Former Benetton and Williams driver Alexander Wurz has been reunited with one of his former teams, with Williams confirming that the Austrian is to be their new 'driver mentor' for the 2012 Formula One season.
The role is designed to help race drivers Bruno Senna and Pastor Maldonado develop in their positions within the team, with Wurz set to begin his new job this week at the pre-season test in Barcelona.Wurz will then travel to races with the team throughout the season, with Williams saying in a statement that the Austrian would use his experience to help boost the team's "efforts in returning to the front of the grid".
The Austrian driver said that he was looking forward to applying his "expertise" from his career to the Williams team's quest for improvement.
"This is a great initiative by Williams and highlights just how hard the team is pushing to optimise its performance," Wurz grinned in the statement.
"Throughout my career as a sportsman, which started at the age of 12 in BMX racing, includes over a decade in Formula One and is still ongoing, I am lucky to have gained so much experience.
"I grew up in a family business of driver training and naturally I enjoy helping fellow athletes to operate at their best. I'm really looking forward to using my expertise to help Williams at this important stage in its history."
The Williams team's chief operations engineer Mark Gillan added: "I am delighted to be working once more with Alex and look forward to his valuable input with the drivers as the whole team strives to continuously improve in all aspects of its operation."
Wurz previously raced for Williams in 2007, having also racked up three seasons at Benetton and spent a number of seasons at McLaren as a test driver.
After leaving Williams at the end of 2007, he took up a test role at Honda and remained with the team after their transition to life as Brawn GP in 2009.
He then moved to sportscars, racing with Peugeot's factory team for the last three years.
After Peugeot's withdrawal at the end of the 2011 season, Wurz has recently been announced as a Toyota driver, joining the Japanese marque for their new assault on Le Mans and the World Endurance Championship.
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