The 1939 Grand Prix season was the seventh AIACR European Championship season. The championship winner was never officially announced by the AIACR due to the outbreak of World War II less than two weeks after the final event in Switzerland. The Italian GP initially had been a fifth event, but it became clear well before the war that it would be cancelled due to construction work. At that time, it was also undecided which scoring system would be used, the old minimum points system that basically counted positions, or the French maximum points system similar to the modern one. Although Hermann Paul Müller would have won the championship on points according to the old system, the president of Nazi Germany's highest motorsports organisation declared Hermann Lang the champion. Lang was clearly the dominating driver in that season, which was acknowledged by the international press. In the first two of the four championship events, both Lang and Müller won once while the other failed to complete 75% of the distance. The German round saw Lang retiring early, and Müller finishing 2nd behind Caracciola. This left Müller in the lead in both scoring systems, as published in magazines, with the Swiss round deciding the outcome. Müller finished 4th behind three Mercedes, which gave him the lead in the old point system, while in front, Lang had beaten Caracciola for the lead in the maximum points system.

Teams and drivers The following teams and drivers competed in the 1939 AIACR European Championship.

Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Driver Rounds Auto Union AG Auto Union DC/D Auto Union 3.0 V12 s Tazio Nuvolari All Rudolf Hasse 1, 3-4 Hermann Paul Müller All Georg Meier 1-3 Hans Stuck 2-4 Giuseppe Farina Alfa Romeo Tipo 316 Alfa Romeo 3.0 V16 s Giuseppe Farina 1 Raymond Sommer Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 Alfa Romeo 3.0 L8 s Raymond Sommer 1, 3 Robert Mazaud Delahaye 135CS Delahaye 3.6 L6 Robert Mazaud 1 Louis Gérard Delahaye 135CS Delahaye 3.6 L6 Louis Gérard 1 Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes-Benz W154 Mercedes-Benz M163 3.0 V12 s Rudolf Caracciola All Hermann Lang All Manfred von Brauchitsch All Richard Seaman 1 Heinz Brendel 3 Hans Hartmann 4 Adolfo Mandirola Maserati 8CM Maserati 3.0 L8 s Adolfo Mandirola 1, 3 Christian Kautz Alfa Romeo Tipo 308 Alfa Romeo 3.0 L8 s Raymond Sommer 2 Luigi Chinetti 2 Yves Matra 2 Écurie Lucy O'Reilly Schell Écurie Bleue Delahaye Delahaye 145135CS135S Delahaye 4.5 V12Delahaye 4.5 L6Delahaye 3.6 L6 René Dreyfus 2-3 "Raph" 2-3 Robert Mazaud 3-4 Maserati 8CTF Maserati 3.0 L8 s René Dreyfus 4 "Raph" 4 Automobiles Talbot-Darracq Talbot MDMC Talbot 4.5 L6 Philippe Étancelin 2 René Le Bègue 2 Raymond Mays 2 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 8CTF Maserati 3.0 L8 s Luigi Villoresi 3 Paul Pietsch 3 Süddeutsche Renngemeinschaft Maserati 4CM6CM Maserati 1.5 L4 s Leonhard Joa 3-4 Max Christen Maserati 26B Maserati 2.0 L8 s Max Christen 4 Kenneth Evans Alfa Romeo P3 Alfa Romeo 3.0 L8 s Kenneth Evans 4 Paul Pietsch Maserati 6CM Maserati 1.5 L4 s Paul Pietsch 4 Marc Horvilleur Maserati 4CM Maserati 1.5 L4 s Marc Horvilleur 4 Robert Ansell ERA B ERA 1.5 L6 s Bob Ansell 4 Allen Pollock ERA A ERA 1.5 L6 s Allen Pollock 4 Johnny Wakefield Maserati 4CL Maserati 1.5 L4 s Johnny Wakefield 4 Guido Barbieri Maserati 6CM Maserati 1.5 L6 s Guido Barbieri 4 Giovanni Rocco Maserati 4CL Maserati 1.5 L4 s Giovanni Rocco 4 Alfa Corse Alfa Romeo 158 Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 s Giuseppe Farina 4 Clemente Biondetti 4 Baron de Graffenried Maserati 6C 34 Maserati 3.0 L6 s Toulo de Graffenried 4

Power for 1939 Manufacturer Model Engine PowerOutput Max. Speed (km/h) Dry Weight (kg)

Season review

European Championship Grands Prix

Rd Date Name Circuit Winning drivers Winning constructor Report 1 25 June Belgian Grand Prix Spa-Francorchamps Hermann Lang Mercedes-Benz Report 2 9 July French Grand Prix Reims-Gueux Hermann Paul Müller Auto Union Report 3 23 July German Grand Prix Nürburgring Rudolf Caracciola Mercedes-Benz Report 4 20 August Swiss Grand Prix Bremgarten Hermann Lang Mercedes-Benz Report

Cancelled Races Date Name Circuit 10 September Italian Grand Prix Monza

Non-championship Grands Prix

Grandes Épreuves are denoted by a yellow background.

Date Name Circuit Winning driver Winning constructor Report 2 April Pau Grand Prix Pau Hermann Lang Mercedes-Benz Report 10 April Road Championship Brooklands Arthur Dobson ERA Report 7 May Paris Cup Montlhéry Jean-Pierre Wimille Bugatti Report 7 May Finnish Grand Prix Eläintarharata Adolf Westerblom Alfa Romeo Report 21 May Eifelrennen Nürburgring Hermann Lang Mercedes-Benz Report 28 May Grand Prix des Frontières Chimay Maurice Trintignant Bugatti Report 25 June Bucharest Grand Prix Bucharest Hans Stuck Auto Union Report 2 July Remparts Grand Prix Angoulême Raymond Sommer Alfa Romeo Report 7 August Campbell Trophy Brooklands Raymond Mays ERA Report 3 September Belgrade Grand Prix Belgrade Tazio Nuvolari Auto Union Report 29 October Gávea Nacional Circuit Gávea Manuel de Teffé Maserati Report

Unofficial championship standings Pos Driver BEL FRA GER SUI Ptsaccording to the old minimum points system 1 Hermann Paul Müller Ret 1 2 4 12 2 Hermann Lang 1 Ret Ret 1 14 3 Rudolf Caracciola Ret Ret 1 2 17 4 Manfred von Brauchitsch 3 Ret Ret 3 19 = Tazio Nuvolari Ret Ret Ret 5 19 6 Rudolf Hasse 2 Ret Ret 20 = René Dreyfus 7 4 8 20 8 Georg Meier Ret 2 Ret 22 9 Raymond Sommer 4 5 Ret 23 = Hans Stuck 6 Ret 10 23 11 Robert Mazaud 5 6 24 = "Raph" 9 5 24 13 Giuseppe Farina Ret 7 25 14 Paul Pietsch 3 Ret 26 15 René Le Bègue 3 27 16 Louis Gérard 6 28 = Philippe Étancelin 4 28 = Luigi Chinetti 8 28 = Leonhard Joa 7 28 = Hans Hartmann 6 28 = Clemente Biondetti 9 28 = Kenneth Evans 11 28 = John Wakefield 12 28 = Robert Ansell 13 28 25 Richard Seaman Ret 29 = Adolfo Mandirola Ret DSQ 29 = Toulo de Graffenried Ret 29 28 Yves Matra Ret 30 = Luigi Villoresi Ret 30 30 Raymond Mays Ret 31 = Heinz Brendel Ret 31 = Giovanni Rocco Ret 31 Pos Driver BEL FRA GER SUI Pts

Notes

References