Harald Ertl is a racing driver from Austria who last raced in Formula 1 for Ensign. Ertl has recorded 0 wins and 0 podiums from 20 starts.[1]
A Racer Rating of 4,631 ranks Ertl 621th of 15,348 indexed drivers, on an Elo scale where the strongest reach the low five figures. It is built from every indexed race in the driver's file, decayed for time since their last race.
| 1978-08-13 | Red Bull Ring | DNF | −81 |
| 1978-07-30 | Hockenheimring | P11 | +43 |
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Podiums | DNFs | Poles | Points | Pos | Gain/Loss | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | ▸Formula 1 | Ensign | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P22 | −39 | 4,631 |
| 1977 | ▸Formula 1 | Hesketh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P22 | −1 | 4,669 |
| 1976 | ▸Formula 1 | Hesketh | 12 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | P21 | −226 | 4,670 |
| 1975 | ▸Formula 1 | Hesketh | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | P22 | +96 | 4,896 |
| Rival | Rating | Raced | Ahead | Behind | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🇬🇧 John Watson | 5,367 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% |
| 🇦🇹 Niki Lauda | 5,364 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% |
| 🇫🇷 Patrick Depailler | 5,068 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% |
| 🇦🇺 Alan Jones | 4,943 | 7 | 1 | 6 | 14% |
| 🇬🇧 James Hunt | 4,930 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% |
| 🇧🇷 Emerson Fittipaldi | 3,999 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 29% |
| 🇿🇦 Jody Scheckter | 5,599 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% |
| 🇫🇷 Jacques Laffite | 5,186 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% |
| 🇺🇸 Mario Andretti | 4,978 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 17% |
| 🇺🇸 Brett Lunger | 4,831 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33% |
Harald Ertl was an Austrian racing driver who competed in Formula 1 between 1975 and 1978, accumulating 20 starts without recording a win or podium finish. Racing primarily for Ensign, he competed against a field that included three world champions: Niki Lauda, James Hunt, and Emerson Fittipaldi, as well as future champions Alan Jones and other front-running professionals of the era. Ertl finished ahead of Lauda and Hunt in none of their shared races, though he managed isolated victories over competitive drivers including Patrick Depailler, Carlos Pace, Mario Andretti, and Alan Jones; these results were exceptions rather than indicators of consistent competitiveness at that level. His average finishing position across classified starts was approximately 11th.[1]
Ertl's stint in Formula 1 reflected the typical profile of a mid-field driver in an uncompetitive car during the mid-to-late 1970s. Spending the majority of his career with Hesketh, a team that achieved only one race win across its full history while fielding a dozen drivers, he faced circumstances that limited his ability to demonstrate capability. The scale of the competition he encountered; his consistent finishes in the lower reaches of classified fields; and the fact that his rare victories came against stronger professionals in single races rather than establishing a pattern, all indicate a semi-professional career at a level typical of non-championship-contending drivers in that era. He retired from racing after 1978 and subsequently pursued a career in motorsport journalism.[2]