Gerhard Berger

This article deals with the Austrian racing driver; for other people with this name see Gerhard Berger (disambiguation) .

Gerhard Berger

Nation:	Austria
Formula 1 world championship
First start:	Austrian Grand Prix 1984
Last start:	1997 European Grand Prix
Constructors
1984 ATS  • 1985 Arrows  • 1986 Benetton  • 1987–1989 Ferrari  • 1990–1992 McLaren  • 1993–1995 Ferrari  • 1996–1997 Benetton
statistics
World Cup balance:	World Cup third ( 1988 , 1994 )
Starts Victories Poles SR 210 10 12 21st
World Cup points :	385
Podiums :	48
Leadership laps :	747 over 3680.7 km

Gerhard Berger (born August 27, 1959 in Wörgl , Tyrol ) is an Austrian entrepreneur and former racing car driver .

From 1984 to 1997 he started 210 races in Formula 1 . He won ten races for Benetton , Ferrari and McLaren . His best overall ranking was third, which he achieved in 1988 and 1994. With his first and last victory, Berger achieved the first and last of the Benetton team.

After his driving career, Berger worked from 1998 to 2003 as motorsport director at BMW and from 2006 to 2008 as co-owner of the Formula 1 team Toro Rosso . He is also the majority owner of a logistics company. Since 2017 he has been the first chairman of ITR , the umbrella organization of the DTM .

Driver career

Beginnings in motorsport

Gerhard Berger is the son of the freight forwarder Johann Berger. His father's industry laid the foundation for his interest in engines and cars as a child. After graduating from school, Berger began attending commercial school. But he broke off this early and began an apprenticeship as a motor vehicle mechanic in his parents' company. At that time, Berger already had the desire to become a professional racing driver. The vocational training was nevertheless completed first.

In 1978 Berger drove his first car race at the Österreichring with a Ford Escort Group 5 and won in his class. This was followed by participation in the International Alfasud Cup. Through Karl Wendlinger senior, who was also driving in this racing class at the time, he made contact with the German team owner Josef Kaufmann, who enabled him to compete in the German Formula 3 championship .

A year later, Berger entered the European Formula 3 Championship with the help of Helmut Marko . There he drove for various teams until 1984. The then BMW Motorsport boss Dieter Stappert also enabled Berger to enter the European Touring Car Championship . There he drove until 1986 a . for Team Schnitzer with a BMW 635 CSi and won the Spa-Francorchamps 24-hour race in 1985 together with Roberto Ravaglia and Marc Surer .

formula 1

ATS, Arrows, Benetton I (1984-1986)

On August 19, 1984, Gerhard Berger drove his first Formula 1 race at ATS in Austria . With three laps to go, he retired due to a gearbox failure. Due to the distance covered, he came twelfth and last in the ranking. At his second Grand Prix in Italy , Berger finished sixth in the points, but was not included in the ranking because his car had not been entered on the entry list at the beginning of the season. In the two remaining world championship races, Berger did not score any points with the ATS team.

Immediately after the end of the season, Berger had a car accident in Tyrol in which he broke two vertebrae and injured his head and kidney. The operation was successful and Berger recovered in time for the start of the new season. For 1985 he received a contract with Arrows , not least thanks to the influence of engine supplier BMW. Berger scored three points in 16 starts.

In 1986 he joined the Benetton team that resulted from the takeover of Toleman . Here, too, BMW played a role as engine partner in signing the contract. Berger established himself in the top ranks this season and won the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Mexico for the first time. Enzo Ferrari signed Berger for the 1987 season.

Ferrari I (1987-1989)

Gerhard Berger's Ferrari (1987)

Berger convinced at Scuderia Ferrari compared to his team-mate Michele Alboreto . In an overall less than successful season in 1987 , two victories followed at the end of the year, but these no longer had any effect on the World Cup. By winning the Japanese Grand Prix , Berger ended Ferrari's longest winless series in the home race of the then strongest engine supplier Honda .

In 1988 Berger had no chance against the superior McLaren Honda, which won 15 of 16 races. He won the race in Italy a month after Enzo Ferrari's death in front of team-mate Alboreto. He benefited from a collision between the leading Ayrton Senna and the lapped Jean-Louis Schlesser . Berger was again mostly superior to his teammate Alboreto and at the end of the year came third in the world championship with 41 points.

In 1989 Ferrari did not succeed in building a car that could match the McLaren. Berger and Nigel Mansell were often eliminated due to technical defects. In addition, Berger suffered a serious accident at the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola , in which he drove into the boundary of the Tamburello curve at 280 km / h due to a broken front wing and his Ferrari caught fire. Berger was very lucky and survived the accident with burns to his hands. Only towards the end of the season did he recover from the accident and win the Portuguese Grand Prix .

