Karl Wendlinger drove in Formula 1 from 1991 to 1995 – The Austrian owes his success to Helmut Marko and Gerhard Berger
In the 1990s, Austrian Karl Wendlinger made the leap into Formula 1. The racing driver from Kufstein contested 41 races from 1991 to 1995 and scored a total of 14 world championship points. Wendlinger drove for Leyton House, March and Sauber. According to the 55-year-old, he owes his career in the premier class to two big names: Helmut Marko and Gerhard Berger.
When asked by Beyond the Grid whether the two had paved his way into Formula 1, Wendlinger replied: “You could say that, definitely!” The relationship with Marko and Berger has cooled somewhat in the meantime, and Wendlinger says he no longer has regular contact. Nevertheless, he is forever grateful to his two compatriots for what they did for him in the 1990s.
“We still have a good relationship, but we don’t see each other often and rarely have contact,” says the former Formula 1, DTM and FIA GT driver. “I will never forget how much they helped me in my career. I can’t give them anything in return, but I can always honor their support.”
Marko was a tough guy even back then. The current Red Bull string-puller still has this reputation, because he demands a lot from the young drivers. Wendlinger also experienced this over 30 years ago, when Marko took his career in hand.
“It was similar. But if the performance was good, he told me that too,” says Wendlinger. “I’m glad about that.” Today, young racing drivers would get scared if Marko’s name appeared on the display of their smartphone. “Back then, the workshop was in Graz, about three and a half hours away from my home in Kufstein. The phone often rang on Sunday afternoons, there were no cell phones back then.”
Wendlinger remembers: “I was on the phone at home and he told me to come to Graz the next morning at 9 o’clock. I asked him why. The answer was that I had work to do. I thought to myself that if he called again, I would have to go back to Graz. I didn’t want that and on Sunday I told my mother to tell Mr. Marko that I wasn’t at home.”
No sooner said than done, but it almost backfired: “So I didn’t have to go to Graz on Monday and that worked two or three times. The third time he said: ‘Mrs. Wendlinger, tell your son that if he’s not available again next Sunday, the season is over for him’.” The result: just one week later, Wendlinger went back to Graz to work on Marko’s instructions
