Paul Pietsch

Paul Pietsch

Born	(1911-06-20)20 June 1911 Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
Died	31 May 2012(2012-05-31) (aged 100) Titisee-Neustadt, Germany
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	German
Active years	1950-1952
Teams	Alfa Romeo, non-works Maserati and Veritas
Entries	3
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Career points	0
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	0
First entry	1950 Italian Grand Prix
Last entry	1952 German Grand Prix

Paul Pietsch (born June 20, 1911 – 31 May 2012) was a former racing driver from Germany and founder of the magazine Das Auto.

Biography

Born in Freiburg, Pietsch began his racing career in 1932 with a private Bugatti and Alfa Romeo.

Racing with an Alfa Romeo, he won in Sweden the 1933 III Svenska Isloppet GP (Ice Race) in Hemfjärden, and in 1934 the I Vallentunaloppet (Ice Race) in Vellentunasjön.

In the 1935 German Grand Prix he raced for Auto Union, and finished 3rd in the Italian Grand Prix before leaving the team with its hard-to-drive rear engines. From 1937 onwards he entered a private Maserati. His greatest hours came in the 1939 German Grand Prix which he led from lap 2 onwards until the ignition failed, making him drop down to third, which was still an excellent result for a privateer against the dominant force of the Silver Arrows.

After the war, he participated in 3 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on September 3, 1950. His drive in a factory Alfa Romeo in the 1951 German Grand Prix ended with an accident. He scored no championship points.

At that time, Pietsch was already a successful editor and publisher of motorcycle and automobile magazines. His company Motor Presse Stuttgart [1] is the largest in the European market for technology and special interest magazines.

Up until his death, Pietsch was the oldest surviving Formula One driver, at age 100 and the last surviving of the Auto Union Silver Arrow drivers and one of the two overall (the other being Heinz Brendel of Mercedes-Benz). His son Peter-Paul Pietsch races often at the Nürburgring with fellow journalists.

On 31 May 2012, Pietsch died at the age of 100 years, 11 months and 11 days. Pietsch was also the first Formula One World Championship & Grand Prix driver to reach the age of 100.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	WDC	Points
1950	Paul Pietsch	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati Straight-4	GBR	MON	500	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA Ret		NC	0
1951	Alfa Romeo SpA	Alfa Romeo 159	Alfa Romeo Straight-8	SUI	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER Ret	ITA	ESP	NC	0
1952	Motor-Presse-Verlag	Veritas Meteor	Veritas Straight-6	SUI	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER Ret	NED	ITA	NC	0

Complete European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Entrant	Make	1	2	3	4	5	EDC	Points
1932	Pilesi Racing Team	Bugatti	ITA	FRA	GER Ret			22=	23
1935	Auto Union	Auto Union	BEL	GER 9	SUI	ITA 3	ESP	11=	31
1937	Private entry	Maserati	BEL	GER Ret	MON	SUI 10	ITA	17=	35
1938	Private entry	Maserati	FRA	GER 6	SUI	ITA		14=	28
1939	Maserati	Maserati	BEL	FRA	GER 3			14	26
	Private entry	Maserati				SUI Ret