McLaren (1990-1992)

The helmet design by Gerhard Berger at McLaren from the 1990s

Berger decided to go to McLaren for the 1990 season and thus swapped places at Ferrari with Alain Prost . With the change he became a teammate of Ayrton Senna. During the 1990 season it became apparent that he had no chance against the dominant Senna.

Berger took pole position in the first race for McLaren in Phoenix at the US Grand Prix . However, the race was won by Senna, as was the 1990 World Championship. And in 1991 Berger had a difficult time against Senna. During these seven races and again world champion, Berger only crossed the finish line first in Japan after Senna had let him past.

In 1992 , Berger stepped out of Senna's shadow - at a time when McLaren had lost its supremacy to Williams . He won the races in Canada and Australia and finished the season in fifth place in the drivers' championship, just one point behind Senna. Berger decided to take advantage of the lucrative return to Ferrari - not least because McLaren's engine partner Honda withdrew from Formula 1 at the end of 1992.

Ferrari II (1993-1995)

Berger in the Ferrari 412T2 from 1995

Ferrari hired Berger for the 1993 season primarily to develop the vehicle. In 1991 and 1992, the team had not achieved a single victory - also because of many failures. Jean Alesi , who had been driving for Ferrari since 1991, was an extremely talented racing driver, but did not help the team with the technical development work.

The 1993 season was initially disappointing. The active chassis in particular caused problems for Ferrari, which sometimes led to accidents. In addition, the Ferraris did not keep up with the leading teams in terms of durability or competitiveness. Berger was only third on the podium in Hungary . At the middle of the season, Jean Todt , who had previously been successful in rallying, was appointed as the new team boss to reorganize the Ferrari team.

1994 won a race with Berger for the first time after almost four years without a win for Ferrari. In Germany he prevailed with a confident start-to-finish victory. Despite the upward trend, he did not intervene in the fight for the world championship.

In 1995 he wanted to continue the upward trend with Ferrari, but Ferrari had nothing to oppose the Renault-powered Williams and Benetton. Jean Alesi celebrated his maiden win in Canada , which was favored by numerous problems and failures of the favorites. Berger, on the other hand, missed the chance to win at the San Marino Grand Prix in a promising position and had to be content with six third places at the end of the season. During the season, Ferrari had announced the commitment of world champion Michael Schumacher for the 1996 season . Berger left the team at the end of the season.

Benetton II (1996-1997)

Berger moved to the Formula 1 World Championship in 1996 together with Alesi to the world championship team Benetton. At Benetton, Berger promised himself one last chance to win the world championship title at the end of his career. During the first test, however, he got into such difficulties with the Schumacher-tuned car that it seemed inexplicable to him how one could win the world championship with it. Alesi fared no better - the Frenchman couldn't cope with the nervous driving behavior of the Benetton either. In an interview, Berger even described his vehicle as "undrivable" and later declared his respect for Schumacher's vehicle control. This showed that Berger found his way to motorsport quite late and not, like Schumacher, had been in a kart as a child. Thus it was better with neutral to understeering rightly tuned vehicles, while Schumacher a nervous rear with a slight oversteer preferred.

The 1996 season was a huge disappointment for Berger and Benetton. After eleven wins last year, the team did not win a single race. Berger missed his greatest chance when he was in the lead with one lap to go in Germany and had to let Damon Hill win.

In 1997 , Berger wanted to compete for the driver's title again with the racing car, the B197 , which had been newly designed according to his needs . In fact, he started the season well and fought for victory with Jacques Villeneuve in Brazil for a long time . After that, however, Benetton's performance steadily deteriorated and Berger was weakened by a painful maxillary sinus infection, so that he finally had to sit out three races. During his absence, Benetton tester Alexander Wurz stepped in for him and finished third on the podium in Great Britain . It was then speculated in Formula 1 circles that Benetton team boss Flavio Briatore would forego Berger's return in order to enable the promising Wurz to continue driving. Benetton denied the rumors, but Berger was under considerable pressure before his return.

Before the German Grand Prix , his father also died in a plane crash. Berger secured first place on the grid, drove by far the fastest lap in the race and won over the top. His victory was given respect from all sides - Berger himself publicly thanked for the support "from above".

A short time later he announced his retirement at the end of the season. Berger ended his racing career in 1997 after the European Grand Prix with a fifth place in the drivers' championship.

Ayrton Senna

Gerhard Berger met Ayrton Senna for the first time in 1981. From 1985 the friendship deepened. Berger and Senna not only met regularly on race weekends, but also privately. Berger was one of the few fellow racing drivers from Senna with whom the Brazilian had a real friendship. The tragic death of Ayrton Senna at the 1994 San Marino Grand Prix made Berger think for a long time about his resignation. Eventually he continued his career as a Formula 1 driver.

