Karl Kling (; 16 September 1910 – 18 March 2003) was a German
racing driver
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...
and
motorsport
Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...
executive, who competed in
Formula One
Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...
at 11
Grands Prix from to .
An employee of
Daimler-Benz
Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a Germany, German Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is o ...
since the mid-1930s, Kling made his Formula One debut at the
1954 French Grand Prix, where he finished second to
Mercedes teammate
Juan Manuel Fangio, becoming the
first German driver to score a podium finish in Formula One. He participated in 10 further World Championship Grands Prix, achieving another podium at the
1955 British Grand Prix and scoring a total of 17 championship points.
Upon retiring from motor racing, Kling became the head of
Mercedes-Benz in motorsport from 1956 to 1968.
Early life and career
Kling was born on 16 September 1910 in
Giessen
Giessen, spelled in German (), is a town in the Germany, German States of Germany, state () of Hesse, capital of both the Giessen (district), district of Giessen and the Giessen (region), administrative region of Giessen. The population is appro ...
,
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine () was a grand duchy in western Germany that existed from 1806 to 1918. The grand duchy originally formed from the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1806 as the Grand Duchy of Hesse (). It assumed the name ...
,
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
.
It is said, that he was born too late and too early. Too late to be in the successful Mercedes team of the 1930s and too early to have a real chance in and . Unusually, Kling found his way into motorsport via his first job as a reception clerk at
Daimler-Benz
Mercedes-Benz Group AG (formerly Daimler-Benz, DaimlerChrysler, and Daimler) is a Germany, German Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive company headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is o ...
in the mid-1930s, competing in hillclimb and trials events in production machinery in his spare time. During the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
he gained mechanical experience servicing
Luftwaffe
The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
aircraft, and after the cessation of hostilities he resumed his motorsport involvement in a
BMW 328.
Kling was instrumental in developing Mercedes' return to international competition in the early 1950s, and his win in the 1952
Carrera Panamericana road race, driving the then-experimental
Mercedes-Benz 300SL was a defining point in assuring the Daimler-Benz management that motorsport had a place in Mercedes' future. Called up to the revived Mercedes Grand Prix squad in 1954 he finished less than one second behind the legendary
Juan Manuel Fangio on hi
Formula One debut taking second place in the
1954 French Grand Prix at the fast
Reims-Gueux circuit. This promising start was not to last, and with the arrival of
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...
at Mercedes in 1955 Kling was effectively demoted to third driver. However, away from the World Championship, Kling took an impressive victory in the
Berlin Grand Prix at
AVUS, another high-speed circuit.
Having won all world championships they competed for, F1 in 1954 and 1955, plus sports cars in 1955, Mercedes retired from international racing after 1955 to focus on road car development. Kling succeeded
Alfred Neubauer as head of Mercedes motorsport, with stock models only. He was in this post during their successful rallying campaigns of the 1960s, occasionally taking the wheel himself. On one such occasion he drove a
Mercedes-Benz 220SE to victory in the mighty 1961 trans-African
Algiers-Cape Town Rally.
He died in 2003 at the age of 92.
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(
key)
* Shared drive with
Stirling Moss
Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British racing driver and sports broadcasting, broadcaster, who competed in Formula One from to . Widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers to never win the Formula On ...
and
Hans Herrmann.
Non-championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)
(Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
References
*
*
Further reading
* Karl Kling, G. Molter, ''Pursuit of Victory'' (Bodley Head, London, 1956)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kling, Karl
German racing drivers
German Formula One drivers
Mercedes-Benz Formula One drivers
1910 births
2003 deaths
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Sportspeople from Giessen
Racing drivers from Hesse
World Sportscar Championship drivers
DAMC 05 people
Luftwaffe personnel of World War II
Carrera Panamericana drivers