Christian Johannes Vietoris ( , ; born 1 April 1989) is a German former racing driver. He competed in the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, commonly abbreviated as the DTM, is a sports car racing series sanctioned by ADAC. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The series currently races a modified version of Group GT3 gra ...

, most recently for

HWA Team HWA Team, also known as HWA RACELAB, is the auto racing team of HWA AG, a German company based in Affalterbach, that also develops and builds vehicles and components for Mercedes-AMG race cars. It is named after founder Hans-Werner Aufrecht. ...

. Vietoris has also been a part of the revitalized Mercedes-Benz Junior Team, together with

Robert Wickens Robert Tyler Wickens (born March 13, 1989) is a Canadians, Canadian racing driver from Guelph, Ontario, driving in the Sprint Cup of the IMSA SportsCar Championship for DXDT Racing. In 2009 he finished in second place in the 2009 FIA Formula Two ...

and

Roberto Merhi Roberto Merhi Muntan (born 22 March 1991) is a Spanish racing driver, who competes in the GT300 class of Super GT for LeMans. Merhi competed in Formula One at 14 Grands Prix in . Merhi previously competed in Formula E for Mahindra and who ...

. Vietoris made his debut in the DTM in 2011, driving for Persson Motorsport, before being promoted to HWA for the 2012 DTM season.

Career

Karting

Vietoris started his career through karting, the most common entry point for all racing drivers, in 1994. Nine years after starting his karting career, the young German was the national Junior Kart champion and a year later came second Western German Karting Championship.

Formula BMW

In 2005, Vietoris moved up to

Formula BMW ADAC Formula BMW was a junior racing formula for single seater cars. It was positioned at the bottom of the motorsport career ladder alongside the longer established Formula Ford category. Like Formula Ford, it was intended to function as the young k ...

with Eifelland Racing. Vietoris finished his first FBMW campaign sixteenth in the Drivers' Championship with fifteen points, sharing his position with fellow German Dominik Wasem. In 2006, Vietoris moved to

Josef Kaufmann Racing Josef Kaufmann Racing is a motorsport team from Germany. It mainly operates in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 as well as Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. The team was founded in 1982. History In 1982, Josef Kaufmann Racing was founde ...

, where he won the Drivers' Championship with 277 points and taking nine race wins, his nearest rival being

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Mika Mäki Mika Mäki (born February 27, 1988) is a Finnish former racing driver. Career Mika started in karting, and competed for five years before heading to Germany and its Formula BMW ADAC series in 2005, finishing fourth in the Rookie Cup, and too ...

. As well as his German FBMW title, Vietoris won the Formula BMW World Final, ahead of other FBMW champions such as

, the 2006 US FBMW champion, and the British Formula BMW champion, Niall Breen, winning himself a test for the

BMW Sauber The German automobile manufacturer/brand BMW has been involved in Formula One in a number of capacities since the inauguration of the World Drivers' Championship in . The company entered occasional races in the 1950s and 1960s (often under Form ...

F1 team. Following his impressive performances in Formula BMW, Vietoris was picked by

A1 Team Germany A1 Team Germany was the German team of A1 Grand Prix, an international racing series. The team were the A1 Grand Prix champions for the second season, 2006-07. They were run by the English Super Nova Racing team until the end of 2007-08. GU- ...

to replace

Nico Hülkenberg Nicolas Hülkenberg (, born 19 August 1987) is a German racing driver who competes in Formula One for Sauber. In endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing, Hülkenberg won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2015 with Por ...

for the Mexican round of the 2006–07 season.

Formula Three

In 2007, Vietoris competed in the

ATS Formel 3 Cup The German Formula Three Championship was the national Formula Three championship of Germany, and the former West Germany, from 1950 to 2002, then as Formel 3 until 2014. In 2003, the series had merged with the French Formula Three Championship t ...

for Josef Kaufmann Racing, finishing in fifth. He moved on to the

Formula Three Euroseries The Formula 3 Euro Series was a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched (in its current form) in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship. The ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

for

Mücke Motorsport Mücke Motorsport (also known as ADAC Berlin-Brandenburg) is an auto racing team based in Germany. History Single-seaters Mücke Motorsport was formed by Peter Mücke in 1998 to run his son Stefan Mücke in the German Formula BMW ADAC series, ...

