Difference between revisions of "Gerhard Berger"

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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]].
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[[File:GerhardBerger.jpg|300px|thumb|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 Alternate Formula One season|1987]] and [[1990 Alternate Formula One season|1990]].
  
 
==Formula One==
 
==Formula One==
−
===[[1987 Alternate Formula One season|1987]]-[[1989 Alternate Formula One season|1989]]: [[McLaren]]===
+
===[[1987 Alternate Formula One season|1987]]-[[1993 Alternate Formula One season|1993]]: [[McLaren]]===
 
By 1987, Berger was driving for [[McLaren|Marlboro McLaren International]] alongside French prospect [[Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler]]. Berger's season got off to a good start in [[Australian Grand Prix|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 [[Hungarian Grand Prix|Hungary]] and a win in [[Yugoslavian Grand Prix|Yugoslavia]].
 
By 1987, Berger was driving for [[McLaren|Marlboro McLaren International]] alongside French prospect [[Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler]]. Berger's season got off to a good start in [[Australian Grand Prix|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 [[Hungarian Grand Prix|Hungary]] and a win in [[Yugoslavian Grand Prix|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.
+
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 by a single point.
 +
 
 +
[[1988 Alternate Formula One season|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 Alternate Formula One season|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.
 +
 
 +
Berger was able to capitalise on the MP4-5B's improved reliability in [[1990 Alternate Formula One season|1990]], taking 4 wins and battling [[Arrows]] driver [[Chris Dagnall]] during the season to take his second world championship with an ultimately comfortable 21 point margin.
 +
 
 +
Nannini was injured in a helicopter crash and replaced by American [[Brendon Cassidy]] for the last two races of the season, with the pair remaining in situ for [[1991 Alternate Formula One season|1991]]. McLaren were a dominant force that year, but Cassidy would ultimately pip Berger to the title by 19 points - the Austrian suffering more reliability issues.
 +
 
 +
The pair would remain at the team for [[1992 Alternate Formula One season|1992]], however McLaren that year had been relegated to third best, behind both the dominant [[Williams]] and the [[Arrows]] team. The two would be fairly evenly matched over the course of the season, although Berger would come through to score what would be the team's only win that year at the [[Japanese Grand Prix]]. He would end the year a comparatively measly fifth in the standings, his lowest since joining McLaren.
 +
 
 +
There were several changes in the McLaren team for [[1993 Alternate Formula One season|1993]] - Cassidy opted to leave Formula One and was replaced by [[Lotus]] driver [[Mika Häkkinen]] and the team's successful five season partnership with [[Honda]] came to an end; the unconventional Hart engines would power the new MP4/8 instead. Up front however, Williams maintained their dominance from the previous season. McLaren and Arrows were locked into a battle for second place - the latter having more pace but the former having more reliability. Berger would capitalise on the exclusion of Arrows and the withdrawal of Williams from the [[Canadian Grand Prix]] and win easily - however the event was marred by teammate Häkkinen crashing out and breaking both of his legs. The Finn would not return to the cockpit until the [[Japanese Grand Prix]]. This led to an old face returning to the team - [[Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler]] made his comeback to the team, re-establishing the successful partnership that won the team both titles in [[1988 Alternate Formula One season|1988]]. Voeckler was immediately able to get up to pace, leading Berger into a 1-2 finish at his [[British Grand Prix|second outing for the team]]. Berger would win once more at [[Belgian Grand Prix|Spa]] to ensure he was best of the rest in 1993 behind the Williams pair of [[Chris Dagnall]] and [[Jack Christopherson]] and the pair used their experience to take advantage of the inconsistency and recklessness of Arrows drivers [[Michael Schumacher]] and [[Paul Tracy]] to put McLaren in second place in the Constructor's Championship.
 +
 
