Photo: Daimler AG
After winning both the 1935 and the 1936 championships, legendary Mercedes racer Rudolf Caracciola also became the European Champion of the Association Internationale des Automobile Clubs Reconnus (AIACR) for the third time in 1938.
It was 1938's Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where, despite finishing behind race winner Tazio Nuvolari (Auto Union) and Giuseppe Farina (Alfa Romeo), it was more than enough for him to win his third championship.
Despite the races being the predecessors of present-day Formula 1, the ranking system was completely different, with a race's winner being allocated one point while the other drivers from 2 to 7 points, depending on their finishing place, while no-shows were given 8 points.
Before the Monza GP, Caracciola was holding a five-point lead in the championship and his team mates were the only other drivers who would still pose a threat to the title. Unfortunately, because of a faulty exhaust system on his Mercedes W154 racing car, the vehicle's pedals had heated up so much that he was forced to take a break in the middle of the race.
Since the rules then permitted it, Manfred von Brauchitsch - who had dropped out of the race – helped his team mate by taking the wheel of his W154 for several laps. The points at the end of the race would go to Caracciola anyway, since he was the one who had started the race in the car concerned.
Finishing third, our hero accumulated a total of only eight points in the championship, well ahead of his team mates Manfred von Brauchitsch (15 points), Hermann Lang (17) points and Richard Seaman (18 points). The two Auto Union drivers were in fifth place, accumulating 20 points each.
This success made Rudolf Caracciola the last European Grand Prix Champion before World War II started.
Despite the races being the predecessors of present-day Formula 1, the ranking system was completely different, with a race's winner being allocated one point while the other drivers from 2 to 7 points, depending on their finishing place, while no-shows were given 8 points.
Before the Monza GP, Caracciola was holding a five-point lead in the championship and his team mates were the only other drivers who would still pose a threat to the title. Unfortunately, because of a faulty exhaust system on his Mercedes W154 racing car, the vehicle's pedals had heated up so much that he was forced to take a break in the middle of the race.
Since the rules then permitted it, Manfred von Brauchitsch - who had dropped out of the race – helped his team mate by taking the wheel of his W154 for several laps. The points at the end of the race would go to Caracciola anyway, since he was the one who had started the race in the car concerned.
Finishing third, our hero accumulated a total of only eight points in the championship, well ahead of his team mates Manfred von Brauchitsch (15 points), Hermann Lang (17) points and Richard Seaman (18 points). The two Auto Union drivers were in fifth place, accumulating 20 points each.
This success made Rudolf Caracciola the last European Grand Prix Champion before World War II started.
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