Max Wilson
Max Wilson ( born August 22, 1972 in Hamburg) is a Brazilian professional racing driver.
Career
As with many successful racers and Max Wilson's career began in karting in 1985, he played first race in Brazil and won in the sequence number of regional and national titles. Its distinctive style in karting helped him to debut in Formula racing and his career took on various junior formulas to a test driver contract with the Williams F1 racing team.
The first successes in Brazil
1993 Max Wilson was in his first season in car racing at first runner up in the Brazilian Formula Ford Championship. In 1994, Wilson the chance to Formula Chevrolet, the Brazilian counterpart to the German Opel Lotus Challenge ascend. He just going down to Felipe Giaffone in the title fight. The following season he made his debut in the South American Formula 3 Championship, but lost his cockpit despite successful debuts (2nd place) because of problems with the sponsors.
At the last minute Max Wilson received a call from Dárcio dos Santos, an uncle of Formula 1 driver Rubens Barrichello, in his Dallara- Opel - Spiess he won right away when F1 support race in Buenos Aires. Once again plagued by financial adversity, the title fight between Max Wilson and his opponent Ricardo Zonta came to a head. An accident in Cascavel apparently damaged the chassis and Wilson lost in a row in the table to the floor to Zonta.
When ITC races in 1996 in the Brazilian Interlagos Max Wilson went as a guest in an Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI at the start in the second race and was second behind Nicola Larini.
Jump to Europe
Meanwhile, his friend and arranged temporary manager, ex-racing driver Mario Alberto Bauer, a test drive with Willi Weber's WTS -F3 team and acted following a one-time start abroad with BSR team boss Bertram Schäfer for the Brazilians. At the penultimate DM- run, which took place at Magny -Cours in the context of the DTM race, Max Wilson gabT its recommendation for a cockpit for 1996 off with a sixth and a fifth place.
Meanwhile, dos Santos had procured a new chassis for the final two races in Brazil, but the residue on Zonta was too large, so Max Wilson missed the league title again. Bauer negotiated in Germany with BSR and WTS have a contract for his friend. When Willi Weber sold his WTS barn at the Munich Georg TOKMAKIDIS, this same was named the Brazilian as a recommendation and it was quickly agreed to.
Formula 3 in Germany
Wilson, who was born in Hamburg, but purely Brazilian origin indeed, moved in early 1996 to Munich. He promptly won with his new team an early season race in Hockenheim and became one of the favorites. But then subjected to dark clouds above the team. The Dutchman Tom Coronel rose as team-mate before the first run of DM, drivers and team personnel came and went, the climate in the team deteriorated, results from bleeben, Wilson left the team after a few runs. This was one of the title favorites (next to Jarno Trulli, Nick Heidfeld and Arnd Meier ) because without cockpit.
Wilson joined the Italian Prema Power -F3 team, where he took over a Dallara- Fiat next to the Macau - Portuguese André Couto. A victory in adverse weather conditions in Diepholz was the only highlight of the Fiat engine was inferior to the Opel - Spiess F3 engines hopeless. Max Wilson retired from Prema back then also, the tenth in the standings was the meager yield.
Rise in the Formula 3000
1997 Max Wilson came to the English team Edenbridge Racing and rose with the former champion team of the British Formula 3 championship in Formula 3000. His team mate, there was the South African Werner Lupberger. Wilson finished the season in fifth place in the standings, 19 points behind champion Ricardo Zonta, who in his second season already secured the title. In 1998 Max Wilson denied the F3000 season with Edenbridge, landed a second place at Spa- Francorchamps and was hired by the WilliamsF1 team in addition to Juan Pablo Montoya as a second test driver.
1999 Max Wilson formed together with Bruno Junqueira the Petrobras Junior Team in Formula 3000 The season opener at Imola was the mirror image of the entire season. Pole position, but in the race failure after bump of Nick Heidfeld. Worse: At Hockenheim, Wilson interconnected in the lead and just team-mate Junqueira scurried over to the single season victory of the team.
With the second place in Hockenheim and two third grades, the only points finish in ten races, Max Wilson landed only on table eighth. Team-mate Junqueira had, in addition to a victory, regular points scored and finished the championship in fifth place. Contract deals for the following season remained barren.
The door to the Formula 1 falls to
The year 2000 started badly. The test contract with the Williams team was not renewed, the British gave Junqueira preference. Giancarlo Minardi, owner of the eponymous Formula 1 team, had invited the Brazilians to test drive, despite good test times but received the Argentine Gastón Mazzacane at the request of team sponsors Telefonica preference for the single free cockpit.
Max Wilson was unemployed jumped sportscar project for the 24 - hour race at Le Mans with Klaus Zwaarts one, but the Ascari named new development failed due to gearbox problems already in the qualification. It was to be a year without a single race, only tests for tire manufacturer Michelin in a disused Williams F1 chassis helped over the career slump of time.
No love for the oval
For the 2001 season, Max Wilson of Arciero - Blair Racing team for the Champ Car series was committed. Only highlight: At Road America Wilson drove in the pouring rain out in fourth place. Inexperience leave on the unusual oval tracks, and with a underfunded team without a recommendation based on its own behalf, it stayed at a guest performance in the United States.
The accident of Alex Zanardi, where the Italians lost both legs, contributed to a More about Wilson's aversion to oval racing. With no options in the U.S. and Europe by his friend, the ex-Formula 1 driver Luciano Burti, mediated contract with Briggs Motorsport for the Australian V8 Supercar series was located.
Moving to Australia
Wilson lived in his new surroundings well, even if the heavy-weight V8 touring car acclimatization needed. The fifth grid position equal to the second round, the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, let sit up. Generally, he reached good training results ( eleven of 14 qualifications in the top 15 ), in the race but kept mostly the more experienced locals the upper hand.
For the 2003 season, Max Wilson moved to Dick Johnson Racing, but only at the final race of the season managed a podium finish. Triple 8 Racing offered him a two- year contract to, but different problems during the 2004 season prevented good results and after a heated discussion ended the team leading the contract prematurely.
Sympathy bonus after sacking
When all the doors seemed closed, handed team dynamics a lifeline. The sympathetic nature of the Brazilian gave him the cockpit, instead of an Australian pilot. The young team should be satisfied at the end with a fifth place in the city of Shanghai race and a top-10 result at Oran Park.
For 2006 Max Wilson was the established WPS Racing team priority, where he had with veteran Jason Bargwanna one of the top people of the Australian scene as a teammate. His best finish was eighth place in the season opener, the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide.
Max Wilson lives in Gold Coast, Australia.
Credentials
- Motorsport News, Motor Presse, Switzerland
- Archive Petrobras, Brazil
- Press material WilliamsF1, England
- Press material AVESCO, Australia