 +
==Complete Formula One World Championship Grand Prix Results==
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
 +
|-
 +
! Year
 +
! Entrant
 +
! Chassis
 +
! Engine
 +
! 1
 +
! 2
 +
! 3
 +
! 4
 +
! 5
 +
! 6
 +
! 7
 +
! 8
 +
! 9
 +
! 10
 +
! 11
 +
! 12
 +
! 13
 +
! 14
 +
! 15
 +
! 16
 +
! 17
 +
! WDC
 +
! Points
 +
|-
 +
! [[1987 Alternate Formula One season|1987]]
 +
! [[McLaren|Marlboro McLaren International]]
 +
! [[McLaren]] MP4/3
 +
! TAG/Porsche TTE PO1 1.5 V6t
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| AUS<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| SMR<br /><small>5</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| BEL<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| MON<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| CAN<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| DET<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| FRA<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| GBR<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| GER<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| HUN<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| YUG<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| ITA<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| ''POR''<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| EUR<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| JPN<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| MEX<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| '''1st'''
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| '''47'''
 +
|-
 +
! [[1988 Alternate Formula One season|1988]]
 +
! [[McLaren|Honda Marlboro McLaren]]
 +
! [[McLaren]] MP4/4
 +
! [[Honda]] RA168E 1.5 V6t
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|[[Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| [[Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor=ffdf9f| ''[[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]''<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| [[Detroit Grand Prix|DET]]<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| [[French Grand Prix|FRA]]<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor=ffdf9f|  [[German Grand Prix|GER]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| [[Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[Yugoslavian Grand Prix|YUG]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Soviet Grand Prix|SOV]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| ''[[Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor=ffdf9f|  [[Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"|'''2nd'''
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"|'''75 (84)'''
 +
|-
 +
! [[1989 Alternate Formula One season|1989]]
 +
! [[McLaren|Honda Marlboro McLaren]]
 +
! [[McLaren]] MP4/5
 +
! [[Honda]] RA109A 3.5 V10
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|'''[[Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]'''<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|[[San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|[[Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"|'''''[[French Grand Prix|FRA]]'''''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|[[United States Grand Prix|USA]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"|'''[[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]'''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"|[[British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"|'''[[German Grand Prix|GER]]'''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|[[Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"|''[[Soviet Grand Prix|SOV]]''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|[[Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"|''[[Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]''<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"|[[Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"|'''[[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]'''<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|[[Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"|[[Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]] <br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"|'''2nd'''
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"|'''58'''
 +
|-
 +
! [[1990 Alternate Formula One season|1990]]
 +
! [[McLaren|Honda Marlboro McLaren]]
 +
! [[McLaren]] MP4/5B
 +
! [[Honda]] RA109E 3.5 V10
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[United States Grand Prix|USA]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[Pacific Grand Prix|PAC]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| '''[[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]'''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| ''[[Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[French Grand Prix|FRA]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[German Grand Prix|GER]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| ''[[Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| [[Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"|'''1st'''
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"|'''77'''
 +
|-
 +
! [[1991 Alternate Formula One season|1991]]
 +
! [[McLaren|Honda Marlboro McLaren]]
 +
! [[McLaren]] MP4/6
 +
! [[Honda]] RA121E 3.5 V12
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| ''[[United States Grand Prix|USA]]''<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Pacific Grand Prix|PAC]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| [[San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| ''[[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| ''[[Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| ''[[French Grand Prix|FRA]]''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[German Grand Prix|GER]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"| [[Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br /><small>8</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| [[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]‡<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"|'''2nd'''
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"|'''76'''
 +
|-
 +
! [[1992 Alternate Formula One season|1992]]
 +
! [[McLaren|Marlboro McLaren Honda]]
 +
! [[McLaren]] MP4/7
 +
! [[Honda]] RA122E/B 3.5 V12
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[South African Grand Prix|RSA]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Mexican Grand Prix|MEX]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]<br /><small>5</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Pacific Grand Prix|PAC]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]<br /><small>6</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]<br /><small>5</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[French Grand Prix|FRA]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[German Grand Prix|GER]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| ''[[Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]''<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| ''[[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]''<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| '''[[Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]'''<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
! 5th
 +
! 37
 +
|-
 +
! [[1993 Alternate Formula One season|1993]]
 +
! [[McLaren|Marlboro McLaren Hart]]
 +
! [[McLaren]] MP4/8
 +
! Hart 1035 3.5 V10
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[South African Grand Prix|RSA]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]<br /><small>5</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Pacific Grand Prix|PAC]]<br /><small>6</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| [[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[French Grand Prix|FRA]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| [[British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br /><small>2</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[German Grand Prix|GER]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| [[Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br /><small>1</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]<br /><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"|'''3rd'''
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"|'''46'''
 +
|-
 +
! [[1994 Alternate Formula One season|1994]]
 +
! [[McLaren|Marlboro McLaren Hart]]
 +
! [[McLaren]] MP4/9
 +
! Hart 1035 3.5 V10
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Brazilian Grand Prix|BRA]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Pacific Grand Prix|PAC]]<br><small>5</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[San Marino Grand Prix|SMR]]<br><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br /><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Canadian Grand Prix|CAN]]<br><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[French Grand Prix|FRA]]<br /><small>6</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br><small>4</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"| [[German Grand Prix|GER]]<br><small>18†</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"| [[Hungarian Grand Prix|HUN]]<br /><small>7</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| [[Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br /><small>3</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br><small>6</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#cfcfff"| [[Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]]<br><small>11</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#dfffdf"| [[European Grand Prix|EUR]]<br><small>6</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Japanese Grand Prix|JPN]]<br><small>Ret</small>
 +
|bgcolor="#efcfff"| [[Australian Grand Prix|AUS]]<br><small>Ret</small>
 +
|
 +
! 6th
 +
! 22
 +
|-
 +
|}
  