. He had a solid season, ending up eighth in the championship with one win coming at the

Norisring The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as a motorcycle racing venue in 1947 and named in a 1950 competition to win a light motorcycle, the track became known as a sports car racing venue in the 19 ...

. He set a pair of fastest laps – at

Mugello The Mugello () is a historic region and valley in northern Tuscany, Italy, corresponding to the course of the River Sieve. It is located to the north of the city of Florence and includes the northernmost portion of the Metropolitan City of Fl ...

and

Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts ...

– and was on pole at the

Nürburgring The () is a 150,000-person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Grand Prix motor racing, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long configuration, built in the 1920s ...

. He continued in the F3 Euroseries in

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

with Mücke Motorsport, finishing as runner-up to the dominant

Jules Bianchi Jules Lucien André Bianchi (; 3 August 1989 – 17 July 2015) was a French racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Born and raised in Nice, Bianchi was the grandson of endurance racing driver Mauro Bianchi and the great-nephew ...

. Vietoris won four races over the course of the season, adding a further four podiums and a fastest lap at Brands once again, as he helped keep Mücke in contention for the teams title until he left for GP2 Asia.

GP2 Series

Vietoris missed the final round of the F3 Euroseries season to join up with the

DAMS A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, ...

team for a

GP2 Asia Series The GP2 Asia Series was a form of open wheel motor racing as a result of a spin-off from the GP2 Series. History The series was officially announced during the weekend of the 2007 Monaco GP2 Series round. GP2 series organiser Bruno Michel com ...

test at the

Yas Marina Circuit The Yas Marina Circuit (Arabic: حلبة مرسى ياس) is a 5.281 km (3.281 mi) motorsport circuit situated on Yas Island, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke. It has hosted the season-ending Formula One ...

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

. He raced in the 2009–10 season for the team. He moved to

Racing Engineering Racing Engineering is a Spanish racing team founded in 1999 by Alfonso de Orléans-Borbón that currently competes in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. The team's headquarters are located in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, near Jerez, where all car prep ...

for the 2010 main series, winning one race en route to ninth place in the drivers' championship. He missed the final round of the season due to

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the Appendix (anatomy), appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, fever and anorexia (symptom), decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these t ...

; his seat was taken by

Ho-Pin Tung Ho-Pin Tung (; born December 4, 1982) is a Dutch-born racing driver who races with a Chinese license. Career Tung was born in Velp, Gelderland, Netherlands, to Chinese parents with ancestry tracing to Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. Tung starte ...

. Vietoris remains with Racing Engineering for the

2011 GP2 Series season The 2011 GP2 Series season was the forty-fifth season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also seventh season under the GP2 Series moniker, the pan-European motor racing series for single specification open wheel GP2 car ...

, alongside

Dani Clos Daniel Clos Álvarez (born 23 October 1988) is a Spanish former professional racecar driver and YouTuber. In 2012, he was the test driver for the now defunct HRT Formula One team. Career Karting Born in Barcelona, Clos was a fairly successfu ...

. After crashing heavily during the first round of the season at

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, he complained of recurring headaches and was replaced by

Álvaro Parente Álvaro Maia Parente (born 4 October 1984) is a Portugal, Portuguese professional racing driver. Career Early career After winning the Karting European Junior Championship in 1998, Porto-born Parente made his debut in auto racing in 2001 at ...

until he recovered and returned to the cockpit in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

. At

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), informally referred to as Spa, is a motor-racing circuit located in Francorchamps, Stavelot, Wallonia, Belgium, about southeast of Spa. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, ho ...

, he took his first series

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the ra ...

and converted it into victory, also setting his first fastest lap in the process. He also won the sprint race finale at

Monza Monza (, ; ; , locally ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the Lambro, River Lambro, a tributary of the Po (river), River Po, in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the province of Mo ...

, rising to seventh in the drivers' championship.