Entrepreneurial career

After retiring as a Formula 1 driver in 1997, Berger was hired by BMW as Motorsport Director in 1998. Together with engineer Mario Theissen , he prepared BMW's return to Formula 1 as an engine supplier for Williams . After only four years, Gerhard Berger left the five-year contract with BMW and turned his back on Formula 1 in 2003.

Berger with Joe Willenpart at the Ennstal Classic 2008

In 2006 he took over 50 percent of the Scuderia Toro Rosso Formula 1 team . In return, Dietrich Mateschitz ( Red Bull GmbH ) took a 50 percent stake in Berger's logistics company Berger Logistik GmbH.

In November 2008, Berger returned his stake in the Toro Rosso team to Mateschitz. With the new regulations (customer cars were no longer admitted to the Formula 1 World Championship), he saw no chance of competitive cars for the coming season.

Life

Gerhard Berger was married to the Portuguese Ana Corvo from 1995 to 2013 . He has two daughters with her, including the actress Heidi Berger . With his partner Helene, Berger has another daughter and a son. His oldest daughter comes from an earlier relationship with Rosi Troppmaier.

statistics

Career stations

1978: European Alfasud Cup (28th place) 1982: German Formula 3 (3rd place) 1982: European Formula 3 1983: European Formula 3 (7th place) 1984: European Formula 3 (4th place) 1984 : Formula 1 1985 : Formula 1 (20th place)

1985 : DTM (30th place) 1985: World Sports Car Championship (56th place) 1986 : Formula 1 (7th place) 1987 : Formula 1 (5th place) 1988 : Formula 1 (3rd place) 1989 : Formula 1 (7th place) 1990 : Formula 1 (4th place)

1991 : Formula 1 (4th place) 1992 : Formula 1 (5th place) 1993 : Formula 1 (8th place) 1994 : Formula 1 (3rd place) 1995 : Formula 1 (6th place) 1996 : Formula 1 (6th place) 1997 : Formula 1 (5th place)

Statistics in Formula 1

Grand Prix victories

1986:  Mexico  ( Mexico City ) 1987:  Japan  ( Suzuka ) 1987:  Australia  ( Adelaide ) 1988:  Italy  ( Monza )

1989:  Portugal  ( Estoril ) 1991:  Japan  (Suzuka) 1992:  Canada  ( Montréal ) 1992:  Australia  (Adelaide)

1994:  Germany  ( Hockenheim ) 1997:  Germany  (Hockenheim)

general overview

season	team	chassis	engine	run	Victories	Second	Third	Poles	nice Race laps	Points	WM-Pos.
1984	Team ATS	ATS D7	BMW 1.5 L4 Turbo	4th	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
1985	Barclay Arrows BMW	Arrows A8	BMW 1.5 L4 Turbo	16	-	-	-	-	-	3	20th
1986	Benetton Formula	Benetton B186	BMW 1.5 L4 Turbo	16	1	-	1	-	2	17th	7th
1987	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari F1 / 87	Ferrari 1.5 V6 Turbo	16	2	1	-	3	3	36	5.
1988	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari F1-87 / 88C	Ferrari 1.5 V6 Turbo	16	1	2	2	1	3	41	3.
1989	Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC	Ferrari 640	Ferrari 3.5 V12	15th	1	2	-	-	1	21st	7th
1990	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4 / 5B	Honda 3.5 V10	16	-	2	5	2	3	43	4th
1991	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4 / 6	Honda 3.5 V12	16	1	3	2	2	2	43	4th
1992	Honda Marlboro McLaren	McLaren MP4 / 6B /  7A  / 7B	Honda 3.5 V12	16	2	2	1	-	2	49	5.
1993	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari F93A	Ferrari 3.5 V12	16	-	-	1	-	-	12	8th.
1994	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 412T1  / 412T1B	Ferrari 3.5 V12	16	1	3	2	2	-	41	3.
1995	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 412T2	Ferrari 3.0 V12	17th	-	-	6th	1	2	31	6th
1996	Mild Seven Benetton Renault	Benetton B196	Renault 3.0 V10	16	-	1	1	-	1	21st	6th
1997	Mild Seven Benetton Renault	Benetton B197	Renault 3.0 V10	14th	1	1	-	1	2	27	5.
total				210	10	17th	21st	12	21st	385

