Top 5 Austrian F1 drivers of all time

#4 Alexander Wurz

Alexander Wurz raced for famous Formula 1 teams including Benetton.

Alexander Wurz is perhaps better known for his exploits in enduring racing, winning the 24 hours of Le Mans twice, but the Austrian also had a successful F1 career. Midway through the 1997 season, Wurz was drafted into the Benetton team to stand-in for Gerhard Berger, someone we'll get on to soon. Mechanical troubles in Canada and a spin in France thanks to a sudden rain storm didn't leave a good impression on the team. However, a podium in Britain showed his speed and he was made a full time drive for '98. Wurz remained at Benetton until the year 2000, and did a solid job during this period, although he wouldn't stand on the podium during this time.

Wurz joined McLaren for 2001, but only as a test driver, he'd have to wait until 2005 for another start. Despite not starting a race for over four years, Wurz steered his McLaren to a podium finish at Imola. Williams hired him for 2006, again as a test driver, but 2007 would be the year in which he returned to F1 racing. Alex was outscored by 20-13 by Nico Rosberg over the course of the year, but you have to remember that Wurz was going up against a future World Champion. There was one more podium during this time, but a lack of consistent points sealed his fate and he wouldn't drive in Formula 1 again.