Difference between revisions of "Gerhard Berger"

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[[File:GerhardBerger.jpg|300px|thumb|Berger, pictured in 1987.]]
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'''Gerhard Berger''' (born 27th August, 1959 in Wörgl, Austria) is an Austrian former racing driver who won the [[Formula One]] World Championship in [[1987 Alternate Formula One season|1987]] and [[1990 Alternate Formula One season|1990]].
 
'''Gerhard Berger''' (born 27th August, 1959 in Wörgl, Austria) is an Austrian former racing driver who won the [[Formula One]] World Championship in [[1987 Alternate Formula One season|1987]] and [[1990 Alternate Formula One season|1990]].
  

Revision as of 15:57, 12 July 2019

Berger, pictured in 1987.

Gerhard Berger (born 27th August, 1959 in Wörgl, Austria) is an Austrian former racing driver who won the Formula One World Championship in 1987 and 1990.

Formula One

1987-1990: McLaren

By 1987, Berger was driving for Marlboro McLaren International alongside French prospect Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler. Berger's season got off to a good start in Australia, taking the flag ahead of season-long rival Brendon Cassidy. However, it seemed that reliability was a serious issue for Berger's side of the McLaren garage, as he'd go on a seven race streak of retirements before a second place finish in Hungary and a win in Yugoslavia.

Cassidy appeared to be in the box seat heading into the last few races of the season, but in the end Berger was able to score the wins when they were needed and managed to take victory in the last two races - winning the title with a single point.

The following year, Berger and Voeckler remained at McLaren and had the opportunity to pilot the innovative MP4-4. Barring a slight challenge from the Ferrari pair of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, the McLaren duo were the main protagonists in the title battle. The pair swapped the title lead over the course of the season, with Berger having the initial edge over Voeckler for most of the year. Berger finished the season on top with 84 points but with only the 11 best points finishes counted towards the world championship, Voeckler would be the 1988 champion despite scoring less.

In 1989, Voeckler jumped ship to the more promising Williams outfit - and Berger was joined at McLaren by Teo Fabi. Despite the chronic unreliability of the new Honda V10 engines, Berger again challenged for the title, this time against Ferrari driver Ayrton Senna, with both taking five wins but Senna winning the title by a comfortable 15 point margin over Berger. Fabi's lacklustre performance alongside Berger also resulted in the Italian being fired, his replacement being Alessandro Nannini, who proved to be far closer pace-wise to Berger than Fabi had been, and would be retained alongside the Austrian into 1990.

Complete Formula One World Championship Grand Prix Results

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 WDC Points
1987 Marlboro McLaren International McLaren MP4/3 Honda RA167E 1.5 V6t AUS
1
SMR
5
BEL
Ret
MON
Ret
CAN
Ret
DET
Ret
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
HUN
2
YUG
1
ITA
Ret
POR
4
EUR
Ret
JPN
1
MEX
1
1st 47
1988 Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/4 Honda RA168E 1.5 V6t BRA
Ret
SMR
4
MON
4
MEX
1
CAN
3
DET
1
FRA
1
GBR
2
GER
3
HUN
1
YUG
2
SOV
4
ITA
1
BEL
3
JPN
Ret
AUS
2
2nd 75 (84)
1989 Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/5 Honda RA109A 3.5 V10 BRA
Ret
SMR
Ret
MON
Ret
FRA
1
USA
Ret
CAN
1
GBR
2
GER
1
HUN
Ret
SOV
1
POR
Ret
ITA
4
BEL
1
JPN
4
AUS
Ret
MEX
Ret
2nd 58
1990 Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/5B Honda RA109E 3.5 V10 USA
2
BRA
2
PAC
2
SMR
Ret
MON
3
CAN
1
MEX
1
FRA
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER
2
HUN
3
BEL
1
ITA
1
POR
4
JPN
2
AUS
Ret
1st 77