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          Alexander Wurz retires from racing

          Rick Dole/Getty Images

          Former F1 driver and current Grand Prix Drivers' Association chairman Alexander Wurz has announced his retirement from competitive motor racing.

          Wurz competed in 69 races for Benetton, McLaren and Williams, scoring three podiums. He enjoyed most success in endurance racing, winning the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1996 and 2009.

          The first of those Le Mans triumphs saw him become the youngest winner of the prestigious race, aged 22, and he was signed by Benetton as reserve driver in 1997. He would deputise for the injured Gerhard Berger at three races that season, scoring his maiden podium at the British Grand Prix.

          A full-time drive at Benetton followed but, despite some strong results in 1998, that stint failed to live up to the early promise he had shown in his career. In 2001 he became a test driver for McLaren and remained away from the grid until 2005 when he deputised for the injured Juan Pablo Montoya at Imola, scoring a podium after Jenson Button's BAR was excluded. The 128 races and almost eight years between podiums remains an F1 record.

          Wurz became Williams test driver in 2006 and that led to a full-time drive as Mark Webber's replacement in 2007. A third career podium followed at the Canadian Grand Prix before he left F1 at the end of the season. Two years later he won Le Mans for the second time with Peugeot.

          The Austrian will end his career after the World Endurance Championship finale in Bahrain later this month, where races for Toyota in LMP1. Wurz announced his retirement via Twitter on Tuesday.

          Wurz has remained an prominent figure in Formula One recently, taking up the role of GPDA chairman last year. He has been credited with trying to give the GPDA a more active role in working alongside the FIA to help improve safety and he recently spearheaded a worldwide survey for F1 fans to share their opinions about the current state of the sport.