Karl Wendlinger

Karl Wendlinger
Born	(1968-12-20) December 20, 1968 Kufstein, Austria
Occupation	Racing driver
Years active	1988–2008 (approximate, based on career timeline)
Known for	Formula One driver, FIA GT Champion

Karl Wendlinger (; born 20 December 1968) is an Austrian professional racing driver who formerly competed in Formula One.

Mercedes Juniors

Originating from Kufstein, Wendlinger started his motorsport journey in karting and Formula Ford, progressing to the German Formula 3 Championship in 1988. After a tenth-place finish in his rookie season, he captured the championship title in 1989, which led to a position with the Mercedes-Benz sportscar outfit in 1990.

Piloting the Sauber-Mercedes C11 alongside teammates such as Michael Schumacher, Heinz-Harald Frentzen, Mauro Baldi, and Jean-Louis Schlesser, the squad concluded the 1990 World Sportscar Championship ranked fifth overall.

In 1991, Wendlinger remained active with Mercedes in sportscar racing while also competing in Formula 3000 for the Helmut Marko team. Later that year, Mercedes’ team principal Jochen Neerpasch facilitated entries for protégés Schumacher and Wendlinger into Formula One; Schumacher joined Jordan before transferring to Benetton, whereas Wendlinger made his debut with Leyton House during the final two Grands Prix of the season.

1991–1992: Leyton House/March

Wendlinger’s Formula One debut occurred at the 1991 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka, where he brought financial backing to the struggling Leyton House team, taking over from veteran driver Ivan Capelli. He qualified in 22nd position but retired early due to a multi-car collision at the first corner. His subsequent race in Adelaide featured wet conditions; he finished 20th, two laps down from winner Ayrton Senna, hindered by aquaplaning issues.

Retained by the rebranded March team for 1992, alongside teammate Paul Belmondo, Wendlinger faced budgetary challenges following Leyton House’s withdrawal. The team made only minor modifications to accommodate his taller stature. Despite these limitations, he demonstrated potential by qualifying seventh at the season-opening South African Grand Prix. However, resource constraints affected performance—for example, at the Spanish Grand Prix, rival Footwork incurred a penalty for a late tire change but still scored points; March could not afford such risks, resulting in Wendlinger finishing eighth.

At the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, high attrition rates enabled Wendlinger to secure fourth place—a notable accomplishment given his team’s financial difficulties. These three championship points positioned him 12th overall in the Drivers' standings, ahead of drivers like Ivan Capelli, Thierry Boutsen, and Johnny Herbert.

1993–1995: Sauber

Wendlinger returned to Peter Sauber’s outfit in 1993 as it entered Formula One competition. The team showed competitive promise early on, with Wendlinger and teammate JJ Lehto running near the front of the pack. Although initially trailing Lehto, Wendlinger delivered strong qualifying results—including fifth at Donington—and experienced some misfortune during races. Following a collision with Lehto at Monaco—attributed to Lehto—Wendlinger’s form improved, consistently scoring points and achieving a best finish of fourth at the Italian Grand Prix. He concluded the year 12th in the Drivers' Championship with seven points, finishing ahead of Lehto.

In 1994, Mercedes officially re-entered Formula One by investing in Ilmor and supplying engines to Sauber. Heinz-Harald Frentzen replaced Lehto as Wendlinger's teammate. Wendlinger began the season strongly by earning points at Interlagos and securing fourth place at San Marino—a race notably overshadowed by the tragic deaths of Roland Ratzenberger and Ayrton Senna.

During practice at Monaco, Wendlinger suffered a serious accident caused by insufficient barrier protection. He remained in a coma for several weeks and missed the remainder of the season. Although there were plans for him to return at the Japanese Grand Prix, testing revealed that his neck strength was inadequate for competition.

Wendlinger recovered sufficiently to race in 1995 with Sauber—now powered by Ford—alongside Frentzen but struggled to regain form and was replaced before Monaco by Jean-Christophe Boullion. Peter Sauber brought him back for the final two races of the season in an effort to revive his performance; however, this proved unsuccessful. Wendlinger later admitted that his crash at Monaco had left him unable to meet the physical demands required by Formula One.

Post-Formula One Career

After concluding his tenure in Formula One, Wendlinger achieved notable success in both sports car and touring car disciplines. A highlight includes clinching the FIA GT Championship title in 1999 alongside teammate Olivier Beretta. He took part in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series with Abt-Audi during the 2002 and 2005 seasons. Subsequently, Wendlinger made a return to the FIA GT Championship, competing with JMB Racing behind the wheel of a Maserati MC12 alongside Andrea Bertolini.

