Hermann Lang facts for kids
Lang in 1951
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| Born | 6 April 1909 Cannstatt, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire |
|---|---|
| Died | 19 October 1987 (aged 78) Bad Cannstatt, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  German |
| Active years | 1953–1954 |
| Teams | Maserati, Mercedes |
| Entries | 2 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 2 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 1953 Swiss Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1954 German Grand Prix |
Hermann Albert Lang (born April 6, 1909 – died October 19, 1987) was a famous German racing driver. He competed in many types of races, including motorcycle races, exciting Grand Prix car races, and sports car events.
Contents
Hermann Lang's Early Life and Racing Career
Born in Cannstatt, a town near Stuttgart, Germany, Hermann Lang had to start working at just 14 years old. This was because his father had passed away, and Hermann needed to help his family. He found a job as a mechanic for motorcycles. Soon, he saved enough money to buy his own used motorcycle and started racing as a hobby.
Hermann won his very first race! Before long, he decided to try racing motorcycles with a sidecar attached. When he was 22, he became the German champion in sidecar mountain racing.
Joining the Mercedes-Benz Team
Hermann's big chance came when he got a job at the Mercedes factory. He joined their amazing Grand Prix racing team. Grand Prix racing was the top level of car racing back then, similar to Formula One today. Hermann became the main mechanic for a special Mercedes car, the Mercedes-Benz W25A. This car was driven by the Italian racing star Luigi Fagioli.
After a very successful racing season for Fagioli, Hermann Lang was given a chance to drive for the Mercedes team himself. He was especially good on very fast racetracks. He won his first major race in 1937 at the Tripoli Grand Prix in Libya. This track was known as the fastest in the world! Lang was so good that he won this race for three years in a row. That same year, he also won another big race at AVUS in Germany.
Challenges and Successes in Racing
In 1938, Hermann won two more races for Mercedes, including the important Coppa Ciano in Livorno, Italy. Even though Hermann Lang was a very skilled driver and popular with fans, being part of the Mercedes "Silver Arrows" team was not easy. Many of the other drivers were from wealthy families and looked down on Hermann because he was from a working-class background and had less formal education. They often treated him as an outsider.
However, in 1939, Hermann earned their respect. He won five out of the eight Grand Prix races he started that year! These wins included victories at the Belgian Grand Prix, the Pau Grand Prix in France, the Swiss Grand Prix, and his third straight Tripoli Grand Prix. Besides being a fast driver, Lang also had a special advantage. Because he used to be a mechanic, he understood how the cars worked very well. He could give great advice to the chief car designer, Rudolf Uhlenhaut, which helped make the Mercedes cars even faster. Hermann's natural feel for the cars meant he could set them up to be quicker than his rivals' cars. He even had the fastest lap at the French Grand Prix and was leading the race before engine trouble forced him to stop.
Racing After World War II
World War II meant that Hermann Lang lost some of his best racing years. But after the war ended, he returned to racing in 1946. He didn't have a team at first and drove an old BMW car to win the first race held in Germany after the war. In 1949, he started racing sports cars and then competed in Formula Two races.
In 1951, he rejoined the Mercedes Grand Prix racing team in Argentina. In 1952, when he was 43 years old, he teamed up with Fritz Riess to win the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans race. The next year, he wrote his life story called "Grand Prix Driver."
Formula One and Retirement
In 1953, Hermann Lang got a chance to race in Formula One for the Maserati team. This happened after one of their regular drivers was injured. He raced in two F1 events that year, and his best finish was fifth place at the 1953 Swiss Grand Prix.
The next year, Mercedes returned to Grand Prix racing, and Lang came back for another F1 season in a Mercedes W196 car. But at 45 years old, he didn't have as much success. Younger drivers on the team sometimes replaced him in races. His final race and career ended at the 1954 German Grand Prix at Nürburgring. He spun out after ten laps, even though he had been running in second place. Lang realized it was time to retire from racing, and he went back to his job at the Mercedes factory.
Images for kids
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Lang, third in the 1937 European Championship, demonstrates a Mercedes-Benz W125 in 1977
See also
In Spanish: Hermann Lang para niños
