DSQ		ALGPRIZOL18th10

Complete GT1 World Championship results

Helmet

Wendlinger's helmet is yellow with 2 blue parallel lines in the middle of the helmet, a blue circle on the top and 3 red white red arrows between the parallel lines.