Wurz has retired

[Steven Roy]

http://www.itv-f1.com/News_Article.aspx?PO_ID=41015

Alex Wurz has retired from F1 and will not race in Brazil.  Although his comeback has not been the success I expected it to be I will always remember him wheel to wheel with Schumacher at Monaco.

[cosworth151]

Sad to see him go, but no real surprise. He did have his good moments, like the Monaco race you mention.

[johnbull]

A great guy. He'll be missed because he was a pleasant sort. Good of him to have the guts and self discipline to make such a difficult decision. i admire him.

I wonder who will be in the second Willy at Brazil.

[FW14B]

I always liked Wurz and was really pleased when he joined Williams, and even more so when he got to race this season.  He wasn't at his best in qualifying, but he always raced well.  A great man too he seemed.  I am not surprised he is retiring, although I'd have liked to have seen him drive in Brazil.  Good luck to him with whatever he does next.

As for who will take the second seat, since the announcement is tomorrow, I can only think it will be Nakajima. 

[Monty]

I can't help wondering if part of the reason limiting the amount of success Wurz has enjoyed is literally his shape/size. He doesn't fit a modern F1 car. When I actually saw him in the car I was amazed he could drive at all (in fact he often drove brilliantly). Perhaps he should follow Justin Wilson (another six footer) and drive in Champ Cars.

[Alianora La Canta]

Wurz is a really good tester, and Williams should hold onto him as tightly as possible in that role. As a racer, he was OK, but heavily hampered by his difficulties with the qualifying format. Best of luck to Alex in the future.

[Scott]

With his experience in and out of the car, I'm sure he'll find plenty of opportunities still within F1.  I wish him all the luck, and can't wait to see what he'll be up to and with whom.

[Steven Roy]

Williams have announced that Kazuki Nakajima will drive in Brazil.  I guess if he does well he will have a good chance of getting the seat next season and if he screws up Williams will be able to stop Toyota forcing them to give him the drive.  Tough job to have one race to create an impression.

[raindancer]

FW has made it clear that this will not have a bearing on the next year drivers seat. Wish Ralf and Fisichella do the same and DC too seems to have had his day.

[Steven Roy]

A bit harsh on DC after he beat Webber in qualifying on Saturday and on lost out on 4th in the race because lost places because of the timing of his pit stop.  During Michael Scumacher's F1 career DC scored more points than any other driver.  That puts him in a different class to Fisi and Ralf.

[FW14B]

I think DC is driving very well lately, much better than Fisi or Ralf, or some of the younger drivers too. 

As for Kazuki, it will be interesting to see how he drives but I am not too sure how much I would want him to be in a seat for the whole of next season.  Not only because it will appear Williams has lost some integrity by racing a Toyota driver, but because I think there are better drivers who could be available with more experience giving Nakajima a little more time to adapt as he seems quite eratic in practice sessions.  I think I'd personally go for Liuzzi to see how he could do in a more stable environment.

[Ian]

While DC is'nt one of my top pics, I think he's doing a great job at he moment and I wish him well, he'd be an assett to any team.

[raindancer]

No disrespect to DC. Just thought the sport is getting younger and one more seat will be available to a young driver. DC is never going to win the WC anyway.

[SennaMan]

I can't help wondering if part of the reason limiting the amount of success Wurz has enjoyed is literally his shape/size. He doesn't fit a modern F1 car. When I actually saw him in the car I was amazed he could drive at all (in fact he often drove brilliantly). Perhaps he should follow Justin Wilson (another six footer) and drive in Champ Cars.

very good point monty - most F1 drivers today are not big men and are almost as small as motor bike riders with one difference. They have to have thicker necks to withstand the "G's" and thicker skins to take the scrutiny!

Size of jockeys in future?