Auto Racing Drivers from Europe Quiz

Alex Wurz (born 1974 in Waidhofen an der Thaya) is an Austrian racing driver who began his motorsport career in karting before progressing to Formula Ford in 1991 and the German Formula 3 Championship in 1993. He gained significant recognition in 1996 when he became the youngest-ever winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, driving for Joest Racing.

Wurz made his Formula One debut with Benetton in 1997, replacing the ill Gerhard Berger at the Canadian Grand Prix. He secured a podium in only his third race, finishing third at Silverstone. In 1998, he became a full-time Benetton driver and finished the season in 8th place in the Drivers' Championship, ahead of his teammate Giancarlo Fisichella. Despite a difficult 1999 season, Wurz continued with Benetton in 2000, finishing in the points just once (at the Italian Grand Prix).

He became a McLaren test driver from 2001 to 2005 and competed in the 2005 San Marino Grand Prix, finishing on the podium after both BAR-Honda drivers were disqualified. Wurz joined Williams as a test and reserve driver in 2006 and was promoted to a race seat in 2007, scoring points in Monaco, Canada and at the European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. He retired from Formula One at the end of that season, citing doubts about his commitment.

Wurz then turned to endurance racing, joining Peugeot and winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans for a second time in 2009 - thirteen years after his first victory. He continued to race for Peugeot until 2011 and later joined Toyota Motorsport for their 2012 Le Mans campaign.

Jan Magnussen (born 1973 in Roskilde) is a Danish racing driver who began his motorsport career in karting, winning the 1987 Karting World Championship shortly after his 14th birthday. He switched to single-seaters in the early 1990s and dominated the 1994 British Formula 3 Championship, winning 14 of 18 races.

Magnussen made his Formula One debut with McLaren in 1995, filling in for the unwell Mika Hakkinen at the Pacific Grand Prix. He later joined Stewart Grand Prix as a full-time driver for the 1997 and 1998 seasons, scoring his only championship point with a sixth-place finish in the 1998 Canadian Grand Prix. In total, he competed in 25 F1 Grands Prix.

After Formula One, Magnussen had several guest appearances in the CART (Champ Car) series between 1996 and 1999, including a substitute role following Emerson Fittipaldi's retirement. He also competed in the DTM and ITC Touring Car Championships during the mid-1990s.

Magnussen had considerable success in endurance racing, particularly with Corvette Racing. He achieved four class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2004, 2005, 2006 and 2009) and won the GT1 class championship in the 2008 American Le Mans Series. He continued with Corvette Racing until 2019.

In addition to his international career, Magnussen competed in the Danish Touring Car Championship, winning the title in 2003 and 2008. He is also known as the father of Kevin Magnussen, who also drove in Formula One.

Kenny Bräck (born 1966 in Arvika) is a Swedish racing driver best known for his success in American open-wheel racing. He began his motorsport career in European single-seaters and later competed in the International Formula 3000 Championship.

Seeking new opportunities, Bräck moved to the United States and joined the Indy Racing League (IRL) in 1997. Driving for A.J. Foyt Enterprises, Bräck won the IRL championship in his second season, taking three wins that year and leading 23 laps in the Indianapolis 500. In 1999, he made history by becoming the first Swedish driver to win the Indianapolis 500, a major milestone in his career.

Bräck moved to the Champ Car series with Team Rahal in 2000, winning Rookie of the Year honours and finishing second in the 2001 championship behind Gil de Ferran. In 2001, he also won the American Memorial at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz, the first Champ Car oval race in Europe after a 23-year absence.

On 13 October 2003, Bräck was involved in a serious accident at Texas Motor Speedway during the Chevy Indy 500. His car made contact with Tomas Scheckter's at around 350 km/h, went airborne and hit the safety fence. He survived with multiple injuries, including fractures to his lumbar vertebrae, right femur and both ankles.

After a long period of recovery and rehabilitation, Bräck returned for one final race, the 2005 Indianapolis 500, as a replacement for the injured Buddy Rice - the same driver who had replaced him after his accident. It would be his last professional race.

Nick Heidfeld (born 1977 in Mönchengladbach) is a former German racing driver who has competed in a variety of motorsport disciplines. He began his motorsport career in motocross at age 5 and started karting in 1984, when he was 7. He went on to win titles in German Formula Ford and German Formula 3. In 1999, Heidfeld won the International Formula 3000 Championship, paving the way for his entry into Formula One.

Heidfeld made his Formula One debut in 2000 for the Prost Grand Prix team. He joined Sauber in 2001, where he scored his first podium finish with third place in the Brazilian Grand Prix. Over the next few years, Heidfeld drove for a number of teams, including Jordan, Williams and BMW Sauber. During his time with BMW Sauber from 2006 to 2009 in particular, he secured several podium finishes and was instrumental in the team's development. Heidfeld gained the record for the most podium finishes (13) without a race win in Formula One when his career concluded in 2011.

After his F1 career, Heidfeld moved into endurance racing and competed in events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship. He later joined the Formula E series, driving for teams such as Venturi and Mahindra Racing.

Mika Salo (born 1966 in Helsinki) is a Finnish racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1994 to 2002. He began karting at the age of six, won several Finnish championships and dominated the 1988 Formula Ford season with 14 wins in 14 races before moving to British Formula 3 where he finished runner-up to Mika Häkkinen in 1990. After a stint in Japanese Formula 3000, Salo made his F1 debut with Lotus at the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix.​

In 1995 Salo joined Tyrrell, where he spent three seasons and scored points, including fifth places in Australia and Italy. In 1998 he moved to Arrows and scored a season-best fourth place in the Monaco Grand Prix.

