Walter Grubmüller
Walter Grubmüller | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 13, 1989 Vienna, Austria |
| Occupation | Racing driver |
| Years active | 2000–2012 |
Walter Grubmüller (born 13 January 1989 in Vienna) is a retired Austrian racing driver.
Karting
Grubmüller initiated his karting career in Austria in 2000 and advanced to international events by 2002, participating in the South Garda Winter Cup. In 2003, he competed in the ICA Junior category, achieving seventh place in the European Championship and tying for 24th in the Italian Open Masters. The following year, he continued in ICA Junior while also making appearances in the Formula Renault Monza series. Racing with MGM Racing using a Birel kart, he secured eighth place in the Andrea Margutti Trophy and finished third in the Italian Open Masters, trailing behind Philipp Eng and Marco Wittmann.
Formula Renault
In 2004, Grubmüller took part in four races of the Formula Renault Monza series with BVM Minardi, earning eight points in the 1600cc class. The next year, he joined Jenzer Motorsport to compete in both the Eurocup and Italian Formula Renault championships. While he did not score points in the Eurocup, he collected three points in Italy and added twelve points during the Winter Series, where his best result was fourth at Adria. Staying with Jenzer Motorsport for 2006, he showed modest progress before transferring mid-season to Twincam Motorsport. There, he scored points with a fifth and an eighth place finish at Donington Park, concluding the Eurocup season 19th overall and placing 20th in the Italian championship, with his top finish being sixth at Hockenheim.
Formula Three
Following a handful of races in Asian and Australian Formula Three during 2006–07, Grubmüller entered British Formula 3 in 2007 driving for Hitech Racing—a team partly owned by his father Walter. Teammates included Marko Asmer, who ultimately won the championship. Grubmüller managed to score points in only four races and came 18th at Macau. He wrapped up the year competing in three Asian F3 events for Aran Racing, where he earned two podium finishes and ended ninth overall.
In 2008, Max Chilton replaced Asmer as Grubmüller’s teammate. Although Grubmüller demonstrated greater consistency that year, his highest placement was fourth during rounds supporting Monza events, finishing 14th overall. At Macau, he outperformed both Chilton and Roberto Merhi by finishing eighth, becoming Hitech’s leading driver there.
The 2009 season represented a significant step forward. Initially, Hitech intended to field only Grubmüller but later signed Sam Abay; however, Abay was unable to obtain a UK work permit. Grubmüller achieved his first two Formula Three podiums at Oulton Park. Renger van der Zande joined as his teammate ahead of round two to provide support. Grubmüller secured his maiden victories at Hockenheim and Donington but ultimately finished second behind Daniel Ricciardo, who clinched the title before the season’s end. With van der Zande returning to the Formula Three Euroseries prior to the final round at Brands Hatch, Grubmüller solidified second place overall by outperforming van der Zande by ten points through two fifth-place finishes.
Formula Renault 3.5 Series
At the end of 2008, Grubmüller conducted testing sessions with British squad P1 Motorsport at the Paul Ricard track driving a Formula Renault 3.5 Series car. This collaboration extended into 2009 with additional tests at Motorland Aragón and Barcelona circuits. In January 2010, he was officially announced as one of P1 Motorsport's drivers for the 2010 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season, partnered with rookie Jan Charouz.
Karting career overview
| Season | Competition | Final standing |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | CIK-FIA Karting European Championship - ICA Junior | 7th place |
| Italian Open Masters - ICA Junior | 24th place | |
| 33rd Torneo Industrie - 100 Junior | 11th place | |
| Tropeo Invernal Ayrton Senna - 100 Junior | 9th place | |
| European Central Region - ICA Junior | 13th place | |
| 2004 | Italian Open Masters - ICA Junior | 3rd place |
| Andrea Margutti Trophy - ICA Junior | 8th place | |
| 9th South Garda Winter Cup - 100 Junior | 7th place |
Career summary
| Season | Series | Team | Races entered | Victories | Pole positions | Fastest laps | Podium finishes | Points scored | Final ranking |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Formula Renault Monza | BVM Minardi Junior | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 23rd place |
| 2005 | Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 | Jenzer Motorsport | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Not Classified (NC) |
| Italian Formula Renault 2.0 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27th place | ||
| Italian Formula Renault Winter Series | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 11th place |
† – Grubmüller participated as a guest driver and was therefore not eligible to earn points.
Full Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Performance Records
(key) (Events highlighted in bold represent pole positions; those in italics denote fastest laps)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Championship Position | Points Scored | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Jenzer Motorsport | ZOL 1 24 |
ZOL 2 Ret |
VAL 1 Ret |
VAL 2 16 |
LMS 1 26 |
LMS 2 Ret |
BIL 1 21 |
BIL 2 24 |
OSC 1 16 |
OSC 2 17 |
DON 1 Ret |
DON 2 Ret |
EST 1 23 |
EST 2 13 |
MNZ 1 Ret |
MNZ 2 Ret |
36th | 0 | |
| 2006 | Jenzer Motorsport | ZOL 1 17 |
ZOL 2 27 |
IST 1 12 |
IST 2 18 |
MIS 1 22 |
MIS 2 16 |
NÜR 1 Ret |
NÜR 2 DNS |
DON 1 5 |
DON 2 8 |
– | – | |||||||
British Formula 3 International Series Comprehensive Results
(Template:Motorsport driver results legend#British F3 results legend) (Bold indicates pole position; italics mark fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Chassis Model | Engine Manufacturer | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Championship Standing | Total Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 British Formula 3 International Series | Hitech Racing | Dallara F307 | Mercedes-Benz |
style=background:#CFCFFF; text-align:center; "|OUL |
16th |
7 |
|
nowrap | P1 Motorsport |
14th | 42 | |
|---|
† Driver did not complete the race but was classified, having covered more than ninety percent of the total distance.
External links
- Pages with script errors
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- 1989 births
- Living people
- Vienna-born racing drivers
- Austrian motorsport competitors
- World Series Formula V8 3.5 competitors
- Italian Formula Renault 1.6 participants
- British Formula Three Championship competitors
- Australian Formula 3 Championship participants
- Asian Formula Three Championship competitors
- Formula Renault Eurocup participants
- Italian Formula Renault 2.0 competitors
- Toyota Racing Series participants
- Formula 3 Sudamericana competitors
- Auto GP participants
- P1 Motorsport team drivers
- Hitech Grand Prix team drivers
- Jenzer Motorsport drivers
- BVM Racing team drivers
- Charouz Racing System drivers
- Formula Renault Eurocup drivers