Markus Winkelhock (German pronunciation:[ˈmaʁ.kʊsˈvɪŋ.kl̩.hɔk]; born 13 June 1980) is a German professional racing driver. He is the son ofManfred Winkelhock and nephew ofJoachim Winkelhock, both of whom were Formula One drivers in the 1980s.[1] During his brief Formula One career he led the2007 European Grand Prix for several laps before retiring with mechanical problems. Having switched to sports and touring car racing, he has also won theFIA GT1 World Championship in2012 with team-mateMarc Basseng.
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Born inStuttgart, Winkelhock won races in a string of junior formulae includingFormula König, GermanFormula Renault and the Formula Renault Eurocup from 1998 to 2000.[2]
In 2001, Winkelhock joined the GermanFormula 3 Championship, where he remained until the championship became theF3 Euroseries in 2003. His record was fifth overall in 2001 (three wins), seventh in 2002 (one win) and fourth in 2003 (two wins).[2]
Winkelhock switched to touring car racing in 2004, with a season in theDTM in anAMG-Mercedes CLK. But he failed to score a point all year with the Persson team.[2]
Winkelhock switched back to single-seater racing in 2005, joining theWorld Series by Renault with Draco. He won three times but there were also some less than shining moments – notably when he crashed at Monaco in qualifying and on the first lap of the race.[2]
On 24 January 2006, Winkelhock was confirmed as a test and reserve driver for theMidland F1 team (formerlyJordan Grand Prix) for the2006Formula One season.[3] He participated in Friday test sessions for the team at theBahrain,Australian,German andHungarian Grands Prix.[2]
Winkelhock was re-signed for2007 by the team, which by then had been renamed asSpyker F1.[4] He also made a brief return to the DTM in 2007, starting three races.[2]
FollowingChristijan Albers's departure from Spyker after the2007 British Grand Prix, Winkelhock was confirmed as his replacement for theEuropean Grand Prix on 18 July.[5] The deal was only for one race withSakon Yamamoto set to race for Spyker for the rest of the season.[6]
In the race, Winkelhock started last on the 22-car grid alongside teammateAdrian Sutil. On the formation lap, with the rest of the field on dry-weather tyres, the team made a last-second decision to call Winkelhock into the pits to switch to full wet tyres. When pouring rain forced almost all the others to pit at the end of the first lap, Winkelhock was able to move into the lead, passing some cars as they pitted, and even passingKimi Räikkönen on the track as the Finn tip-toed around to the pits, eventually building a lead of 19 seconds by the end of the second lap. By lap 4 he had a lead of 33 seconds over Ferrari'sFelipe Massa in 2nd place. As the rain got heavier, the stewards first sent out the safety car and then suspended the race following a series of spins in the first corner behind the safety car. The race restarted after the rain had eased. Winkelhock and his team chose to start on full wet tyres on a drying track in the hope of further showers, as the team expected he would be overtaken by faster cars anyway. The gamble failed and, having restarted the race from the lead, Winkelhock quickly fell down the order. He retired on lap 15 with hydraulic problems that caused a small fire. He had led for a total of six laps.[7]
According toBob Varsha of theSpeed Channel commentary team, Winkelhock is the only driver in Formula One history to start last on the grid and lead the race in his first Grand Prix, and due to the red flag and restart, is also the only driver in Formula One history to start both last and first on the grid in the same Grand Prix. Despite his performance in the race, the Spyker team opted against giving Winkelhock a drive for the remainder of the2007 season for sponsorship reasons.[citation needed]
Winkelhock returned to theDeutsche Tourenwagen Masters after he lost his Spyker seat, and has remained in the series, driving forTeam Rosberg, for2008 (12th),2009 (10th) and2010 (12th).
In 2011, Winkelhock competed in theFIA GT1 World Championship for theAll-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport team alongside team bossMarc Basseng driving aLamborghini. They won the championship the following year, the team having switched to theMercedes SLS due to a change in the regulations.
