Williams driver Alexander Wurz has confirmed that he is to retire from Formula One racing with immediate effect. The team will announce his replacement for the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on Tuesday.

Wurz made his Formula One debut in 1997 with Benetton in Canada, since which time he has driven for McLaren and most recently Williams, as test driver in 2006 before taking on a race seat for the 2007 season...

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A shame, too many people want to be in F1 and a good driver just get away from it like if it was nothing

Very sad . I always liked Wurz and just felt that he never got the chance he deserved. Rosberg did out perform him but still, Wurz was no pushover. I look forward to seeing him in Le Mans

Well, it was foreseeable... If you take his achievements in qualifyings and races that weren't chaotic, he really hasn't shown anything...

Maybe we'll see him mountainbiking again...

or punk rocking with his nifty hand gestures

That is a shame, I always liked Wurz. He hasn't exactly set the world on fire this season though, so maybe it is time to pack it in.

I think Wurz's best moment would be overtaking Schuey into Louwe's Hairpin in Monté Carlo

I wonder how many tenths Nico would loose if the team didn't have the ''Engineer + driver" Wurz.. Nice guy, good brain, engineer, not a very very good driver..

Hard working and well liked. A shame that his season hasn't yielded better results for him.

Think he spent to many years as a test driver and just got a bit rusty with the old race craft, and maybe lost a bit of nerve too.

Shame, nice bloke and an ace at all the boring technical stuff. I'm certain he'll get an offer as a test driver in F1, but perhaps he just wants, or needs a clean break.

Quote from Niels Heusinkveld :

Nice guy, good brain, engineer, not a very very good driver..

The guy is also HUGE! as in tall. He must have some air drag disadvantages

I always liked him, reminds me of jaws from 007 films lol!

Quote from Madman_CZ :

The guy is also HUGE! as in tall. He must have some air drag disadvantages

I think he's about the same size as Kubica and Webber, no?
i.e. normal-sized and not an anaemic nano-driver :P

Quote from Mazz4200 :

Think he spent to many years as a test driver and got a rusty old space craft,

O RLY?

Quote from Madman_CZ :

I always liked him, reminds me of jaws from 007 films lol!

Reminds ME of Jaws too

Quote from thisnameistaken :

O RLY?

:chairfallLMAO ! Yet another excuse for me to practice my Muttley impersonation, which is always a good thing

(I had to check my original post to see if i had actually written that :shy

Quote from Madman_CZ :

The guy is also HUGE! as in tall. He must have some air drag disadvantages

something like this?

Well, Wurz is testing with a team now(don't remember which) so he is not retired!

Quote from BlueFlame :

Well, Wurz is testing with a team now(don't remember which) so he is not retired!

Isn't he with Honda now?

So he's crap at racing and crap at retiring too.

Quote from tristancliffe :

Isn't he with Honda now?

Ye, thats the one

LOL@Kev

I'm curious that might there have been something else behind this retirement than just "I feel it's good time to retire now"... before the last GP of the season? Got fired? Altough now regarding that he's with Honda as a test driver, maybe he really wanted to have another kind of job.

Few weeks back rumours connected Wurz to Peugeot & Le Mans...

Quote from deggis :

I'm curious that might there have been something else behind this retirement than just "I feel it's good time to retire now"... before the last GP of the season? Altough now regarding that he's with Honda as a test driver, maybe he really wanted to have another kind of job.

Few weeks back rumours connected Wurz to Peugeot & Le Mans...

Maybe now hes doing something at Le-Mans with Honda?

Quote from BlueFlame :

Maybe now hes doing something at Le-Mans with Honda?

Honda has no Le Mans plans...

(Other than bringing NSX model to FIA GT1 rules in 2010 but that's not relevant to this)

He's a very experienced development driver. Hopefully he can help bring Honda F1 up to speed.

Quote from Madman_CZ :

The guy is also HUGE! as in tall. He must have some air drag disadvantages

I always liked him, reminds me of jaws from 007 films lol!

not so much drag disadvantages as raised weight disadvataged. as far as i can remember hes about 6ft 2 and and when he was with beneton he seriously considered having an op to remove 2 inches from his legs so he could be seated lower in car !

thinking about it berger was rather tall for an f1 driver, is it something in the water ?

Quote from deggis :

Honda has no Le Mans plans...

(Other than bringing NSX model to FIA GT1 rules in 2010 but that's not relevant to this)

It was a joke!