Alexander Wurz

Alexander Georg Wurz (German pronunciation: [ˌalɛˈksandɐ ˈɡeː.ɐ̯k vʊʁt͡s]; born 15 February 1974) is an Austrian former racing driver, motorsport executive and businessman, who competed in Formula One between 1997 and 2007. In endurance racing, Wurz is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1996 and 2009 with Joest and Peugeot, respectively.

Amongst several test driver roles, Wurz competed at 69 Grands Prix across six seasons with Benetton, McLaren, and Williams; he achieved three podiums. Since his retirement, he has been a commentator for television, as well as chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association. and occasionally a driver steward.

Alexander Georg Wurz was born on 15 February 1974 in Waidhofen an der Thaya, Lower Austria. He is the second son of former rallycross driver Franz Wurz, who won the European Rallycross Championship in 1974, 1976 and 1982. Wurz competed in cycling events in his youth, and won the BMX World Championship in 1986 at the age of 12.^{[citation needed]}

Like most Formula One drivers, Wurz's motorsport career began with karting. In 1991, Wurz drove in Formula Ford. In 1993, he switched to the German Formula Three Championship. During his time in Formula 3, Wurz crashed out of the lead at a race at AVUS in 1995 after a collision with the safety car. From 1996, Wurz drove an Opel Calibra for the Joest Racing touring car team in the DTM. Also in 1996, Wurz, together with Davy Jones and Manuel Reuter, won the Le Mans 24 Hours and in so doing became the youngest ever winner of the 24-hour race, a record he still holds.

Wurz's Formula One debut was on 15 June 1997 at Montreal for Benetton filling in for fellow Austrian Gerhard Berger, who could not race due to illness. Wurz achieved a podium position in his third race (1997 British Grand Prix) before returning to being a test driver upon Berger's return to the cockpit at the German Grand Prix, which Berger won.

Wurz was given a full-time race seat for the 1998 season with Benetton and spent three more seasons at the team, partnered each year by Giancarlo Fisichella. In 1998, he outscored Fisichella by one point to finish joint seventh in the driver's championship together with Heinz-Harald Frentzen. At the 1998 Monaco Grand Prix, he was running second ahead of Michael Schumacher for a brief period, but his hopes of a podium finish were ruined when Schumacher collided with him when tried to pass at Loews hairpin. The collision broke his suspension, causing him to spin off and crash at the Nouvelle Chicane exiting the tunnel.

The 1999 season was a disappointment for both drivers with the uncompetitive B199 (although Fisichella scored a podium in Canada). In the 2000 season, Wurz scored points only at the Italian Grand Prix, while Fisichella scored podium finishes three times. For 2001, Benetton's last season before its transformation into Renault, he was replaced with Jenson Button.

In 2001, Wurz was a test driver for McLaren. In 2002, he was almost promoted as race driver to replace Mika Häkkinen, but he remained as test driver after Kimi Räikkönen took over.