Winkelhock was to move withMünnich Motorsport to theWorld Touring Car Championship for2013,[8] however he left the team before the start of the season in order to focus on his GT racing commitments, and was replaced by defending championRobert Huff.[9]
Since 2013, Winkelhock has more or less settled in theBlancpain Endurance Series and also won the2017 24 Hours of Nürburgring sportscar race.[10]
Winkelhock also made a brief DTM comeback midway through the2021 season withAbt Sportsline, where he replacedSophia Flörsch for the Nürburgring round due to herLe Mans commitments.[11]
† As Winkelhock was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg | Dallara F301 | Opel | HOC1 1 7 | HOC1 2 6 | NÜR1 1 3 | NÜR1 2 3 | OSC 1 3 | OSC 2 13 | SAC 1 1 | SAC 2 Ret | NOR 1 11 | NOR 2 Ret | HOC2 1 21 | HOC2 2 21 | LAU 1 1 | LAU 2 6 | NÜR2 1 3 | NÜR2 2 2 | A1R 1 Ret | A1R 2 Ret | HOC3 1 1 | HOC3 2 Ret | 5th | 141 |
| 2002 | Mücke Motorsport | Dallara F302 | Mercedes | HOC1 1 5 | HOC1 2 5 | NÜR1 1 C | NÜR1 2 C | SAC 1 5 | SAC 2 Ret | NOR 1 7 | NOR 2 19 | LAU 1 10 | LAU 2 6 | HOC2 1 4 | HOC2 2 21† | NÜR2 1 21 | NÜR2 2 1 | A1R 1 4 | A1R 2 15 | ZAN 1 10 | ZAN 2 13 | HOC3 1 Ret | HOC3 2 3 | 7th | 28 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg | Dallara F302/012 | HWA-Mercedes | HOC 1 3 | HOC 2 4 | ADR 1 Ret | ADR 2 17 | PAU 1 21 | PAU 2 Ret | NOR 1 Ret | NOR 2 5 | LMS 1 8 | LMS 2 18 | NÜR 1 1 | NÜR 2 2 | A1R 1 4 | A1R 2 6 | ZAN 1 4 | ZAN 2 4 | HOC 1 Ret | HOC 2 2 | MAG 1 1 | MAG 2 9 | 4th | 71 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Draco Multiracing USA | ZOL 1 NC | ZOL 2 3 | MON 1 DNS | VAL 1 11 | VAL 2 12 | LMS 1 1 | LMS 2 5 | BIL 1 Ret | BIL 2 7 | OSC 1 Ret | OSC 2 3 | DON 1 5 | DON 2 1 | EST 1 4 | EST 2 2 | MNZ 1 3 | MNZ 2 1 | 3rd | 114 |
(key)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | MF1 Racing | MidlandM16 | Toyota RVX-06 2.4V8 | BHR TD | MAL | AUS TD | SMR | EUR | ESP | MON | GBR | CAN | USA | FRA | GER TD | HUN TD | TUR | ITA | CHN | JPN | BRA | – | – |
| 2007 | EtihadAldarSpyker F1 Team | SpykerF8-VII | Ferrari 056H 2.4V8 | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | MON | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR | EUR Ret | HUN | TUR | ITA | BEL | JPN | CHN | BRA | NC | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Persson Motorsport | AMG-Mercedes CLK-DTM 2003 | HOC 15 | EST 17 | ADR Ret | LAU 13 | NOR Ret | SHA 9‡ | NÜR Ret | OSC 16 | ZAN 14 | BRN 18 | HOC 13 | 19th | 0 | |||||
| 2007 | Abt Sportsline | Audi A4 DTM 2007 | HOC | OSC | LAU Ret | BRH 14 | NOR | 19th | 0 | |||||||||||
| Futurecom TME | Audi A4 DTM 2005 | MUG 9 | ZAN 13 | NÜR Ret | CAT 12† | HOC 13 | ||||||||||||||
| 2008 | Team Rosberg | Audi A4 DTM 2007 | HOC 12 | OSC 6 | MUG 7 | LAU Ret | NOR 11 | ZAN 8 | NÜR 9 | BRH 11 | CAT 12 | BUG 11 | HOC Ret | 11th | 6 | |||||
| 2009 | Team Rosberg | Audi A4 DTM 2008 | HOC 4 | LAU Ret | NOR 13 | ZAN DSQ | OSC Ret | NÜR 4 | BRH 18† | CAT Ret | DIJ 10 | HOC 8 | 10th | 11 | ||||||
| 2010 | Team Rosberg | Audi A4 DTM 2008 | HOC 15 | VAL 15† | LAU 10 | NOR Ret | NÜR Ret | ZAN DNS | BRH 15† | OSC Ret | HOC Ret | ADR 4 | SHA 7 | 12th | 7 | |||||
| 2021 | Abt Sportsline | Audi R8 LMS Evo | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | LAU 1 | LAU 2 | ZOL 1 | ZOL 2 | NÜR 1 16 | NÜR 2 14 | RBR 1 | RBR 2 | ASS 1 | ASS 2 | HOC 1 | HOC 2 | NOR 1 | NOR 2 | 23rd | 0 |
† - Driver did not finish, but completed 90% of the race distance.‡ - Shanghai was a non-championship round.
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | Lamborghini Murciélago LP670 R-SV | ABU QR 6 | ABU CR 3 | ZOL QR 1 | ZOL CR 1 | ALG QR 7 | ALG CR 6 | SAC QR 9 | SAC CR Ret | SIL QR Ret | SIL CR 5 | NAV QR 1 | NAV CR 2 | PRI QR 7 | PRI CR 8 | ORD QR DSQ | ORD CR 8 | BEI QR 12 | BEI CR Ret | SAN QR 6 | SAN CR Ret | 5th | 102 |
| 2012 | All-Inkl.com Münnich Motorsport | Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 | NOG QR 6 | NOG CR 3 | ZOL QR 6 | ZOL CR 9 | NAV QR 5 | NAV QR 2 | SVK QR 4 | SVK CR 3 | ALG QR 1 | ALG CR 2 | SVK QR 3 | SVK CR 2 | MOS QR 2 | MOS CR 5 | NUR QR 3 | NUR CR 2 | DON QR 5 | DON CR DSQ | 1st | 145 | ||
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Phoenix Racing | Audi R8 LMS ultra | Pro | NOG QR | NOG CR | ZOL QR | ZOL CR | ZAN QR | ZAN CR | SVK QR | SVK CR | NAV QR | NAV CR | BAK QR 9 | BAK CR 12 | NC | 0‡ |
‡ — Guest driver – Not eligible for points.
