Le Mans winner and former F1 driver Hans Hermann has died at the age of 97 – the trained pastry chef drove for Mercedes, B.R.M., Maserati, and above all Porsche
The motorsport world mourns the loss of Hans Herrmann. The former racing driver died on January 9, 2026, at the age of 97. During his motorsport career, he achieved more than 80 overall and class victories, the vast majority of which were for Porsche.
Herrmann not only drove in all the major endurance races and European Hillclimb Championship events, but also conducted countless test drives at the Weissach Development Center.
“The news of Hans Herrmann’s death has affected us all deeply,” says Thomas Laudenbach, Head of Porsche Motorsport. “He was one of Porsche’s most successful factory racing drivers. He and Richard Attwood made history with their victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 in a Porsche 917.”
The sports car manufacturer from Zuffenhausen owes him not only many triumphs, but also the historic milestone he set, making Porsche a force to be reckoned with in endurance racing.
Hans Herrmann was born on February 23, 1928. He completed an apprenticeship as a pastry chef so that he could later take over his mother’s café. However, this was not to be, as his talent and passion lay in motorsport.
In 1952, the Stuttgart native competed in his first circuit race at the Nürburgring in a Porsche 356 – and won. The following year, he took class victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a Porsche 550 Coupe. Also in 1953, Herrmann secured the German Sports Car Championship title.
Mercedes-Benz then recruited him to the factory team, making him a colleague of Juan Manuel Fangio, Stirling Moss, and Karl Kling. Herrmann continued to compete for Porsche in the smaller displacement classes in 1954 and won his class in the Carrera Panamericana and the Mille Miglia in a 550 Spyder.
The latter race made it into the history books with a particularly spectacular snapshot: Herrmann piloting the open mid-engine sports car under a closing railroad crossing gate. He later captioned the image on a postcard with the words: “You have to be lucky.”
Herrmann returns to Porsche again and again
Luck would remain a constant companion throughout his career. After Daimler-Benz withdrew from motorsport, he spent years with Maserati, B.R.M., Borgward, and Porsche time and again.
In 1960, Olivier Gendebien and Herrmann triumphed in a 718 RS 60 Spyder at the 12 Hours of Sebring. This was Porsche’s first overall victory in a race in the World Endurance Championship. Shortly afterwards, Herrmann and Joakim Bonnier won the Targa Florio in a Porsche RS 60 Spyder, and in the same year he was celebrated as European Formula 2 champion with the Porsche 718/2.
In 1962, he moved to Carlo Abarth to become a works driver for the Viennese designer from 1963. In 1966, he returned to the Porsche works team with racing drivers Jo Siffert, Vic Elford, Rolf Stommelen, Udo Schütz, and Gerhard Mitter.
A victory for the history books
Herrmann faced the toughest race of his life in 1970 with the Porsche 917 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “In 1969, I narrowly lost the victory to Jacky Ickx after we had overtaken each other several times on every lap during the last hour and a half of the race.”
“In 1970, Ferdinand Piech made sure that we had a real chance of winning with a more powerful engine. It was of course very special for me to win exactly one year after narrowly missing out on victory at Le Mans. It was also Porsche’s first overall victory – and it was my last race,“ Herrmann said in retrospect. He had already lost too many friends by that June day, his wife was worried, and Herrmann himself knew: ”It can’t be that I’m the one who’s so lucky, and at some point this phase might come to an end.”
The endurance and single-seater specialist has gone down in motorsport history as one of the most reliable and consistent racing drivers of all time. During his career, Herrmann competed for many manufacturers. But his closest and most formative connection has always been with Porsche.
Decades after retiring from active racing at the age of 42, he continued to accompany the Porsche Museum on his driving assignments at prestigious classic car events around the globe. Hans Herrmann is survived by his wife Magdalena, two sons, and one grandson.