Beginning in 2006, Wendlinger became a part of JetAlliance Racing within the FIA GT Championship. His co-drivers included Phillip Peter in 2006 and Ryan Sharp from Scotland in 2007. That same year, he also entered the 24 Hours of Daytona endurance race with Sigal Sport, piloting a BMW-powered Riley DP; however, his campaign ended prematurely due to an accident.

2008

Wendlinger remained with JetAlliance Racing for the 2008 season, again partnered by Ryan Sharp. Their efforts culminated in a significant triumph at Silverstone’s RAC Tourist Trophy, where they emerged victorious in both the GT1 category and overall standings, finishing ahead of formidable rivals such as Michael Bartels and Andrea Bertolini’s Maserati MC12.

Personal Details

Wendlinger is married and has two children. His son, Jonas Wendlinger, pursues a professional football career as a goalkeeper for Almere City FC, a club based in the Netherlands.

Summary of Career

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	Fastest Laps	Podiums	Points	Final Standing
1987	German Formula Ford 1600		?	?	?	?	?	208	7th
	European Formula Ford 1600		?	?	?	?	?	8	15th
1988	Austrian Formula Three Championship	Krafft Walzen Team	?	?	?	?	?	?	1st
	German Formula Three Championship		11	0	0	0	0	69	11th
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
1989	Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft	Star-Marko RSM	16	0	0	0	0	20	30th
	German Formula Three Championship	Krafft Walzen Team Marko RSM	11	2	1	2	5	164	1st
			Macau Grand Prix	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
1990	International Formula 3000 Championship	RSM Marko	6	0	0	0	0	2	19th
	Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft	AMG Motorenbau GmbH	5	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	World Sportscar Championship	Team Sauber Mercedes	4	1	0	0	3	21	5th
1991	World Sportscar Championship	Team Sauber Mercedes	5	1	1	0	2	43	9th
	"International Formula 3000 Championship"	"RSM Marko"	5	0	0	0	1	6	12th
	"Formula One"	"Leyton House Racing"	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	"24 Hours of Le Mans"	"Team Sauber Mercedes"	1	0	1	0	0	N/A	5th	-	"1992"	"Formula One World Championship"	"March F1"	14	0	0	0	0	3	12th	-	"24 Hours of Le Mans"	"Peugeot Talbot Sport"	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF	-	1993	"Formula One World Championship"	"Team Sauber Formula 1"	16	0	0	0	0	7	12th	-	1994	"Formula One World Championship"	"Broker Sauber Mercedes"	3	0	0	0	0	4	19th	-	"1995"	"Formula One World Championship"	"Red Bull Sauber Ford"	6	0	0	0	0	0	NC	-	"BPR Global GT Series"	"March One Racing"	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC Full German Formula Three results (key) (Races shown in bold denote pole position; those in italics represent fastest lap) Year Team Engine Category 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Final standing Points 1988 Krafft Walzen Team Alfa Romeo A ZOL Retired HOC Retired NÜR 6th BRN 6th HOC 11th MFA 15th NOR Cancelled WUN Retired SAL 16th NÜR 4th HUN 6th HOC Retired 11th place 69 points 1989 Krafft Walzen Team Alfa Romeo A HOC Did not start NÜR 4th AVU 1st BRN 4th ÖST < br > 4th HOC < br > 2nd WUN < br > 4th HOC < br > 1st DIE < br > 3rd NÜR < br > 2nd NÜR < br > 7th HOC < br > 14th 1st place 164 points Full International Formula 3000 results ( key) (Pole positions are in bold; fastest laps are in italics) Year Team Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Final rank Points scored 1990 RSM Marko Lola T90/50 Cosworth DON < br > Did not qualify SIL < br > 14th PAU JER < br > Did not qualify MNZ < br > Retired PER < br > Retired HOC < br > 5th BRH < br > Did not qualify BIR < br > 10th BUG NOG < br > 9th 21st position 2 points 1991 International Formula 3000 season #1991 nowrap #RSM Marko nowrap #Reynard Motorsport #Reynard 91D Cosworth ACI Vallelunga Circuit#VAL Pau Grand Prix#PAU style=“background:#DFFFDF;”>Circuito de Jerez#JER {{{1}}} | Mugello Circuit#MUG style=“background:#EFCFFF;”>Autodromo di Pergusa#PER Template:Small Retired | style=“background:#FFDF9F;”>Hockenheimring#HOC Template:Small 3rd | Brands Hatch#BRH style=“background:#EFCFFF;”>Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps#SPA Template:Small Retired | style=“background:#EFCFFF;”>Bugatti Circuit#BUG Template:Small Retired | Circuit Paul Armagnac#NOG 12th overall 6 points Full Formula One Results (key) 1993 nowrap |Team Sauber Formula 1 nowrap |Sauber C12 nowrap |Sauber 2175A 3.5 V10 style = "background: #EFCFFF" |RSA < br/> Retired style = "background: #EFCFFF" |BRA < br/> Retired style = "background: #EFCFFF" |EUR < br/> Retired style = "background: #EFCFFF" |SMR < br/> Retired style = "background: #EFCFFF" |ESP < br/> Retired style = "background: #CFCFFF" |MON < br/> 13th style = "background: #DFFFDF" |CAN < br/> 6th style = "background: #EFCFFF" |FRA < br/> Retired style = "background: #EFCFFF" |GBR < br/> Retired style = "background: #CFCFFF" |GER < br/> 9th style = "background: #DFFFDF" |HUN < br/> 6th style = "background: #EFCFFF" |BEL < br/> Retired style = "background: #DFFFDF" |ITA < br/> 4th style = "background: #DFFFDF" |POR < br/> 5th style = "background: #EFCFFF" |JPN < br/> Retired style = "background: #CFCFFF" |AUS < br/> 15th 1994 nowrap |Sauber Broker Sauber Mercedes nowrap (Sauber C13) nowrap (Mercedes AMG High Performance Powertrains Mercedes-Benz Ilmor 2175B V10) style = "background: #DFFFDF" (Brazilian GP) (6th) style = "background: #EFCFFF" (Pacific GP) (Retired) style = "background: #DFFFDF" (San Marino GP) (4th) DNS (Monaco GP) [[1995 Formula One season || 95] Red Bull Sauber Ford] nowrap (Sauber C14) nowrap (Ford Cosworth ECA Zetec-R V8) Retired (Brazilian GP) Retired (Argentine GP) Retired (San Marino GP) (13th) (Spanish GP) Year Team Car Model Power Unit 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Position Points 1991 Leyton House Racing Leyton House CG911 Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10 USA BRA SMR MON CAN MEX FRA GBR GER HUN BEL ITA POR ESP JPN Retired AUS 20th Not Classified 0 1992 March F1 March CG911 Ilmor 2175A 3.5 V10 RSA Retired MEX Retired BRA Retired ESP 8th SMR 12th MON Retired CAN 4th FRA Retired GBR Retired GER 16th HUN Retired BEL 11th style="background:#CFCFFF;" |ITA 10th style="background:#EFCFFF;" |POR Retired JPN AUS 12th 3 12th 7 19th 4 Not Classified 0 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Vehicle Category Completed Laps Pos. Class Pos. 1991 Team Sauber Mercedes Michael Schumacher Fritz Kreutzpointner Mercedes-Benz C11 C2 355 5th 5th 1992 Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Peugeot Talbot Sport Template:Country data BELTemplate:Namespace detect showall Eric van de Poele Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Alain Ferté Peugeot 905 Evo 1B C1 208 DNF DNF 1996 Porsche AG Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Yannick Dalmas Scott Goodyear Porsche 911 GT1 GT1 341 3rd 2nd 1997 Roock Racing Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Stéphane Ortelli Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showall Allan McNish Porsche 911 GT1 GT1 8 DNF DNF 1998 Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Viper Team Oreca Template:Country data BELTemplate:Namespace detect showall Marc Duez Template:Country data NLDTemplate:Namespace detect showall Patrick Huisman Chrysler Viper GTS-R GT2 28 DNF DNF 1999 Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showallSRT Viper Team Oreca Template:Country data MCOTemplate:Namespace detect showallOlivier Beretta Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showallDominique Dupuy Chrysler Viper GTS-R GTS 325 10th 1st 2000 Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showallSRT Viper Team Oreca Template:Country data MCOTemplate:Namespace detect showallOlivier Beretta Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showallDominique Dupuy Chrysler Viper GTS-R GTS 333 7th 1st 2001 Template:Country data FRATemplate:Namespace detect showall Team PlayStation Template:Country data MCOTemplate:Namespace detect showallOlivier Beretta Template:Country data PRTTemplate:Namespace detect showallPedro Lamy Chrysler LMP LMP900 298 4th 3rd 2008 Template:Country data GBRTemplate:Namespace detect showallAston Martin Racing Heinz-Harald Frentzen Template:Country data ITATemplate:Namespace detect showallAndrea Piccini Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 339 16th 4th Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft/Masters results ((key)) (Races in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics signify fastest lap) † — Retired but classified as having completed over 90% of the winner's distance. Full Super Tourenwagen Cup results (key) (Races shown in bold denote pole position) (Races in italics signify fastest lap) Year Team Vehicle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos. Points 1996 A.Z.K./ROC Audi A4 Quattro ZOL 1 5th ZOL 2 Retired ASS 1 5th ASS 2 5th HOC 1 3rd HOC 2 2nd SAC 1 4th SAC 2 4th WUN 1 3rd WUN 2 4th ZWE 1 7th ZWE 2 Retired SAL 1 12th SAL 2 13th AVU 1 6th AVU 2 5th NÜR 1 10th NÜR 2 5th 5th 366 Full Italian Touring Car Championship results (key) (Races in bold represent pole position) (Races in italics show fastest lap) Year Team Vehicle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos. Points 1997 Audi Sport Italia Audi A4 Quattro MNZ 1 3rd MNZ 2 4th MUG 1 3rd MUG 2 4th MAG 1 Retired MAG 2 Retired IMO 1 6th IMO 2 6th IMO 1 3rd IMO 2 7th BIN 1 3rd style="background:#FFDF9F;" | getBIN 2 {{{1}}}3rd} Full FIA GT Championship results (key) (Entries in bold denote pole positions) (Entries in italics signify fastest laps) Year Team Vehicle Category 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Pos. Points 1998 Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R GT2 OSC 2nd SIL Retired HOC 2nd DIJ 2nd HUN Retired SUZ 2nd DON 3rd A1R 1st HOM Retired LAG Did Not Start Third place 38 1999 Chrysler Viper Team Oreca Chrysler Viper GTS-R GT2 MNZ Winner SIL Winner HOC HUN 2nd ZOL Winner OSC Winner DON Winner HOM 2nd GLN 2nd ZHU Winner Champion 78 Year Team Vehicle Category Summary of Results Pos. Points JMB Racing Ferrari 575-GTC Maranello GT Multiple top-five finishes including a victory at Donington, runner-up placements at Magny-Cours and Brno; retirements at Monza and Dubai. 8th 50.5 JMB Racing Maserati MC12 GT1 Achieved a win at Magny-Cours, consistent podium appearances and top-five results; retired once in Bahrain. 4th 71 JetAlliance Racing Aston Martin DBR9 Varied outcomes with a Mugello win, several retirements, and some top-five finishes. 14th 32.5 Jetalliance Racing Aston Martin DBR9 Secured three victories at Monza, Adria, and Zolder; concluded the season as runner-up. 2nd 57 Jetalliance Racing Aston Martin DBR9 Wins recorded at Tourist Trophy, Oschersleben, and Brno; multiple retirements impacted final ranking. 9th 44 K plus K Motorsport Saleen S7R Claimed victory at the Tourist Trophy; limited race participation resulted in a lower championship position. 18th 10 Full GT1 World Championship Outcomes Year Team Vehicle 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos. Points 2010 Swiss Racing Team Nissan GT-R GT1 ABU QR 9 ABU CR 14 SIL QR 15 SIL CR Ret BRN QR 12 BRN CR 10 PRI QR 21 PRI CR 15 SPA QR 16 SPA CR 12 NÜR QR 14 NÜR CR 10 ALG QR Ret ALG CR 20 NAV QR 14 NAV CR Ret INT QR 17 INT CR 18 SAN QR 7 SAN CR Ret 43rd 2 2011 Swiss Racing Team Lamborghini Murciélago LP 670 R-SV ABU QR 10 ABU CR 7 ZOL QR 4 ZOL CR 4 ALG QR 10 ALG CR 5 SAC QR 12 SAC CR Ret 16th 31 Helmet Wendlinger's helmet displays a yellow background accented by two parallel blue stripes running centrally, topped with a blue circle, and adorned with three red-white-red arrows positioned between the stripes. External links Official website [in German]