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Phoenix Racing | Audi R8 LMS ultra | Pro | NOG QR 2 | NOG CR Ret | BRH QR 5 | BRH CR Ret | ZAN QR Ret | ZAN CR 11 | SVK QR 15 | SVK CR Ret | ALG QR Ret | ALG CR 6 | ZOL QR 16 | ZOL CR 18 | BAK QR 6 | BAK CR 3 | 11th | 32 |
| 2015 | Phoenix Racing | Audi R8 LMS ultra | Pro | NOG QR Ret | NOG CR 8 | BRH QR 6 | BRH CR 8 | ZOL QR 4 | ZOL CR 5 | MOS QR 10† | MOS CR 6† | ALG QR 3 | ALG CR 2 | MIS QR 12 | MIS CR 12 | ZAN QR 3 | ZAN CR Ret | 9th | 48 |
| 2016 | Phoenix Racing | Audi R8 LMS | Pro | MIS QR 15 | MIS CR 27 | BRH QR 13 | BRH CR 11 | NÜR QR 21 | NÜR CR 22 | HUN QR WD | HUN CR WD | CAT QR Ret | CAT CR 16 | NC | 0 | ||||
| 2017 | Belgian Audi Club Team WRT | Audi R8 LMS | Pro | MIS QR Ret | MIS CR DNS | BRH QR 11 | BRH CR 3 | ZOL QR 3 | ZOL CR 1 | HUN QR 7 | HUN CR 5 | NÜR QR 5 | NÜR CR 2 | 2nd | 74 | ||||
| 2018 | Saintéloc Racing | Audi R8 LMS | Pro-Am | ZOL 1 15 | ZOL 2 15 | BRH 1 17 | BRH 2 11 | MIS 1 11 | MIS 2 9 | HUN 1 18 | HUN 2 19 | NÜR 1 12 | NÜR 2 15 | 1st | 134.5 | ||||
| 2019 | Saintéloc Racing | Audi R8 LMS | Pro | BRH 1 Ret | BRH 2 Ret | MIS 1 Ret | MIS 2 Ret | ZAN 1 Ret | ZAN 2 DNS | NÜR 1 18 | NÜR 2 7 | HUN 1 19 | HUN 2 12 | 22nd | 3 | ||||
| 2021 | ROFGO Racing with Team WRT | Audi R8 LMS Evo | Pro | MAG 1 | MAG 2 | ZAN 1 16 | ZAN 2 18 | 33rd | 1 | ||||||||||
| Saintéloc Racing | MIS 1 15 | MIS 2 15 | BRH 1 | BRH 2 | VAL 1 13 | VAL 2 9 | |||||||||||||
† Winkelhock was ineligible to score points during the Moscow weekend due toNikolaus Mayr-Melnhof's absence.
| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | EKS RX | Audi S1 | POR | GBR | NOR | FIN 24 | SWE | BEL | CAN | FRA | GER | ITA | TUR | ARG | 57th | 0 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Flying Lizard Motorsports | GTD | Audi R8 LMS ultra | Audi 5.2L V10 | DAY 2 | SEB 8 | LGA | DET | WGL | MOS | IND | ELK | VIR | COA | COA | 56th | 34 |
| 2015 | Flying Lizard Motorsports | GTD | Audi R8 LMS ultra | Audi 5.2L V10 | DAY 10† | SEB | LGA | BEL | WGL | LIM | ELK | VIR | AUS | ATL | 58th | 1 | |
| 2018 | Magnus Racing | GTD | Audi R8 LMS | Audi 5.2 L V10 | DAY 6 | SEB | MOH | BEL | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | LGA | PET | 52nd | 26 |
| 2019 | Moorespeed | GTD | Audi R8 LMS Evo | Audi 5.2 L V10 | DAY 11 | SEB | MDO | DET | WGL | MOS | LIM | ELK | VIR | LGA | PET | 56th | 20 |
| 2020 | Team Hardpoint | GTD | Audi R8 LMS Evo | Audi 5.2 L V10 | DAY | DAY | SEB | ELK | VIR | ATL | MDO | CLT | PET 13 | LGA | SEB | 54th | 18 |
† Winkelhock did not complete sufficient laps in order to score full points.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | FIA GT1 World Championship Champion 2012 With:Marc Basseng | Succeeded by None (Series ended) |
| Preceded by | Intercontinental GT Challenge Champion 2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Daniel Keilwitz Alexander Mattschull | Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup Pro-Am Champion 2018 With: Nyls Stievenart | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Alexander Mattschull | Blancpain GT Series Pro-Am Champion 2018 With: Nyls Stievenart | Succeeded by Andrea Bertolini Louis Machiels |
