Karl Wendlinger (born 20 December 1968) is an Austrian professional racing and former Formula One driver. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Born in Kufstein, Austria, Karl Wendlinger’s grandfather ran a garage business and in the 1960s competed in hillclimbs, then his father also raced, first with a Fiat and then an Abarth 1000, and Karl would go to the races with him (on old wartime airfields like Zeltweg, Innsbruck and Langenlebarn). While racing in an Alfa Sud his father was asked by a young Gerhard Berger if he could help him find a similar car to use for racing. He and his father decided to share costs so bought an old truck to carry the cars on the back, and Karl, his father and Gerhard would travel together to the races.
Karl himself started with a kart when he was fourteen and this was followed by Formula Ford, where he won the Austrian FFord Championship plus had several good races in Germany. Gerhard Berger brought him to Helmut Marko’s attention and a Formula 3 programme was arranged for 1988 but despite the first few races being a disappointment he turned it round and went on to win the Austrian F3 championship.
The following year saw him in the German series and he took the championship by one point, with Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen in joint second place. While competing in F3 he also raced an AMG Mercedes in the DTM and as many of the DTM races were at the same event as his F3 races, he would go straight from his single-seater to a touring car, sometimes not even having time to change his overalls.
Then came a test of a Sauber Group C car at Paul Ricard, together with Michael Schumacher and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, and they would go on to be part of the Mercedes team in the World Sportscar Championship. In 1990, he did four races with Jochen Mass, and at their first race in Suzuka they finished second, followed by victory at Spa while in the following year he and Michael Schumacher won at Autopolis, were second at Silverstone and finished fifth at Le Mans. During this time he was also competing in F3000 for Helmut Marko’s team plus did a number of DTM races and made his Formula One debut with Leyton House for the final races of the season in Japan and Australia.
He stayed with March for a full season of F1 (alongside Paul Belmondo) but they were competing on a shoestring budget, with an underdeveloped car, and Karl himself said “there was no money, and how they kept the team alive I don’t know.” Despite this he qualified for every race, starting with seventh in the season’s first race Kyalami (though retired from the race) then achieved an impressive fourth place finish in Canada.
For 1993, he was re-united with Peter Sauber, and early on he and JJ Lehto mixed with the front runners with the Sauber C12. Karl qualified fifth at Donington but had to retire after being hit by another car on the first lap though there were points finishes with sixth place in Canada and Hungary, fifth in Portugal, and his season’s best result being fourth at the Italian Grand Prix.
In 1994’s opening race in Brazil he was running fourth in the closing stages until a misfire dropped him to sixth and then drove to fourth place in San Marino, though any result would be insignificant in view of the tragic events of that weekend. But then came Monaco and during the first practice session, Karl hit the wall sideways with considerable force and his head struck a water-filled barrier within the metal crash barrier. He remained in a coma for several weeks and it was a further 10 days before he realised he was in a hospital but it was feared his brain injuries were so severe that he would never again be able to live a normal life. However, several months later, after rehabilitation at Willy Dungl’s clinic he was back in an F1 car and he planned to return for the Japanese GP but pre-race testing revealed his neck was not strong enough. After further treatment with Willy Dungl, he returned for 1995 though later admitted he came back too early as his brain could not operate at the level of intense concentration as it could before the accident. After four races he was replaced, though returned for the last two Grands Prix of the year, but in Australia, he crashed in practice and injured his neck. He bravely qualified the team’s spare car but was in such severe pain that he had to stop after several laps and this would be his last race in Formula One.
After F1, Karl went on to compete successfully in sports cars and touring cars, and at Le Mans in 1996 he finished third in a Porsche 911 GT1, with S.Goodyear and Y.Dalmas. He went on to compete in the German STW series with Audi and in 1998 joined the ORECA team, who were running Dodge Vipers in endurance racing. Staying with the team for three seasons, he won the FIA GT Championship with Olivier Beretta, won his class at Le Mans, and won the Daytona 24 Hours in 2000.
There were also ALMS races in America and in 2001 he drove Chrysler’s LMP1 car at Le Mans (with O.Beretta and P.Lamy) to a fourth place finish. There was further DTM racing, with an ABT team Audi in 2002 and 2003 and over the following seasons he raced a variety of cars, including a Ferrari 550 Maranello, Maserati MC12, Aston Martin DBR9, Ford Saleen, Nissan GTR and a Lamborghini. In 2007 he competed in the 24 Hours of Daytona with Sigal Sport’s Riley DP, though crashed during the night and was sent to hospital as a precaution and while racing the Aston Martin and the Saleen (with Ryan Sharp) they had a number of wins, including Silverstone’s Tourist Trophy in 2008 and 2009.
In 2012 he began an involvement with Mercedes-Benz, racing a gullwing AMG SLS, plus as an ambassador for them did demonstrations, driver training and drove in classic events such as the Mille Miglia and Goodwood.
