Hans Herrmann: The last great Formula 1 driver of the 1950s has died   

Words and pictures: Roman Klemm

On Friday, January 9, 2026, Hans Herrmann passed away just before his 98th birthday. Born on February 23, 1928, the Swabian from Stuttgart was the last surviving top driver of 1950s Formula 1. However, the career of the trained confectioner was primarily associated with the Porsche brand, for which he achieved the first triumph at Le Mans in 1970.

Hänschen began his racing career in 1952 at the Nürburgring, naturally in a Porsche. His talent was obvious. Already in 1953, he won his class at Le Mans in the Type 550 Coupe and became the German sports car champion. In the 1953 season, Herrmann also made his debut in a Formula 1 Grand Prix, finishing an excellent ninth place at the Nürburgring in a Veritas Meteor from Mr. Klenk. This was the time when Mercedes returned to the world of Grand Prix racing, and manager Alfred Neubauer brought the young German talent into his team for the 1954 season alongside Juan Manuel Fangio and the pre-war stars Karl Kling and Hermann Lang. At the debut of the sensational streamlined Mercedes W196 in Reims, Hans was stopped by engine failure, but later finished an impressive 3rd in Bremgarten and 4th in Monza. In 1955, when the team was strengthened by the outstanding Stirling Moss, Herrmann only managed to achieve 4th place in Buenos Aires. However, at the end of May, he was seriously injured while practicing for the Monaco GP, and his season ended with a hospital stay.

After Mercedes withdrew from the sports scene, Herrmann only drove sporadically in Formula 1, mostly at his home Grand Prix, in Maserati, BRM, Cooper, Porsche, Brabham, and Lotus cars. His best result came in 1960 when he finished sixth in Monza in a Porsche 718. His accident with the BRM P25 of Moss' father's team, BRP, on the Berlin Avus track became a worldwide sensation: 'Before the hairpin, the brakes failed at top speed, and I had a choice. Either fly into the packed stands and cause a massacre, or deliberately flip the car.'  Herrmann chose the second option, in which he was catapulted from the cockpit onto the hard concrete of Hitler's highway. By a miracle, he survived almost unscathed - and so did the spectators. 

Herrmann's last start in Formula 1 was supposed to be the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring in 1969 in the Lotus 59B F2. However, after the fatal practice accident of his friend and colleague at Porsche, Gerhard Mitter, he withdrew his entry... 

In addition, he continued to race in endurance events for Porsche and won worldwide. His feat at the 1954 Mille Miglia remains unforgettable, when he drove under (!) lowered barriers in front of an oncoming train. In 1960, he won the 12-hour race at Sebring together with Gendebien in the 718 RS Spyder and the legendary Targa Florio with Bonnier. In Formula 2, he celebrated the European Championship title in the Porsche 718/2. 

After narrowly failing in 1969 at the victory in La Sarthe, he was finally able to triumph in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970. Driving the legendary and challenging Porsche 917, he won together with the Briton Dickie Attwood. It was the first overall victory for the classic brand from Zuffenhausen in this prestigious marathon. This result secured the future of Porsche's sports department, and possibly the entire company, at the time. However, even before the start, Hans had promised his wife Magdalena that he would retire after this race. During his active career, he had lost too many friends - and he kept his promise.

He remained loyal to motorsport as a brand ambassador for Porsche and Mercedes - no historic event passed where he didn't make at least one appearance. It is thanks to this fact that even we, the younger generation, had some opportunities to talk with Hans Herrmann. With this sturdy gentleman, whom neither a serious accident in Monaco nor on the Avus could shake, I will forever associate two of the funniest memories of motorsport: The first took place in Austrias Gröbming, when Herrmann was already around 80 years old. Together with other journalists, we interviewed him in a large tent, sitting on simple, foldable wooden benches.  Herrmann and a colleague of mine were sitting across from me - both at opposite ends of the bench. When the colleague stood up, the heavier side tipped, and Herrmann fell to the ground. We only had to worry about the old man briefly. Because Hans got up on his own and noted with a smile, 'That was a worse fall than back then on the Avus...'

The second memory comes from 2019, when the then 90-year-old Herrmann was a guest in a discussion round at the H.P. Porsche Museum near Freilassing in Bavaria. We all watched amused as Hans slowly but surely began to fall asleep on stage... Moderator Achim Althammer also noticed this and continued to question the younger guests Marc Lieb and Hans-Joachim Stuck. At that moment, Herrmann woke up and didn't know what was being talked about; so he commented unsolicitedly on what he had probably just been dreaming about: "...and those flirtatious girls who used to follow us around the paddock, we called them 'traveling trophies'…". This triggered fits of laughter and uncontrollable cheers from the audience. Even on stage, everyone doubled over in laughter - a coordinated discussion was no longer possible… Herrmann himself ended it back then with the words: "Alright, I'm hungry. Let's go have dinner!" 

I never had the chance to see him during his active time, but thanks to these experiences, I will always remember the giant Hans Herrmann fondly...