About Hans Herrmann
Hans Herrmann (23 February 1928 – 9 January 2026) was a German Formula One and sports car racing driver from Stuttgart. In F1, Herrmann participated in 19 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 2 August 1953. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 10 championship points. In sports car racing, Herrmann also scored the first overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Porsche in 1970, in a Porsche 917. After the death of Tony Brooks in 2022, Herrmann became the last surviving F1 podium finisher from the 1950s. == Early career == The racing career of Herrmann, who was a baker by trade, spans from cooperation with pre-war legends like Alfred Neubauer to the beginning of the dominance of Porsche at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. He took part in now legendary road races like Mille Miglia, Targa Florio and Carrera Panamericana and was one of the few remaining witnesses of this era. Hans im Glück (lucky John) escaped from several spectacular incidents or accidents. Herrmann had a remarkable Mille Miglia race in 1954, when the gates of a railroad crossing were lowered in the last moment before the fast train to Rome passed. Driving a very low Porsche 550 Spyder, Herrmann decided it was too late for a brake attempt anyway, knocked on the back of the helmet of his navigator Herbert Linge to make him duck, and they barely passed below the gates and before the train, to the surprise of the spectators.
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