More than just a famous name
Nico Rosberg’s arrival on the F1 scene has inevitably attracted a lot of attention, but Williams is not the only team to welcome the return of a famous name this year. In Bahrain, MF1 Racing’s third driver, Markus Winkelhock, quietly got on with the job of testing tyres and set-ups for his teammates.
As a Friday driver, he might not have stolen many headlines at the opening race, but for fans of a certain generation, the return of the Winkelhock name to the Grand Prix scene is just as significant as that of Rosberg.
Markus, who will also drive the third car in Melbourne this weekend, is the son of Manfred Winkelhock, one of the top German drivers of the early Eighties. Manfred started 47 Grands Prix for the ATS, Brabham and RAM teams from 1982-’85, before a tragic accident in a World Sportscar Championship event at Canada’s Mosport circuit claimed his life in 1985.
A protégé of BMW’s motorsports division, Manfred was a hard-charging racer who had great flair at the wheel, but never really got the breaks during his short F1 career. He occasionally qualified the ATS well up the field, but only once made the points. His brother Jo, Markus’s uncle, drove for half a season with the AGS team in 1989.
Manfred is remembered as much for his colourful personality as his results on the track. He won many friends along the way, and some still work in the F1 paddock today. They include current Mercedes motorsport boss Norbert Haug, and TV commentator Marc Surer, who was a regular teammate. Both men have kept an eye on young Markus over the years, and were delighted to see him take to the track in Bahrain.
Markus Winkelhock showed his potential in the Renault World Series last year, and now he’s part of MF1 Racing’s squad of young test drivers. We sat down and spoke to him prior to the Australian Grand Prix.
You don’t have a race seat yet, but you’ve made the first step. What does it mean to be driving on Grand Prix weekends?“It’s really like a dream is coming true. Since I started my career in 1998 in Formula Koenig in Germany, my target was to make it to F1, like my father and my uncle. Today, I’m part of an F1 team, and I’m really grateful to Colin Kolles for giving me a chance to be a part of it. I hope to get as many Friday sessions as I can, and I’ll try to do as good a job as possible. You never know, maybe I can get a racing seat next year or in two years. I’ll work very hard for it.”
I’m guessing that your mother wasn’t too happy when you first decided to be a racing driver…“No, especially in the beginning, when I told her I wanted to start motor racing! She was really sad about it, obviously, because of what happened to my father. Now, on the one hand she’s happy for me, because I got the chance in F1, but on the other hand she’s afraid, and I think that’s normal. But overall, I think she’s proud of me.”
Your name helped you get attention when you started, but after a certain level, you have to have the ability. Have there been advantages and disadvantages?“Yes, both. Sometimes you have quite a lot of pressure with the name, and if you have no results, people decide quite quickly that you’re not fast enough and stuff like that. On the other side, I’ve got quite a lot of contacts, and it makes life a little bit easier sometimes.”
Norbert Haug of Mercedes is a big supporter. Can he help your career?“I hope so. I still have quite a lot of contact with him, and he’s a really nice person. I have to say a really big thank you to him, because he was the person who supported me from the beginning. He took me into the Mercedes junior team. He was the man who brought me to F3, and then into DTM with Mercedes. It’s important to have people like him and Marc Surer around me.”
Was the DTM a good experience for you?“It was a really nice experience. The only problem was that I had a year-old car, so it was almost impossible to get into the top five or even top 10. Anyway, it was good experience. But I think my step back to single-seaters last year was the right step for me.”
How was your Renault season in 2005?“The season had a lot of ups and downs! I had three victories and two or three poles, and I was always among the top four drivers. I think I had a chance to win the championship, but I lost a lot of points with stupid things like gearbox problems. But anyway, it was quite a good year. I think it’s a perfect series for preparing a driver, and there are a lot of strong drivers. We didn’t have as much press as GP2, but the championship was really strong.”
What was your first test with Midland like at the end of last year?“The first test was quite good. It was my first time in an F1 car, and it was a really nice experience. I felt confident very quickly with the car, because as I said, the Renault I drove last year was quite a good car for preparing a driver for F1. Those first laps were unbelievable. It was like a video game – everything was so fast, everything was more than in the Renault!”
How was your first Friday in Bahrain?“For me it was quite OK. In the first session, I had to learn the track first of all, and the car was absolutely brand new. Usually, you can have some little problems with a new car, but it ran very well. The test was very good for me. I was bit unlucky when we went out with less fuel and new tyres. I had a spin, and for three laps after I had yellow flags, so I couldn’t do a time with low fuel. Anyway, it was a good experience and the team was happy. It’s really something special to be here and be part of this team. They have so much passion and dedication for the sport, and I really think they can achieve something special in the future.”
