Oliver White
Experienced test driver and current Wiliams pilot Alex Wurz has announced his retirement from competitive Formula One, having decided to stop racing after the Brazilian Grand Prix at the end of October. The comes as no surprise as speculation has surrounded the Austrian’s future from pretty much the start of the year. Williams appear to be keen to keep Wurz on as a test driver, but it has been stated by team bosses that the second seat is under contention by a handful of drivers; Kazuki Nakajima, Nelson Piquet Jr and Adrian Sutil.
Autosport.com are reporting that Wurz made his decision after his podium at the Canadian Grand Prix earlier in the year, and that the Austrian 33 year old even considered stopping then to end his career on a high. However, out of respect to Williams Alex has continued for the remainder of the year and will bow out in Interlagos at the season finale.
I respect Alex Wurz for his intelligence and set-up ability. His racing skill in some races has been very good too. That said, he never got to grips with qualifying, and I think that was what set the seal on his career. But if Williams can find a way of making him chief tester, perhaps with responsibility for developing the more inexperienced drivers on Williams’ books, than Williams would benefit a lot from that.