🇦🇹 Harald Ertl

Harald Ertl was an established professional racing driver who competed in Formula 1 between 1975 and 1978. He made 20 starts for Ensign and Hesketh, the latter fielding him for 18 of those appearances. Ertl raced in a single-class international championship against a field spanning from semi-professional entrants to graded professionals.[1]

His four seasons in Formula 1 yielded a best championship finish of 17th in 1978, when he competed in two rounds. Across his career he finished ahead of established professionals including 1978 Formula 1 champion Mario Andretti and Carlos Pace; against Ronnie Peterson, a driver with 123 Formula 1 starts, he was closely matched. He typically finished behind Jody Scheckter, who would become the 1979 Formula 1 champion. Hesketh, the team that fielded most of his starts, secured one race win across the index with a driver roster including established professional Alex Ribeiro.[2]

Ertl's record placed him among regular competitors in Formula 1's deepest entry lists, competitive enough to occasionally outrun drivers of genuine calibre but not consistently at that level. His racing career coincided with his work as a motorsport journalist; he was notable for his role in the response to Niki Lauda's crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix.