Mercedes racing drivers

Mercedes racing drivers are renowned for their first-class performances in the grueling motorsport arena. From past heroes such as Rudolf Caracciola, Manfred von Brauchitsch, Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss to current drivers such as Lewis Hamilton, the Mercedes team has always been one of the leading international teams in motorsport. Names such as Rudolf Caracciola and Manfred von Brauchitsch will forever be associated with the legendary "Silver Arrow" team that won so many Grand Prix in the 1930s. Juan Manuel Fangio, for example, is the five-time Formula 1 world champion of the 1950s who competed in Mercedes colors. Stirling Moss was the leading British racing driver of his time and drove successfully for Mercedes for many years. The Mercedes racing drivers have written racing history. On their exciting journey, they have not only advanced their racing team, but also the entire vehicle development of Mercedes and, of course, provided numerous exciting anecdotes - read more about the most influential Mercedes racing drivers now!

Rudolf Caracciola - the "rain master"

Rudolf Cracciola, also known as "The Rain Master", drove his first race for Mercedes in Baden-Baden in 1923. The Mercedes racing driver took twelve victories that same year. He was given the title of "Rain Champion" because Caracciola was considered to be particularly fast and safe in the rain. With well over 100 career victories, the Mercedes racing driver is the most successful German motor racing driver of the pre-war era. During his career, he became European champion three times and set several speed records - Rudolf Caracciola also holds the record as the fastest driver on a public road, as he reached a speed of 432.7 km/h on the Frankfurt-Darmstadt autobahn in 1938. During his time as a racing driver, Caracciola was frequently injured. In 1952, he suffered a triple fracture of his lower left leg during a race and unfortunately had to give up his racing career.

Manfred von Brauchitsch - the "unlucky guy"

Manfred von Brauchitsch, who was later known as "The Bad Luck Man", began his racing career as a motorcycle racer in 1928. From 1934 to 1939, he raced for Mercedes. Manfred von Brauchitsch won many races during this time. One of the most important victories was the legendary Eifel race in 1934. However, Brauchitsch was nicknamed the "unlucky driver", as he was often robbed of victories or good placings due to unfortunate circumstances - but he himself was to blame for some of the bad luck, as he was often ruthless with his vehicles. A good example of this was the XI German Grand Prix, where his car burst into flames due to spilled fuel during the pit stop. Shortly after the car and his suit were extinguished, the Mercedes racing driver drove on, only for his steering wheel to come loose in the next bump. Manfred von Brauchitsch escaped unharmed, however. He died in 2003 at the age of 97 in Gräfenwarth, a district of Schleiz.

Juan Manuel Fangio - The unrivaled success rate

Juan Manuel Fangio drove for Mercedes in 1954 and 1955 and achieved an unprecedented success rate during this time: 24 victories in 51 Grand Prix races. He also won the world championships in 1954 and 1955 with the Mercedes-Benz W 196R. After his time at Mercedes, Fangio drove for other racing teams for a further three years before ending his career as a five-time world champion in 1958. After several illnesses, Juan Manuel Fangio finally succumbed to kidney failure and died at the age of 84.

Stirling Moss - the eternal runner-up

Stirling Moss, known as the eternal runner-up, drove for Mercedes together with Juan Manuel Fangio in 1955. In that year, the two Mercedes racing drivers dominated Formula 1. In the same year, Stirling Moss won the Mille Miglia, the Tourist Trophy and the Targa Florio in the World Sports Car Championship. After Mercedes withdrew from racing the following year, Sterling Moss continued to drive very successfully for other manufacturers. Despite very good performances, the Briton Sir Stirling Moss never became world champion. Moss was regarded as a role model in terms of fairness, as he stood up for Mike Hawthorn when he was supposed to be disqualified after the Portuguese Grand Prix. Thanks to the efforts of Sir Stirling Moss, the disqualification was prevented, but this was not to Moss' advantage - as he once again finished second in the World Championship. However, Stirling Moss said that he would do it again every time because it was the only fair thing to do. Because of this attitude, Moss became the favorite child of the English press - despite missing out on the World Championship title. Sterling Moss ended his career in 1963 after suffering a serious injury in 1962 and taking a year to recover. He passed away at the age of 90 in April 2020.

The Mercedes racing drivers of today

The Mercedes racing drivers of today are building directly on the success of their predecessors. In 2008, racing driver Lewis Hamilton became the youngest world champion in Formula 1 history (at the time). He has been driving for Mercedes in Formula 1 since 2013 and won the world championship titles in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020. Together with the title from 2008, he shares the title of record world champion with Michael Schumacher. Michael Schumacher was supported by Mercedes-Benz early on in his career. Among other things, the record-breaking world champion drove in the Mercedes-Benz Junior Team in the World Sports Car Championship. Other notable racing drivers such as Nico Rosberg, Jenson Button and Kimi Räikkönen also drove for Mercedes.