Although an excellent driver who had reasonable success, he struggled
with bad luck, and was overshadowed by his more successful
Mercedes-Benz teammates Rudolf Caracciola and Hermann Lang.Brauchitsch won three Grands Prix - the 1934 ADAC Eifelrennen which saw the first appearance of Silver Arrows Mercedes Race cars, the 1937 Monaco Grand Prix (considered his greatest victory), and the 1938 French Grand Prix. His fastest lap in the 1937 Monaco race (1 minute 46.5 seconds, 11.9 seconds faster than the old record lap) set a record that stood for 18 years.
He was twice runner-up in the European Championship, in 1937 and 1938, and finished third in 1939.
He was noted for his red helmet and his bad luck, losing a number of
other Grands Prix when he was on the very verge of winning (no less than
five, by some counts). His most famous loss was the 1935 German Grand Prix, when a tire blew while he was leading the last lap, handing victory to Tazio Nuvolari in an Alfa Romeo
in one of the latter's most famous victories - the only time during the
reign of the Silver Arrows when a Grand Prix was won by a car other
than a Mercedes or Auto Union.
Following World War II, being the son and nephew of military officers was not of much practical use in West Germany.
After several failed businesses, Brauchitsch contacted Caracciola, who
gave him contacts in South America. Unable to settle there, he returned
to West Germany embittered and became a target for the communists of East Germany. Again unable to settle, he returned to West Germany, where he was arrested and charged with espionage. In 1951, he was jailed and then released on bail.[citation needed]During a bail period in 1955, Brauchitsch defected to East Germany; his wife Gisela committed suicide a year later. He was put in charge of the East German national motor sport organisation, as well as becoming president of its movement to promote the Olympic ideal. The latter led to his being awarded the Olympic Order in 1988 by the International Olympic Committee.[1]
Brauchitsch later remarried, to Lieselotte, and they were permitted to visit West Germany occasionally. Following the death of Hermann Lang in 1987, Brauchitsch was regarded as the last surviving member of the pre-war "Silver Arrow" drivers. He died in Gräfenwarth in 2003.
