Markus Winkelhock German racing driver Date of Birth: 13.06.1980 Country: Germany

1. Biography of Markus Winkelhock
2. Early Career
3. DTM and World Series by Renault
4. Formula 1 and Return to DTM
5. Later Career

Biography of Markus Winkelhock

Markus Winkelhock is a German racing driver who participated in one Formula 1 Grand Prix, where he managed to lead a portion of the race. He is the son of Manfred Winkelhock and the nephew of Joachim Winkelhock, both of whom were racing drivers in the 1980s.

Early Career

Markus won several races in various junior formula series, including Formula Konig, German Formula Renault, and the Formula Renault Eurocup between 1998 and 2000. In 2001, he joined the German Formula 3 Championship and later moved to the Euro Series Formula 3 in 2003. He achieved fifth place in 2001 with three victories, seventh place in 2002 with one victory, and fourth place in 2003 with two victories.

DTM and World Series by Renault

In 2004, Markus shifted his focus to touring car racing and competed in the DTM championship driving for the Persson team with an AMG-Mercedes CLK. However, he failed to score any points throughout the season. He returned to open-wheel racing in 2005, joining the Draco team in the World Series by Renault. He scored three victories but also experienced some unfortunate incidents, including crashes during qualifying and the first lap of the Monaco race.

Formula 1 and Return to DTM

On January 24, 2006, Markus Winkelhock was confirmed as a test and reserve driver for the Midland F1 team (formerly Jordan Grand Prix) for the 2006 Formula 1 season. He participated in Friday practice sessions for the Bahrain, Australia, Germany, and Hungary Grands Prix. He signed a contract with the team for the 2007 season when it was renamed Spyker F1.

After Christian Albers was fired from Spyker, Winkelhock was confirmed as the main driver for the European Grand Prix in July 2007. However, his contract was only for one race, and Sato Yamamoto replaced him for the rest of the season. In the European Grand Prix, Winkelhock started 22nd at the back of the grid, but due to rain, he pitted for intermediate tires before the start and took the lead. He built a 33-second lead over the second-place driver after the second lap. The race was ultimately stopped due to multiple incidents, and Winkelhock did not finish the race due to hydraulic issues. Despite leading for six laps, Spyker refused his services for the remainder of the season due to insufficient sponsorship. He was replaced by Sato Yamamoto.

Later Career

Winkelhock replaced Dutch driver Christian Albers during the 2007 season. He holds the interesting record of leading in every Grand Prix he participated in. In his debut race at the 2007 European Grand Prix, he sensationally took the lead at the start of the race as heavy rain began and all drivers went to the pits for wet tires. He even overtook future world champion Kimi Raikkonen in the race for the lead. However, after the restart, the championship contenders easily overtook him in the slower Spyker car, and he retired from the race. Winkelhock returned to the German touring car series Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) after leaving Spyker and continues to compete for the Team Rosberg, using previous year's Audi cars.