Gerhard Karl Mitter (born 30 August 1935 in Krásná Lípa, Czechoslovakia – died 1 August 1969 on the Nürburgring Circuit, Germany) was a German racing driver who most notably drove for Lotus in Formula One.
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Formula One Career[]
Pre-Formula One[]
After beginning his racing career in motorbikes, Mitter entered the Formula Junior series. He became the best German Formula Junior driver with 40 victories.
During his Formula One career, he also entered with Porsche into sportscar racing and hillclimbing events.
Formula One[]
After winning the Formula Junior Eifelrennen at the Nürburgring, the Porsche Formula One team invited Mitter to participate in the 1963 German Grand Prix. He placed in 4th position to gain 3 points in the season.
The following year, he was offered a drive with Lotus. He was unsucessful in scoring any points in his 3 years with the team (1964 - 1966).
After leaving Lotus, Mitter entered his Formula Two car in the 1967 German Grand Prix, but was unable to complete any laps as an engine failure forced him out of the race.
After taking a break from Formula One racing, he again entered his Formula Two car into the 1969 German Grand Prix, the race in which he would be killed.
Death[]
While practicing for the 1969 German Grand Prix in his BMW Formula Two car, Mitter's car suffered a suspension or steering failure. Mitter was killed in the accident.
Because a failure was suspected, BMW withdrew their drivers, Hubert Hahne and Dieter Quester from the event. Mitter's Porsche teammate, Hans Herrmann also withdrew from the event.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Ecurie Maarsbergen | Porsche | 3 | 12th | Report |
| 1964 | Team Lotus | Lotus-Climax | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1965 | Team Lotus | Lotus-Climax | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1966 | Ron Harris/Team Lotus | Lotus-Cosworth | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1967 | Gerhard Mitter | Brabham-Ford Cosworth | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1969 | BMW | BMW | 0 | NC | Report |
Career Statistics[]
| Entries | 5 |
| Starts | 4 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Front Row Starts | 0 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Points | 3 |
| Laps Raced | 39 |
| Distance Raced | 852.4 km (530 mi) |
| Races Led | 0 |
| Laps Led | 0 |
| Distance Led | 0 km (0 mi) |
| Doubles | 0 |
| Hat-Tricks | 0 |
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts | Pos | |||||||||
| 1963 | 
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3 | 12th | ||||||||||
| Ret | 4th | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1964 |
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0 | NC | ||||||||||
| 9th | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1965 |
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0 | NC | ||||||||||
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| 1966 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||||
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| 1967 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||
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| 1969 |
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| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| † | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| P | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
Notes[]
External links[]
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