Paul Pietsch (born 20 June, 1911 in Freiburg im Breisgau, Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany – died 31 May, 2012 in Titisee-Neustadt, Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany) was a German racing driver and founder of the magazine Das Auto, notable for celebrating his 100th birthday on June 20, 2011, and becoming the oldest living Formula One racer and the first to reach the age of 100. He was also the first German driver in Formula One. Other Grand Prix drivers to reach 100 were Louis Gerard and Ernst Jakob Henne.
He competed in three Formula One Grands Prix, retiring from all of these races, and also in pre-war Grands Prix between 1932 and 1939, winning the 1933 Swedish Ice Race and 1934 Vallentunaloppet in an Alfa Romeo.
When he died in May 2012, film director Manoel de Oliveira was left as the last surviving pre-war Grand Prix driver. Robert Manzon was left as the last surviving starter from the first season after the death of José Froilán González in June 2013 until his own death in January 2015. Robert La Caze became the oldest living F1 driver upon Pietsch's death.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
Note: For Formula One years, italics indicates an entry or constructor that did not participate in World Championship races.
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-Championship | |||||
| 1932 | Pilesi Racing Team | Bugatti | 23 | =22nd | Report |
| 1933 | Paul Pietsch | Alfa Romeo | — | — | Report |
| 1934 | Paul Pietsch | Alfa Romeo | — | — | Report |
| 1935 | Auto Union AG | Auto Union | 31 | =11th | Report |
| 1956 | Did not compete in any races | ||||
| 1937 | Paul Pietsch | Maserati | 35 | =17th | Report |
| 1938 | Paul Pietsch | Maserati | 28 | =14th | |
| 1939 | Paul Pietsch Officine Alfieri Maserati |
Maserati | 26 | 14th | Report |
| Formula One | |||||
| 1950 | Paul Pietsch | Maserati | 0 | NC | |
| 1951 | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | 0 | NC | |
| 1952 | Motor-Presse-Verlag Paul Pietsch |
Veritas | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1953 | Paul Pietsch | Maserati | Non-championship only | ||
Race Wins[]
Note: All pre-Championship and non-European Championship
| No. | Race |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1933 Swedish Ice Race |
| 2 | 1934 Vallentunaloppet |
Career Statistics[]
| Entries | 3 |
| Starts | 3 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Fastest Laps | 0 |
| Points | 0 |
| Laps Raced | 12 |
| Distance Raced | 274 km (170 mi) |
European Championship Results[]
| Complete European Championship results | |||||||
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| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Pts | Pos |
| 1932 | 
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23 | =22nd | ||
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| 1933–1934: Not held | |||||||
| 1935 | 
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31 | =11th |
| 9th | 3rd | ||||||
| 1936: Did not compete in any races | |||||||
| 1937 |
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35 | =17th |
| Ret | 10th | ||||||
| 1938 |
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28 | =14th | |
| 6th | |||||||
| 1939 |
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26 | 14th |
| 3rd | Ret | C | |||||
| Key | ||||||
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| Symbol | Meaning | Pts | Symbol | Meaning | Pts | |
| 1st | Winner | 1 | Ret | Retired (>75% race distance) | 4 | |
| 2nd | Podium finish | 2 | Ret | Retired (50–75% race distance) | 5 | |
| 3rd | 3 | Ret | Retired (25–50% race distance) | 6 | ||
| 5th | Finished race (>75% race distance) | 4 | Ret | Retired (<25% race distance) | 7 | |
| 7th | Finished race (50–75% race distance) | 5 | DSQ | Disqualified | 8 | |
| NC | Non-classified finish (50–75% race distance) | 5 | Did not participate | 8 | ||
| [+] More Symbols | ||||||
Formula One Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pts | Pos | |||||||||||||||
| 1950 | 
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||||||
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| 1951 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||||||||
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| 1952 |
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| Key | |||||
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| 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 | Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
Notes[]
External links[]
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