RIP Hans Herrmann 1928-2026

By Paul Fearnley

| 11 Jan 2026

Classic & Sports Car – RIP Hans Herrmann 1928-2026

Racing driver Hans Herrmann died on 9 January at the age of 97.

This baker’s son achieved what every other hot-blooded young man of Stuttgart could only dream of doing during Germany’s post-war Economic Miracle: to race for Porsche and Mercedes-Benz.

Herrmann was, by his own admission, also fortunate to survive a storied career punctuated by lurid accidents and incidents to become the last-surviving Formula One podium finisher of the 1950s.

He had promised his long-suffering wife that he would retire once he had won the Le Mans 24 Hours. Her reaction to his losing out to Jacky Ickx’s Ford GT40 by 120 metres in the thrilling finale of 1969 can be imagined. A frustration matched only by Porsche’s.

Herrmann put matters right the following year – and kept his promise.

Hans Herrmann and Richard Attwood won the 1970 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 917K

Co-driver Richard Attwood had chosen to share Porsche Salzburg’s unfancied 917 with Herrmann because, “Hans was the oldest, the most sensible. He didn’t want to die either.”

He was left doubting his wisdom after qualifying 16th – but not after their having weathered horrendous conditions to score the first of Porsche’s 19 wins to date.

Herrmann’s career had taken flight when his mother sold a gold bracelet to help fund the purchase of a Porsche 356 in 1952.

He soon caught the eye in rallies and hillclimbs, and his defeat of more experienced competitors in a race at the Nürburgring in 1953 – at the wheel of a sportier 550 – made him Germany’s hottest property.

For 1954’s European Grand Prix, at the Nürburgring, Herrmann drove a streamlined Mercedes-Benz W196R

Mercedes-Benz signed him for its big-news Grand Prix return of 1954. It signed Juan Manuel Fangio, too! The youngster was third in the pecking order – Karl Kling was second – and thus his W196’s engine had not been run-in properly prior to its debut at the French GP.

It failed after 16 laps – but not before he had set the race’s fastest lap.

Though he would finish third and fourth in the Swiss and Italian GPs, the arrival of Stirling Moss in 1955 demoted Herrmann to fourth in line.

Having shared the fourth-placed W196 – Kling also drove it – in the searing heat of the Argentine GP, they duelled in the Mille Miglia.

Herrmann felt sure of beating the Englishman until fuel escaping from an insecurely closed filler cap caused him to crash.

He would crash, too, during practice for the Monaco GP. The broken pelvis and vertebrae he suffered ended his season.

Herrmann aboard a Mercedes W196R at the Argentinian Grand Prix of 1955

And although Herrmann would continue to dip in and out until 1969 – he withdrew from the German GP after the fatal practice accident of his friend and fellow Stuttgarter Gerhard Mitter – his F1 career never recovered.

Its most memorable moment was his sliding on hands and knees as his BRM, its brakes having failed, tumbled to destruction behind him during the 1959 German GP at the super-fast AVUS circuit in Berlin.

Herrmann met with much more success in sports cars during his two spells with Porsche.

He finished sixth overall to win his class in the 1954 Mille Miglia – rushing beneath the closing gate of a level crossing near Chieti in the process – and finished third in that year’s Carrera Panamericana. Amazing results for a fledgling marque and a driver so raw.

Herrmann behind the wheel of a Porsche 550 Spyder in the 1954 Carrera Panamericana

He registered the first of six class wins at Le Mans by finishing third overall alongside Jean Behra in 1958.

And in 1960, co-driving for Olivier Gendebien at the Sebring 12 Hours, he scored Porsche’s first outright world championship victory. He would win the second, too, co-driving for Jo Bonnier in that year’s Targa Florio.

His second spell began in 1966.

Three seasons as Carlo Abarth’s number one – a role denied him by Porsche’s competitions boss Huschke von Hanstein – had precluded major victories but sharpened his development skills. These would be vital to Porsche’s maturing and soon paid dividends.

Herrmann himself cashed in by finishing first and second – five drivers had spells in the winning car! – at the 1968 Daytona 24 Hours, and then by winning at Sebring for a second time, this time co-driving for Jo Siffert.

Though not long turned 40, his greatest triumph still lay two years away.

Images: Porsche/Mercedes-Benz

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