Single results

season	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th	16	17th
1984
												12		6th	DNF	13
1985
	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	13	11	DNF	8th	7th	DNF	9	DNF	7th	10	5	6th
1986
	6th	6th	3	DNF	10	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	10	DNF	7th	5	DNF	1	DNF
1987
	4th	DNF	DNF	4th	4th	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	4th	2	DNF	DNF	1	1
1988
	2	5	2	3	DNF	DNF	4th	9	3	4th	DNF	1	DNF	6th	4th	DNF
1989
	DNF	DNF	INJ	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	2	1	2	DNF	DNF
1990
	DNF	2	2	3	4th	3	5	14 *	3	DNF	3	3	4th	DNF	DNF	4th
1991
	DNF	3	2	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	2	4th	4th	2	4th	DNF	DNF	1	3
1992
	5	4th	DNF	4th	DNF	DNF	1	DNF	5	DNF	3	DNF	4th	2	2	1
1993
	6 *	DNF	DNF	DNF	6th	14 *	4th	14th	DNF	6th	3	10 *	DNF	DNF	DNF	5
1994
	DNF	2	DNF	3	DNF	4th	3	DNF	1	12 *	DNF	2	DNF	5	DNF	2
1995
	3	6th	3	3	3	11 *	12	DNF	3	3	DNF	DNF	4th	DNF	4th	DNF	DNF
1996
	4th	DNF	DNF	9	3	DNF	DNF	DNF	4th	2	13 *	DNF	6th	DNF	6th	4th
1997
	4th	2	6th	DNF	9	10	INJ	INJ	INJ	1	8th	6th	7th	10	4th	8th	4th

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

1. ↑ Berger was the second ATS driver in 1984 to receive no championship points, as the team had only registered for the season with one vehicle.

Individual results in the sports car world championship

season	team	race car	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10
1985	Brun Motorsport	Porsche 956	MUG	MON	SIL	LEM	HOK	MOS	SPA	BRH	FUJ	SEL
							6th

Awards (excerpt)

• 2002: Gold Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria

literature

• Gerhard Berger: Home straight. Edition Autorevue, Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-9500754-0-2 .
• Christopher Hilton: Gerhard Berger. A racing career. SERAG, Pfäffikon 1993, ISBN 3-908007-71-2 .
• Gerhard Berger, Dieter Stappert: Borderline. Orac Verlag, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3-7015-0152-1 .

Web links

Commons : Gerhard Berger  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Gerhard Berger in the catalog of the German National Library
• Gerhard Berger on Motorsportarchiv.de ( Memento from June 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
• Gerhard Berger on f1datenbank.at
• Scuderia Toro Rosso
• Berger logistics

Individual evidence

1. ↑ New era in the DTM
2. ↑ Gerhard Berger. www.racingsportscars.com, accessed June 3, 2013 . 
3. ↑ Grand Prix of Austria 1984. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
4. ^ Grand Prix of Italy 1984. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
5. ^ Sven Haidinger: Gerhard Berger: The death jumped from the shovel in 1984. Motorsport-Total.com, August 27, 2018, accessed on August 27, 2018 . 
6. ^ Grand Prix of South Africa 1985. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
7. ↑ Australian Grand Prix 1985. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
8. ^ Grand Prix of Mexico 1986. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
9. ↑ Japanese Grand Prix 1987. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
10. ↑ Australian Grand Prix 1987. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
11. ↑ Italian Grand Prix 1988. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on September 22, 2013 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
12. ^ Grand Prix of Portugal 1989. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on October 30, 2013 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
13. ^ Grand Prix of Japan 1991. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on January 7, 2014 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
14. ^ Grand Prix of Canada 1992. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on January 12, 2014 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
15. ↑ Australian Grand Prix 1992. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on March 5, 2014 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
16. ↑ Hungarian Grand Prix 1993. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
17. ↑ German Grand Prix 1994. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
18. ^ Grand Prix of Canada 1995. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on February 10, 2015 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
19. ↑ Grand Prix of Germany 1996. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on September 4, 2014 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
20. ↑ Brazilian Grand Prix 1997. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on June 30, 2007 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
21. ^ Grand Prix of Great Britain 1997. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on March 23, 2008 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
22. ↑ Grand Prix of Germany 1997. (No longer available online.) Www.motorsportarchiv.de, archived from the original on March 23, 2008 ; Retrieved June 3, 2013 . 
23. ↑ Toro Rosso: Berger gets out. www.motorsport-total.com, November 25, 2008, accessed June 2, 2013 . 
24. ↑ ^{a b} Gerhard Berger: At 57, father for the fifth time. www.kurier.at, December 21, 2016, accessed on October 17, 2017 . 
25. ↑ Gerhard Berger's daughter takes off as an actress . Article dated October 15, 2016, accessed November 4, 2017.
26. ↑ Berger's beautiful daughter becomes a TV star . Article dated October 12, 2016, accessed November 4, 2017.
27. ↑ Gerhard Berger's beautiful daughter takes off . Article dated October 31, 2017, accessed November 4, 2017.