03/02/2007
NEWS STORY
Speaking at the launch of the Williams FW29, the car that marks his return to F1 racing, Alex Wurz admitted that he is glad to be back.
"I'm really stoked that I'm back," he told reporters, "and I hope I can return all the trust that the team has put in me. I never had enough of the real stuff, racing, so I'm keen to show what I've learned. It's going to be nice."
Wurz made a dream debut in F1 back in 1997, replacing Gerhard Berger at Benetton, the Austrian laid low by a sinus problem. Although he only competed in three events, the twenty-three-year-old, who had made history the previous year by becoming the youngest ever winner of the Le Mans 24-hour race, made a major impression finishing third in the British GP, his final outing before Berger returned.
Over the next couple of seasons he continued to impress but then Benetton, still recovering from the loss of Michael Schumacher, began to struggle, and so too did the Austrian. He subsequently replaced Olivier Panis as test driver at McLaren in 2000, and as the years passed it appeared Alex was 'doomed' to see his career out as understudy, albeit for one of the leading teams.
Then, at the beginning of 2006, in a shock move, Williams enticed the Austrian to Grove, no doubt dangling the carrot of a race seat in 2007.
Wurz contested one Grand Prix in 2005, replacing Juan Pablo Montoya as he recovered from his tennis injury. Speaking at Grove on Friday, Patrick Head said: "There's no question of speed with Alex, and he wasn't found lacking when he raced the McLaren in 2005"
Dismissing talk that with only one Grand Prix under his belt since the end of 2000 he might face a certain amount of 'rustiness' at the beginning of his 2007 campaign, Wurz said: "It might be a good excuse... but no, I don't think you forget how to do it."
"I won't be able to make miracles," he added, but I don't think a learning curve required. I was asked if it felt strange being back as a race driver and I said no, it always felt strange to be a test driver because racing is what I am here for and what I love."
Some believe that the poor season in 2006, the worst since 1978, marks the beginning of the end for the British team. Alex does not agree: "It's going to be hard to be consistently scoring points," he admitted. "And I urge you not to have the highest expectations, because it's unrealistic to say 'Well, now we are going to blow everyone away'. Those days are over. It's just gradually making a new foundation and just chipping away at the little difference between you and the winners."
Clearly delighted to be given a 'second chance' and with a team that has a proven track record, the Austrian added: "I realise what Williams is about and it's just a pure racing feeling and atmosphere which jumps up at you and electrifies me when I come here."