Alex Wurz Announces His Retirement From Active Racing
08 October 2007, Monaco & Oxford. The AT&T Williams
driver, Alex Wurz, today confirmed his retirement from active
racing in Formula One. Alex made his Formula One debut in
1997 with Benetton in Canada, since which time he has driven
for McLaren and most recently the AT&T Williams team,
as test driver in 2006 before taking on a race seat for the
2007 season. In ten seasons, Alex has made 69 Grand Prix starts,
with his most recent visit to the podium coming on the track
where his Formula One career began in Montréal.
Making his announcement, the 33 year old Austrian, who has
recently become a father for the third time, said, “I
would today like to announce my retirement from active racing
in Formula One. I would like to thank my family and fans,
everyone at AT&T Williams and my previous teams, as well
as the media, for all of their support during my Formula One
racing career.
In such a hard fought environment as Formula One, I have
always maintained that if you have a moment’s doubt
about what you are doing, then it is time to stop. Privately
I began to have these thoughts earlier this year and so have
decided that now is the time to make my announcement.
Racing this season has been a real pleasure, especially securing
the podium in Canada which was pretty sweet along with a number
of other strong races, but now it is time to call it a day.
I’d like to thank the team for accepting my decision
and I wish them all the best for the last race of the year.”
He concluded, “I look forward to my future and perhaps
the opportunity to pass on my knowledge and skills in Formula
One and I have some discussions underway. I may also race
again, perhaps in Le Mans or other categories and certainly
some of my time will now be committed to the very important
subject of road safety.”
In response to Alex’s announcement, AT&T Williams’
Team Principal, Frank Williams said, “Alex has made
an invaluable contribution to the team for the past two years,
first as one of the best test and development drivers the
team has ever worked with, and more recently as a race driver.
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