In 1999 Salo had short stints with BAR and Ferrari. At Ferrari, he replaced the injured Michael Schumacher for six races and scored two podiums: second at the German Grand Prix and third at Monza. His contributions helped Ferrari win the Constructors' Championship that year.

Salo joined Sauber in 2000 and scored points in several races, including fifth places in Monaco and Canada. He then became a test driver for Toyota in 2001 and drove for them in their debut season in 2002, scoring points in Australia and Brazil. He retired from Formula One at the end of that season, having competed in 109 Grands Prix and scored 33 championship points.

After F1, Salo competed in Champ Car and various endurance series, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he won his class in 2008 and 2009. He also raced in the FIA GT Championship and was involved in high-profile projects such as Maserati's MC12 debut and the P 4/5 Competizione.

Fernando Alonso (born 1981 in Oviedo) is a Spanish racing driver who has competed in various motorsport disciplines. He began karting at the age of three and won the Euro Open by Nissan in 1999. The following year, he finished fourth in the International Formula 3000 Championship.

Alonso made his Formula One debut with Minardi in 2001. After a year as a test driver, he joined the Renault team in 2003 and won his first Grand Prix in Hungary. In 2005, he became the youngest world champion at the time, ending Michael Schumacher's five-year dominance. He successfully defended his title in 2006.

He later drove for McLaren, returned to Renault and joined Ferrari, where he finished runner-up three times between 2010 and 2013. After leaving F1, Alonso won the Le Mans 24 Hours twice (2018 and 2019) and the FIA World Endurance Championship with Toyota. During this time he also competed in the Indianapolis 500 and the Dakar Rally.

Alonso returned to Formula One in 2021 with Alpine. In 2023, he joined Aston Martin, where he scored his 100th career podium and became the first driver to compete in 400 Grands Prix.

Dario Franchitti (born 1973 in Bathgate) is a Scottish racing driver best known in American open-wheel racing. He began his motorsport career in karting and won several junior championships in the UK in the 1980s. He won the Formula Vauxhall Junior Championship in 1991 and the Formula Vauxhall Lotus Championship in 1993. In the mid-1990s, Franchitti raced in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM) with AMG-Mercedes.

Franchitti moved to the American CART series in 1997 with Hogan Racing. In 1998 he joined Team Green, where he scored three race wins and finished third in the championship. In 1999 he narrowly missed out on the title, tied on points with Juan Pablo Montoya but losing on a tie-breaker due to fewer wins.

Franchitti moved to the IndyCar Series in 2003 with Andretti Green Racing. He won four IndyCar championships (2007, 2009, 2010, 2011) and won the Indianapolis 500 three times (2007, 2010, 2012). He also won the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2008.

Franchitti's racing career came to an end after a serious crash in Houston in 2013, which left him with multiple injuries. He has been inducted into several halls of fame following his career, including the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame and the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America.

Arie Luyendyk (born 1953 in Sommelsdijk) is a Dutch racing driver nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman". Luyendyk began his motorsport career in the European junior formulas and won the European Formula Super Vee Championship in 1977. He later moved to the United States, where he won the U.S. Formula Super Vee title in 1984.​

Luyendyk made his Indianapolis 500 debut in 1985, finished seventh and was named Rookie of the Year. He later won the Indy 500 twice in 1990 and 1997. In addition to his wins, Luyendyk set enduring records at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In 1996, he recorded the fastest qualifying lap at 237.498 mph and the fastest four-lap average at 236.986 mph. ​

Throughout his career, Luyendyk also found success in sports car racing, winning the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1989 and the 24 Hours of Daytona in 1998. He retired from full-time competition in 1999 but made occasional appearances at the Indy 500 until 2003.

Nicolas Minassian (born 1973 in Marseille) is a French racing driver of Armenian descent. He began his motorsport career in karting before progressing to the French Formula Renault Championship, where he finished as runner-up in 1993. He then moved on to the French Formula Three Championship, where he finished second in 1995. His move to the British Formula Three Championship saw him finish fourth in 1996 and second in 1997.
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Minassian moved up to the International Formula 3000 series, driving for teams such as West Competition, Kid Jensen Racing and Super Nova Racing. His most notable season came in 2000 when he finished runner-up in the championship with Super Nova.

In 2001, he moved to the CART series with Target Chip Ganassi Racing and competed in the Indianapolis 500. His time in CART was short, however, and he soon shifted his focus to endurance racing. He competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans on several occasions, finishing on the podium in 2008 and 2011 for Peugeot. He has also won the Le Mans Series and competed in events such as the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans.

Teodorico "Teo" Fabi (born 1955 in Milan) is an Italian racing driver whose career spanned Formula One, IndyCar and endurance racing. He initially competed in Formula Two, racing for the works March Engineering team in 1979 and 1980. Fabi finished tenth in the championship in his first season and improved to third place overall in 1980, behind Brian Henton and Derek Warwick.

Fabi entered Formula One with Toleman in 1982, but struggled in qualifying due to the team's uncompetitive machinery. He returned to F1 in 1984 with Brabham, sharing the seat with his brother Corrado as he juggled commitments in the CART series. Fabi secured his first F1 podium that year, finishing third at the Detroit Grand Prix. He continued with Toleman in 1985 and then Benetton in 1986 and 1987, taking two pole positions in 1986 and another podium in 1987 at the Austrian Grand Prix. Over the course of his F1 career, Fabi competed in 71 Grands Prix, taking three pole positions, two podiums and scoring 23 championship points.​

Alongside his F1 career, Fabi competed in the CART series and made a significant impact in his rookie season in 1983, taking four race wins and finishing runner-up in the championship. Fabi also excelled in endurance racing, winning the 1991 World Sportscar Championship with Jaguar and securing podium finishes in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, including second place in 1993.