Winkelhock Markus(Germany, 13/06/1980)

Markus Winkelhock (born on 13 June 1980 in Bad Cannstatt, Stuttgart, Germany) is a German racing driver best known for a very brief but remarkable appearance in Formula 1 and for a career developed mainly in touring car and endurance racing.

The son of Manfred Winkelhock, a Formula 1 driver in the 1980s, Markus grew up in an environment deeply connected to motorsport. After starting in karting, he moved to single-seaters in the late 1990s, competing in Formula Koenig and later in German Formula Renault. In 2001 he entered the German Formula 3 Championship, where he remained for several seasons without achieving results sufficient to secure a direct progression towards Formula 1.

Alongside single-seaters, Winkelhock began to build a career in touring cars, the field in which he was able to express his qualities most effectively. From 2004 he became a regular competitor in the DTM, initially with private teams and later as an official Audi driver, a role that allowed him to compete at a high level in one of the most competitive touring car championships in the world.

His only and famous appearance in Formula 1 came in 2007, when he was hired by Spyker for the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. In a race marked by extreme weather conditions, Winkelhock made the correct choice of wet tyres before the start and, thanks to numerous off-track incidents by other drivers, found himself incredibly leading the race for several laps. The episode remains one of the most iconic and unpredictable moments in modern Formula 1. The race ended with his retirement due to technical problems, but that performance remains the sole chapter of his experience in the Circus.

After 2007, Markus Winkelhock continued his career successfully in touring car and endurance racing. He remained a reference driver for Audi in the DTM and also competed in endurance events such as the 24 Hours of the Nurburgring, achieving notable results and consolidating his reputation as a reliable and technically very capable driver.

In his private life he has always maintained a reserved profile, remaining closely linked to the Audi world even after gradually scaling back his racing activity.

GP Results

GP/Points Graph

Year	Team	Chassis	Points
2007	Spyker	F8-VII	0

* World Championships with at least 1 point won (since 2001)

Year	Team	Teammate	Win
Total			0 VS 0

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