1991–1992: Leyton House/March Wendlinger's Formula One debut came at the
1991 Japanese Grand Prix at
Suzuka, bringing some money to the beleaguered
Leyton House team in place of long-serving
Ivan Capelli. He qualified in 22nd place in a field of 26, but was unable to convert that into anything more, after he retired due to a big collision at turn one, between himself,
JJ Lehto,
Andrea de Cesaris and
Emanuele Pirro. His second race didn't fare much better as the
Adelaide circuit was a wash-out, torrential rain leading to a curtailed event. Wendlinger was classified in 20th place, two laps down on eventual winner Ayrton Senna, after aquaplaning on some of the huge puddles of water present that day. Wendlinger was kept at the renamed March team in 1992, alongside
Paul Belmondo. The team were struggling financially due to the withdrawal of the
Leyton House organisation, the only modifications to the 1991 car being reworking the cockpit to accommodate Wendlinger's tall frame. The results were very encouraging, including starting seventh at the opening
South African Grand Prix but results were limited by the team's financial restraints. For example, at the Spanish Grand Prix the drying track at the start saw the
Footwork team make a late change of tyres to their cars on the starting grid, incurring a fine but finishing fifth and seventh. Wendlinger was eighth, March being unable to afford the fine for changing his tyres at the same time. However, at the
Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, a race of attrition allowed Wendlinger to bring the car home in fourth position, albeit a lap down — but nonetheless a huge result considering the financial troubles his team were in. These three points allowed Wendlinger to finish 12th in the Drivers' Championship ahead of respected names such as
Ivan Capelli,
Thierry Boutsen,
Johnny Herbert and former Brabham and Tyrrell driver
Stefano Modena.
1993–1995: Sauber at the
1993 British Grand Prix. For 1993, Wendlinger was re-united with
Peter Sauber, who that year had become a Formula One team owner. Much was expected of the team and early on Wendlinger and teammate
JJ Lehto mixed with the front runners. Initially, he was out-paced by Lehto, who scored points in two of the first four races, though some of this was down to bad luck; Wendlinger had qualified fifth at
Donington for example, only to be eliminated by
Michael Andretti on the first lap. At the
Monaco Grand Prix, Wendlinger and Lehto collided, the team blaming Lehto. After that, Wendlinger's results improved. He scored his first point of the season in the
next round and added three more points scores — the best being fourth at the
Italian Grand Prix after a long battle with Andretti. Other points finishes in
Portugal and
Hungary helped give Wendlinger 12th in the Drivers' Championship again with seven points — two points and a place ahead of the more experienced Lehto. For 1994, Wendlinger was retained as
Mercedes made their official return to Formula One, buying a stake in
Ilmor and becoming the team's engine supplier.
Heinz-Harald Frentzen arrived in place of Lehto. The season started well for Wendlinger: He scored a point in the first race of the year at
Interlagos and drove to fourth place in the
San Marino race, an event marred by the deaths of both Wendlinger's countryman
Roland Ratzenberger and the three-time world champion
Ayrton Senna. The next race was in
Monaco for the fourth round of the Championship. During the first practice session, Wendlinger exited the tunnel and lost control of the car under braking for the Nouvelle Chicane. The Sauber, sliding sideways, hit a barrier with considerable force; the barrier was protected by large plastic containers that were supposed to be filled with water but were not. Although his vital signs were quickly stabilized, he remained in a coma for several weeks and did not drive in a race for the rest of the year. He had planned to make his comeback at the
Japanese Grand Prix, but pre-race testing revealed his neck was not strong enough. Wendlinger recovered from his injuries before the start of the 1995 Formula One season, where he would be driving at Sauber (now with Ford engines) alongside Frentzen. However, he performed poorly and was reluctantly replaced in the team before the Monaco Grand Prix, a year on from the accident, by
Jean-Christophe Boullion.
Peter Sauber then recalled Wendlinger for the final two races of the season in one last attempt to regain his pre-accident form, without success. Wendlinger later recounted that he had admitted to himself that his Monaco crash had left him unable to "withstand the stresses and strains of Formula One". ==After Formula One==