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He was twice runner-up in the European Championship, in 1937 and 1938, and finished third in 1939.
He was twice runner-up in the European Championship, in 1937 and 1938, and finished third in 1939.
Although an excellent driver who had reasonable success, he struggled with bad luck, and was overshadowed by his more successful Mercedes-Benz teammates Rudolf Caracciola and Hermann Language. His fastest lap in the 1937 Monaco race (1 minute 465 seconds, 119 seconds faster than the old record lap) set a record that stood for 18 years. He was noted for his red helmet and his bad luck, losing a number of other Grands Prix when he was on the very verge of winning (no less than five, by some counts).
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position, * denotes a shared drive).
Brauchitsch won three Grands Prix - the 1934 Allgemeiner Deutscher Automobil-Club Eifelrennen which saw the first appearance of Silver Arrows Mercedes Race cars, the 1937 Monaco Grand Prix (considered his greatest victory), and the 1938 French Grand Prix. His most famous loss was the 1935 German Grand Prix, when a tire blew while he was leading the last lap, handing victory to Tazio Nuvolari in an Alfa Romeo in one of the latter"s most famous victories - the only time during the reign of the Silver Arrows when a Grand Prix was won by a car other than a Mercedes or Auto Union. The latter led to his being awarded the Olympic Order in 1988 by the International Olympic Committee.
He became a member of the National Socialist Motor Corps, in which he held the rank of Sturmführer.
