Alex Wurz names the F1 team who ‘threatened’ him to stop him talking about his car’s problems

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Alex Wurz is one of those drivers whose record suggests that they should’ve had plenty of opportunity in Formula 1.

But somehow, that isn’t the case for the Austrian who competed in just four full-time seasons of racing in the sport between 1997 and 2007.

He scored three podiums for two teams in that time, competing for Benetton just as they were slumping from their championships wins, before six years as a test driver and one final year with Williams.

Now the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, he helps the current drivers with issues within the political and sporting landscape of the sport.

Alex Wurz admits being ‘threatened’ by Benetton in 2000

After a great start to life in Formula 1 as a full-time driver in 1998, Wurz beat his then-teammate Giancarlo Fisichella to eighth in the drivers’ championship by one point.

From there he experimented with the car more, coinciding with a drop in form from his Benetton team, which left him in a tricky predicament during the 2000 season.

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He only ended up taking points once that season, and revealed to the F1 website that he was warned not to discuss any issues that the car had.

“In 2000, the car was too heavy, and I couldn’t speak about it because the team threatened me about disclosing the issues we had.

“The budget was going down, we had ‘brain drain’, then I fell out with the management, and it wasn’t the speed but the surroundings which meant I had to change team.”

Why Wurz could’ve raced for even longer

After leaving Benetton in 2000, Wurz then wasted what could have been some of his prime years as a test and reserve driver for McLaren, until switching to Williams in 2006.

The gamble he took in the hope that he would secure a top Formula 1 drive didn’t come to fruition, and after a year working behind the scenes with Williams, he found a way back onto the grid for 2007.

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By this stage, he was 33 years old and had only spent three seasons in the sport – the testing mileage he had racked up over the years was valuable, but one thing thwarted his career and stopped it from going on any longer.

The Austrian couldn’t stand being slightly slower than a young Nico Rosberg in qualifying, despite being impressive during races and wrapped up at the end of 2007.

He finished 11th that year, just seven points behind Rosberg, but did go on to race in other categories before passing the baton on to his children.