| Intro | South African racing driver |
| Is | Racecar driver |
| From | South Africa |
| Type | Sports |
| Gender | male |
| Birth |
31 January 1980, Johannesburg, South Africa |
| Age | 40 years |
| Star sign | Aquarius |
Alan van der Merwe (born 31 January 1980 in Johannesburg) is a South African race car driver. He is the current driver of the F1 Medical Car.
Racing career
Van der Merwe won the 2001 Formula Ford Festival. In 2003, he was the British Formula 3 Champion and ran for Super Nova Racing in Formula 3000 in 2004. His sponsorship money ran out mid-season and he became contracted as a part-time tester for BAR-Honda.
In 2005 and 2006, van der Merwe raced in A1 Grand Prix for A1 Team South Africa, with a best placed finish of 7th in New Zealand.
In 2006 he joined the Bonneville 200 MPH Club, driving a BAR-Honda team car, in their project called Bonneville 400 (km/h), to speeds in excess of 250 mph in an attempt to set an official land speed record for a Formula One car on the famous Bonneville Salt Flats.
In 2008, he drove for James Watt Automotive in the 1000 km of Silverstone, part of the Le Mans Series season, finishing in 33rd place, completing 159 laps.
He returned to A1 Grand Prix in 2009 in the final round at Brands Hatch.
Van der Merwe is currently the official driver of the FIA Medical Car in Formula One events. He has driven the medical car since 2009.
Racing record
| Season | Series | Team Name | Races | Poles | Wins | Points | Final Placing | ||
| 2001 | Formula Ford Festival | Unknown | 1 | 0 | 1 | NC | 1st | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Formula Ford Championship | Unknown | 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 | ||
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Super Nova Racing | IMO 8 |
CAT 12 |
MON 9 |
NUR Ret |
MAG 9 |
SIL 8 |
HOC Ret |
HUN | SPA | MNZ | 14th | 2 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | A1 Team South Africa | NEDSPR | NEDFEA | CZESPR | CZEFEA | BEISPR | BEIFEA | MYSSPR | MYSFEA | IDNSPR 9 |
IDNFEA Ret |
NZLSPR 7 |
NZLFEA 16 |
AUSSPR 16 |
AUSFEA Ret |
RSASPR | RSAFEA | MEXSPR | MEXFEA | SHASPR 8 |
SHAFEA 12 |
GBRSPR | GBRSPR | NC | 0 |
| 2008–09 | NEDSPR | NEDFEA | CHNSPR | CHNFEA | MYSSPR | MYSFEA | NZLSPR | NZLFEA | RSASPR | RSAFEA | PORSPR | PORFEA | GBRSPR 15 |
GBRSPR 11 |
14th | 19 |