Christian Josef Danner (born 4 April 1958) is a former racing driver from

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Career

Formula Two and Formula 3000

The son of car safety expert Max Danner, Danner started his motor racing career immediately after leaving school in 1977. After having raced in the Renault 5 cup Danner moved to the

European Formula Two Championship The European Formula Two Championship was a Formula Two motor racing series that was held between 1967–84. The races were held across Europe, and were contested both by drivers aiming to compete in Formula One in the future as well as curren ...

for the season. During his years in Formula Two Danner was a constant frontrunner. He scored several podiums but failed to win a race. Danner also set the F2 lap record of the current configuration of the old Nürburgring. Danner moved to the

Formula 3000 Formula 3000 (F3000) was a type of open wheel, single seater formula racing, occupying the tier immediately below Formula One and above Formula Three. It was so named because the cars were powered by 3.0 L engines. Formula 3000 championships ...

championship in

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

which replaced the Formula Two championship. With four wins Danner became the inaugural

championship winner.

Formula One

saw Danner also made his

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

debut with

Zakspeed Zakspeed () is a motor racing team from Germany, founded in 1968 by Erich Zakowski and after that run by his son Peter Zakowski. It is based in Niederzissen, Rhineland-Palatinate, around from the Nürburgring circuit. 1973 to 1981: Saloon and s ...

. He made two starts but failed to finish any races due to mechanical failures. For he signed with minor Italian outfit

Osella Osella is an Italian racing car manufacturer and former Formula One team. They participated in 132 Grands Prix between 1980 and 1990. They achieved two points finishes and scored five championship points. Early days Named after its founder V ...

but struggled to make an impression with the car and its under powered

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." "A ...

engine. After failing to finish a race in the first six races, Danner moved to Arrows with their powerful BMW turbo engines and scored his first point at the Austrian Grand Prix. Danner returned to Zakspeed in . The car was both un-competitive and often unreliable and when Danner finished a race it was always outside the points. After having raced touring cars in 1988, Danner returned to Formula one in with

Rial Racing Rial is a German producer of light alloy wheels and rims, and was a Formula One constructor competing in the and seasons. Founded in the 1970s as a wheel rim producer, the company was bought by Günter Schmid, ex-owner of the ATS wheels company ...

. The car was highly uncompetitive and a fourth place due to a high attrition rate at the

1989 United States Grand Prix The 1989 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held in Phoenix, Arizona on June 4, 1989. It was the fifth race of the 1989 Formula One World Championship and the first United States Grand Prix to be held in Phoenix. Background ...

was the only highlight of the year. Danner was fired after the

Portuguese Grand Prix The Portuguese Grand Prix (''Grande Prémio de Portugal'') is a motorsports event that was first held in 1951 as a sportscar event, and then intermittently disappearing for many years before being revived again. In 1964 event was held as a spo ...

after only qualifying for four races that year.

Touring cars

After his Formula one career Danner became a regular competitor in the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) was a touring car racing series held from 1984 to 1996. Originally based in Germany, it held additional rounds elsewhere in Europe and later worldwide. The original DTM had resumed racing with producti ...

. He made his debut in 1988 after failing to find a ride in Formula one. Danner made an impressive start to his touring car career as he won both races at the Hockenheimring driving a BMW M3. After only making sporadic appearances in 1989 and 1990, Danner made a full-time return to the series in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

. He had a disappointing season and only had one points scoring finish. In

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

Danner had his best season. He scored six podium finishes and finished fifth in the points standings. He also won a race at the Non-Championship round in Donington Park. Danner returned to winning ways in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

when he won a race at the

Norisring The Norisring is a street circuit in Nuremberg, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as a motorcycle racing venue in 1947 and named in a 1950 competition to win a light motorcycle, the track became known as a sports car racing venue in the ...

. Danner kept racing touring cars through 1997. In 1991 he also started in one

British Touring Car Championship The Kwik Fit British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom, currently organised and administered by TOCA. It was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and was renamed as ...

race at Thruxton driving a BMW M3.

Other racing

Danner competed in Japanese Formula 3000 in 1990 driving for

Leyton House Leyton House Racing was a Formula One constructor that raced in the 1990 and 1991 seasons. It was, in essence, a rebranding of the March team which had returned to F1 in . Leyton House, a Japanese real estate company, had been the team's marque ...

's F3000 team. He scored 4 points and was ranked 14th. In the nineties Danner made several appearances in the Indy Car World Series. His best finish was a seventh place at Homestead Miami in

. He also took part in the now defunct series,

Grand Prix Masters Grand Prix Masters was a one-make motor racing series featuring retired Formula One drivers. The inaugural (and sole 2005) event, at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in South Africa, took place on 11–13 November, but the series folded after a t ...

Media career

After his racing career Danner became an F1 commentator for the channel RTL in his native Germany.

Motorsports career results

Career summary

Complete European Formula Two Championship results

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