Gerhard Berger is a well-known Austrian race car driver who plays for different teams in Formula 1. Repeatedly was the winner and prize-winner at the stages of competitions.
Gerhard Berger. Talented Debutant
He was born in August 1959 in the Austrian city of Wergl. He began his professional career with car races held under the auspices of Alfa Romeo, where he showed very good results.
Soon, Gerhard Berger moved to a more prestigious Formula 3, where he successfully competed with the famous Italian Ivan Capelli in the fight for the title of champion of the continent. In 1984, Berger was invited to the German Formula 1 team - ATS. In his debut race on his native Austrian track, Gerhard showed only the twelfth result.
More successful was the performance at the Italian Grand Prix, held at the famous circuit in Monza. Gerhard Berger in competition with eminent and more experienced pilots managed to finish sixth. Unfortunately, due to his non-inclusion in the official application for the championship, the Austrian racer did not receive points for this achievement.
Car crash and first successes
1985 began for the young Gerhard Berger, whose photo can be seen in the article, is very unsuccessful. He got into a car accident, as a result of which he broke his cervical vertebrae. Despite this, he quickly recovered and returned to Formula 1, where he began to play for a new team - Arrows.
After four unsuccessful stages in which the Austrian could not reach the finish line, he began to show relatively good results. And at the last two Grand Prix (in South Africa and Australia) he managed to get into the points zone.
In 1986, Gerhard Berger was a race car driver representing the Benetton Italian team. After the finish in the spectacle zone at the Grand Prix of Brazil and Spain, the Austrian at the stage in San Marino for the first time won third place and went up to the podium.
But the best results were ahead. At the Mexican Grand Prix, Berger confidently dealt with the illustrious Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna and won the first time at the Formula 1 stage. Thanks to these results, he received an invitation to speak for one of the most famous companies - Ferrari.
New victories and achievements
In the three seasons spent at Ferrari, Gerhard Berger won the Grand Prix four times and entered the top three seven times. In the 1988 season, he scored 41 points and took a record third for himself in the overall standings.
However, in the next championship he often had problems with the machine. At the stage in San Marino, as a result of the accident, his car caught fire, and only on time the rescuers arrived in time saved the pilot from serious consequences.
After a series of setbacks, Gerhard Berger signed a contract with the McLaren British Stable in 1990, in which he paired with the legendary Ayrton Senna. Remaining a bit in the shadow of the Brazilian, the Austrian racer showed consistently high results, regularly scored points and invariably entered the top five Formula 1 pilots.
In 1993, Berger returned to the stable "Ferrari". A year and a half Gerhard could not win, ending this series only at the German Grand Prix in 1994. He insultingly missed another victory at one of the turns of the stage in Australia, where Nigel Mansell successfully used the Austrian's mistake. At the end of the season, Berger repeated his record, taking third place in the overall standings.
Return to Benetton and retirement
Further. After another season at Ferrari, Gerhard Berger decided to return to Benetton in search of new victories. However, here he continued to pursue periodic setbacks. At a stage in Germany, just a few laps before the finish line, his car ignited and burned out the engine.
In 1997, in his last Formula 1 season, an Austrian race car driver missed three races due to severe sinusitis, and then returned and won a brilliant victory at the German Grand Prix. It was the last triumph not only for Berger Gerhard, but also for Benetton.
Feeling serious competition from the young pilots, the driver decided to end his sports career at the end of the season. So he did.