 +
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; border: none; border-top: 5px solid #78FF78; width: 500px; text-align: center;"
 +
!colspan=3| Sporting Accolades
 +
|-
 +
| width="33%"| Preceded by:<br>'''[[Guillaume Gauthier]]'''
 +
| width="34%"| '''[[Formula One]] World Champion'''<br>[[1987 Alternate Formula One season|1987]]
 +
| width="33%"| Succeeded by:<br>'''[[Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler]]'''
 +
|-
 +
| width="33%"| Preceded by:<br>'''[[Ayrton Senna]]'''
 +
| width="34%"| '''[[Formula One]] World Champion'''<br>[[1990 Alternate Formula One season|1990]]
 +
| width="33%"| Succeeded by:<br>'''[[Brendon Cassidy]]'''
 +
|}
  
 
[[Category:Real-life drivers]]
 
[[Category:Real-life drivers]]
 
[[Category:Formula One Drivers]]
 
[[Category:Formula One Drivers]]
 
[[Category:Formula One World Champions]]
 
[[Category:Formula One World Champions]]

Latest revision as of 09:11, 20 July 2022

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

1987-1993: 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 by 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.

Berger was able to capitalise on the MP4-5B's improved reliability in 1990, taking 4 wins and battling Arrows driver Chris Dagnall during the season to take his second world championship with an ultimately comfortable 21 point margin.

Nannini was injured in a helicopter crash and replaced by American Brendon Cassidy for the last two races of the season, with the pair remaining in situ for 1991. McLaren were a dominant force that year, but Cassidy would ultimately pip Berger to the title by 19 points - the Austrian suffering more reliability issues.

The pair would remain at the team for 1992, however McLaren that year had been relegated to third best, behind both the dominant Williams and the Arrows team. The two would be fairly evenly matched over the course of the season, although Berger would come through to score what would be the team's only win that year at the Japanese Grand Prix. He would end the year a comparatively measly fifth in the standings, his lowest since joining McLaren.

There were several changes in the McLaren team for 1993 - Cassidy opted to leave Formula One and was replaced by Lotus driver Mika Häkkinen and the team's successful five season partnership with Honda came to an end; the unconventional Hart engines would power the new MP4/8 instead. Up front however, Williams maintained their dominance from the previous season. McLaren and Arrows were locked into a battle for second place - the latter having more pace but the former having more reliability. Berger would capitalise on the exclusion of Arrows and the withdrawal of Williams from the Canadian Grand Prix and win easily - however the event was marred by teammate Häkkinen crashing out and breaking both of his legs. The Finn would not return to the cockpit until the Japanese Grand Prix. This led to an old face returning to the team - Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler made his comeback to the team, re-establishing the successful partnership that won the team both titles in 1988. Voeckler was immediately able to get up to pace, leading Berger into a 1-2 finish at his second outing for the team. Berger would win once more at Spa to ensure he was best of the rest in 1993 behind the Williams pair of Chris Dagnall and Jack Christopherson and the pair used their experience to take advantage of the inconsistency and recklessness of Arrows drivers Michael Schumacher and Paul Tracy to put McLaren in second place in the Constructor's Championship.

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 TAG/Porsche TTE PO1 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
1991 Honda Marlboro McLaren McLaren MP4/6 Honda RA121E 3.5 V12 USA
2 		BRA
3 		PAC
Ret 		SMR
1 		MON
3 		CAN
1 		MEX
1 		FRA
1 		GBR
2 		GER
Ret 		HUN
2 		BEL
8 		ITA
Ret 		POR
Ret 		ESP
Ret 		JPN
1 		AUS‡
Ret 		2nd 76
1992 Marlboro McLaren Honda McLaren MP4/7 Honda RA122E/B 3.5 V12 RSA
2 		MEX
Ret 		BRA
5 		PAC
Ret 		ESP
4 		SMR
6 		MON
2 		CAN
5 		FRA
3 		GBR
Ret 		GER
Ret 		HUN
Ret 		BEL
4 		ITA
Ret 		POR
Ret 		JPN
1 		AUS
Ret 		5th 37
1993 Marlboro McLaren Hart McLaren MP4/8 Hart 1035 3.5 V10 RSA
4 		BRA
5 		PAC
6 		SMR
Ret 		ESP
Ret 		MON
4 		CAN
1 		FRA
3 		GBR
2 		GER
3 		HUN
Ret 		BEL
1 		ITA
Ret 		POR
Ret 		JPN
Ret 		AUS
4 		3rd 46
1994 Marlboro McLaren Hart McLaren MP4/9 Hart 1035 3.5 V10 BRA
4 		PAC
5 		SMR
Ret 		MON
4 		ESP
3 		CAN
Ret 		FRA
6 		GBR
4 		GER
18† 		HUN
7 		BEL
3 		ITA
6 		POR
11 		EUR
6 		JPN
Ret 		AUS
Ret 		6th 22
Sporting Accolades
Preceded by:
Guillaume Gauthier 		Formula One World Champion
1987 		Succeeded by:
Jérémy-Étienne Voeckler
Preceded by:
Ayrton Senna 		Formula One World Champion
1990 		Succeeded by:
Brendon Cassidy
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