Heinz-Harald Frentzen (born 18 May 1967) is a German former racing driver. He finished runner-up in the 1997 Formula One World Drivers' Championship, driving for Williams.

Early career

Frentzen was born on 18 May 1967 in the West German city of Mönchengladbach (North Rhine-Westphalia) to Heinrich-Harald Frentzen, a German entrepreneur and his Spanish wife Angela Lladosa. He has two sisters (Sylvia, a theologian, Sonja, a teacher) and two half-sisters (Samantha, a former student, and Nicole-Nadine). His family was connected to motorsport; his father raced between 1950 and 1957. Frentzen's parents divorced when he was eight years old and his father subsequently married Mexican-born Arazelli while Angela returned to Spain.Frentzen began karting at the age of twelve, after his father brought him his first kart, and made an extraordinarily successful start. In 1981, aged fourteen, Frentzen won the German Junior Kart Championship. Two years later, Frentzen entered the CIK Asia Pacific Championships in Australia driving a Dino although he did not finish. In 1984, he finished runner-up in the 100cc class. He was funded and supported by his father—a funeral director—who also acted as both team boss and head mechanic.