Williams driver Alex Wurz announced his immediate retirement and said that he would not be taking part in the season's final race in Brazil.
Austrian test driver Alexander Wurz will replace Mark Webber in the Williams race line-up next season.
Wurz, 31, has been a McLaren tester for the last five seasons after racing for Benetton from 1997 to 2000.
Austrian Alex Wurz won the battle of the test drivers by topping the times in the first practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix on Friday.
Lewis Hamilton and the FIA were in a standoff at this month's Miami Grand Prix over piercings
"I'm just extremely grateful that I'm here, and tonight I'm going to call my family and all my loved ones. I passed two metres from that crane. If, I had been two metres to the left, I would have been dead."
Narain Karthikeyan hopes he can regain a Formula One slot and says Alex Wurz's return to racing has inspired him.
F1, Silverstone still optimistic despite UK quarantine rules
Fernando Alonso, who left Formula One at the end of 2018 after a final season with McLaren, won his championship titles with Renault in 2005 and 2006.
Lewis Hamilton's Twitter feed provided a further talking point ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix on Sunday when he sent his 997,000 followers telemetry details from his McLaren car in qualifying.
Japan's Kazuki Nakajima will race for Williams next season, the Formula One team confirmed on Wednesday.
The Indian F1 ace said being a test driver will boost his reputation.
The Australian will take the place of young Austrian Christian Klien at the team.
McLaren's Lewis Hamilton took his first Formula One victory on Sunday, keeping his cool in a chaotic Canadian Grand Prix to take the outright lead in the championship.
The Australian would be favourite to replace Alonso at Renault if the world champions fail to secure Kimi Raikkonen from McLaren.
Formula One has a reputation for being exclusive and inaccessible compared to series like the world endurance championship, where fans have much more access to the paddock and drivers during race weekends. But the sport is set for a revamp.
The MP4-18 made its first track appearance this week at the Le Castellet circuit in southern France with Austrian Alexander Wurz at the wheel.
One thing is certain: The part-Goan, part-Malayali group CEO of Air Asia is not your usual boardroom CEO, and he cultivates the maverick businessman image, buying race car teams and football clubs and taking off-beat bets with his mentor and now buddy Richard Branson of Virgin.
Formula One has lost another of its principals.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances