Alan van der Merwe

Alan van der Merwe (born 31 January 1980) is a South African race car driver, entrepreneur and former driver of the Formula One medical car,[1] alongside FIA Medical Delegate Dr. Ian Roberts.

Alan van der Merwe
NationalitySouth African
Born (1980-01-31) 31 January 1980
Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa
Previous series
Championship titles
2003British Formula 3 Championship

Racing career

Van der Merwe won the 2001 Formula Ford Festival.[2] In 2003 he was the British Formula 3 Champion,[2] and drove for Super Nova Racing in Formula 3000 in 2004.[2] His sponsorship money ran out mid-season and he took a contract as a part-time tester for BAR–Honda.[2]

In 2005 and 2006, Van der Merwe raced in the A1 Grand Prix series for A1 Team South Africa,[2] with a best placed finish of 7th in New Zealand. In 2006, he joined the Bonneville 200 MPH Club,[3] driving a modified BAR–Honda 007 car to speeds in excess of 400 kilometres per hour (250 mph) for their Bonneville 400 project; an attempt to set an official land speed record for a Formula One car on the famous Bonneville Salt Flats.[4] In 2008, he drove for James Watt Automotive in the 1000 km of Silverstone, part of the 2008 Le Mans Series,[2] finishing in 33rd place and completing 159 laps. He returned to A1 Grand Prix in 2009 in the final round at Brands Hatch.[2]

FIA role

Van der Merwe was the official driver of the FIA medical car in Formula One events from 2009 until the end of the 2021 season, when he was replaced due to his refusal to be vaccinated against COVID-19.[5][6]

Racing record
Season Series Team name Races Poles Wins Points Final placing
2001 Formula Ford Festival Haywood Racing 1 0 1 NC 1st
British Formula Ford Championship Haywood Racing 14 2 1  ? 2nd
2002 British Formula 3 Carlin Motorsport 30 0 1 98 8th
2003 British Formula 3 Carlin Motorsport 24 5 9 308 1st
2004 Formula 3000 Super Nova Racing 7 0 0 2 14th
2005 Formula One BAR Test driver
2006–07 A1 Grand Prix A1 Team South Africa 8 0 0 0 NC
2008 Le Mans Series James Watt Automotive 1 0 0 2 37th
2008–09 A1 Grand Prix A1 Team South Africa 2 0 0 0 NC
Source:[2][7]

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 DC Points Ref
2004 Super Nova Racing IMO
8		 CAT
12		 MON
9		 NUR
Ret		 MAG
9		 SIL
8		 HOC
Ret		 HUN SPA MNZ 14th 2 [8]

Complete A1 Grand Prix results

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

Year Entrant 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 DC Points Ref
2006–07 A1 Team South Africa NED
SPR		 NED
FEA		 CZE
SPR		 CZE
FEA		 BEI
SPR		 BEI
FEA		 MYS
SPR		 MYS
FEA		 IDN
SPR
9		 IDN
FEA
Ret		 NZL
SPR
7		 NZL
FEA
16		 AUS
SPR
16		 AUS
FEA
Ret		 RSA
SPR		 RSA
FEA		 MEX
SPR		 MEX
FEA		 SHA
SPR
8		 SHA
FEA
12		 GBR
SPR		 GBR
SPR		 NC 0 [9]
2008–09 NED
SPR		 NED
FEA		 CHN
SPR		 CHN
FEA		 MYS
SPR		 MYS
FEA		 NZL
SPR		 NZL
FEA		 RSA
SPR		 RSA
FEA		 POR
SPR		 POR
FEA		 GBR
SPR
15		 GBR
SPR
11		 14th 19 [10]

References
  1. "Driving the F1 Medical Car - the world's fastest ambulance". www.formula1.com. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  2. "Alan van der Merwe". Driver Database. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  3. "Bonneville 200mph Club Members by Year" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 13 July 2019. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  4. Hanlon, Mike (18 July 2006). "Honda F1 car attempts land speed record at Bonneville". gizmag. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
  5. "F1 unveils new Safety and Medical cars for 2015". Grand Prix Times. 6 March 2015. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 4 July 2015.
  6. "F1 Medical Car driver replaced ahead of new season".
  7. "Alan van der Merwe". MotorSport. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  8. "Alan van der Merwe Career Season 2004". Motorsport Stats. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  9. "A1 Grand Prix - Season 2006–2007". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  10. "A1 Grand Prix - Season 2008–2009". Speedsport Magazine. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
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