Paul Pietsch (20 June 1911 – 31 May 2012) was a

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

, journalist and publisher from Germany, who founded the magazine '' Das Auto''.Glückwunsch zum 100. Geburtstag - ADAC Motorwelt 6/2012 p12 He was the first German ever to take part in a

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, ...

Grand Prix.

Biography

Born in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, Pietsch began his racing career in 1932 with a private

Bugatti Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars w ...

and

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." ...

. Racing with an Alfa Romeo, he won the 1933 III Svenska Isloppet GP ice race in Hemfjärden, and the 1934 I Vallentunaloppet ice race in Vellentunasjön, both in Sweden. In the

1935 German Grand Prix The 1935 German Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at the Nürburgring on 28 July 1935. Classification Race The 1935 event was considered to be one of the greatest motorsports victories of all time. The 1935 German Grand Prix will al ...

he raced for

Auto Union Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm f ...

, and he finished third in the

1935 Italian Grand Prix The 1935 Italian Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at Monza on 8 September 1935. Classification Notes * Paul Pietsch and René Dreyfus were called in so that Bernd Rosemeyer and Tazio Nuvolari, respectively, could take over thei ...

before leaving the team with its hard-to-drive rear engines. From 1937 onwards he entered a private

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

. His greatest hours came in the

1939 German Grand Prix The 1939 German Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held at the Nürburgring on 23 July 1939.Motor Sport Magazine. (2019). 1939 German Grand Prix , Motor Sport Magazine Database. nlineAvailable at: https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/database ...

which he led from lap two until the ignition failed, making him drop down to third, which was still an excellent result for a privateer against the dominant force of the

Silver Arrows Silver Arrows (german: link=no, Silberpfeil) was the nickname given by the press to Germany's dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union Grand Prix motor racing cars between 1934 and 1939. The name was later applied to the Mercedes-Benz Formula ...

. After the war, he participated in three World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on September 3, 1950. His drive in a factory Alfa Romeo in the

1951 German Grand Prix The 1951 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 July 1951 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was race 6 of 8 in the 1951 World Championship of Drivers. Report Alfa Romeo once again fielded four cars, with local driver Paul P ...

ended with an accident. He scored no championship points. At that time, Pietsch was already a successful editor and publisher of motorcycle and automobile magazines. His company, Motor Presse Stuttgart, is the largest in the European market for technology and special interest magazines. From the death of his countryman

Karl Kling Karl Kling (; 16 September 1910, Gießen – 18 March 2003, Gaienhofen on Lake Constance, Germany) was a motor racing driver and manager from Germany. He participated in 11 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 4 July 1954. He achieved 2 podiums - ...

in 2003 until his own death, Pietsch was the oldest surviving Formula One driver, at age 100 and the last surviving driver of pre-war grand prix era. His son Peter-Paul Pietsch races often at the

Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...

with fellow journalists. On 31 May 2012, Pietsch died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

at the age of 100 years, 11 months and 11 days. Pietsch was also the first ''Grand Prix'' driver to reach the age of 100.

Racing record

Complete European Championship results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ;Notes * – As a co-driver Pietsch was ineligible for championship points

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pietsch, Paul 1911 births 2012 deaths German Formula One drivers Alfa Romeo Formula One drivers German racing drivers Grand Prix drivers Sportspeople from Freiburg im Breisgau German centenarians Men centenarians Racing drivers from Baden-Württemberg European Championship drivers

Biography

Racing record

Complete European Championship results

Complete Formula One World Championship results

See also

References