DTM

Vietoris made his debut in the DTM, dovetailing his 2011 GP2 campaign with a season driving a

Persson Motorsport Persson Motorsport was an auto racing team based in Germany. Managed by Ingmar Persson, they have competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (formerly Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft) since their formation in 1993 until 2012, running privateer ...

Mercedes in the

. His best result as a rookie was a 5th place at Oschersleben. Another highlight was reaching the semi-final at the non-points Showevent at the Olympic Stadium in München. On 3 April 2012 Mercedes announced the revival of the Mercedes-Benz Junior Team that has guided several notable drivers in their racing careers like

Heinz-Harald Frentzen Heinz-Harald Frentzen (; born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Frentzen was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Williams, and won three Grands Prix across 10 se ...

Karl Wendlinger Karl Wendlinger (; born 20 December 1968) is an Austrian professional racing and former Formula One driver. Mercedes Juniors Born in Kufstein, Wendlinger started his career in karting and in Formula Ford before entering the German Formula 3 Ch ...

and

Michael Schumacher Michael Schumacher (; born 3 January 1969) is a German former racing driver, who competed in Formula One from to and from to . Schumacher won a record-setting seven Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, tied by Lewis Hamilton in ...

. With that announcement came the news that Vietoris, together with the reigning

Formula 3 Euroseries The Formula 3 Euro Series was a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched (in its current form) in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship. The F ...

champion

and the reigning Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion

, would become a part of the new Junior Team and that the three of them would drive for the Junior Team in the 2012 DTM season. 7-time F1 World Champion

was to be involved with the three drivers by serving as a mentor. Driving under the Junior Team-moniker meant for Vietoris that he would switch teams for his sophomore season in the DTM, trading in his place at Persson Motorsport for the elite team of Mercedes in the DTM,

, replacing

Bruno Spengler Bruno Spengler (born August 23, 1983) is an Alsatian-born Canadian racing driver. A long-term Mercedes-AMG and BMW factory driver, he currently works for Bugatti. He is the 2012 DTM champion. Career Early career Spengler was born near Strasbo ...

, who left Mercedes for BMW.

Records

Vietoris is the youngest driver ever to win an

A1 Grand Prix A1 Grand Prix Operations Ltd. operated as A1 Grand Prix (A1GP) was a "single-make" open-wheel auto racing series that ran from 2005 until 2009. It was unique in its field in that competitors solely represented their nation as opposed to themse ...

race. He took the chequered flag during the

2007–08 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, New Zealand The 2007–08 A1 Grand Prix of Nations, New Zealand is an A1 Grand Prix race, which was held on 20 January 2008 at the Taupo Motorsport Park, New Zealand. This will be the fifth meeting in the 2007–08 A1 Grand Prix season. Pre-race The Taup ...

Taupo Motorsport Park Taupo International Motorsport Park and Events Centre (previously known as the Bruce McLaren Motorsport Park) is a motorsports circuit located in Broadlands Road, Taupō, New Zealand. It is owned by Tony Quinn who also owns Highlands Motorspor ...

at just 18 years, nine months and 19 days old, beating the previous record for youngest A1GP winner by exactly five months. That record was held by the team's former driver,

, who won on his debut at

Zandvoort Zandvoort () is a municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands; it has a long sandy beach. It is bordered by coastal dunes of Zuid-Kennemerland National Park and the Amsterdam ...

in 2006.

Racing record

Career summary

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed over 90% of the race distance.

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP2 Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete DTM results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Driver retired, but was classified as they completed 75% of the winner's race distance.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vietoris, Christian 1989 births Living people People from Gerolstein Racing drivers from Rhineland-Palatinate Formula BMW ADAC drivers German racing drivers Formula 3 Euro Series drivers A1 Team Germany drivers GP2 Asia Series drivers GP2 Series drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup drivers Eifelland Racing drivers Josef Kaufmann Racing drivers Mücke Motorsport drivers DAMS drivers Racing Engineering drivers HWA Team drivers Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers Strakka Racing drivers A1 Grand Prix drivers Super Nova Racing drivers Nürburgring 24 Hours drivers 24 Hours of Spa drivers