Richard Seaman not only had to navigate the racetracks of the 1930s, but also life as a Briton in pre-war Nazi Germany. In an extract from his new book, Richard Williams charts Seaman’s triumph, conflicts, and his tragic end
In the summer of 1938, halfway through his second season with Mercedes, Richard Seaman was growing frustrated. It was late July and his last race in a Silver Arrow had been at Donington Park eight months earlier. In recent weeks his German teammates – Rudolf Caracciola, Manfred von Brauchitsch and Hermann Lang – had finished in the first three positions in Tripoli and at Reims, while the 25-year-old Englishman had been left kicking his heels.
He was free to swim, sail and waterski at his home on the shore of a Bavarian lake, and to dance with his new girlfriend – the 18-year-old daughter of the head of BMW – to his collection of jazz records. But however enjoyable that may have been, it was not why he had chosen to leave England a year and a half earlier.
Written by Richard Williams
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/mar/29/the-moment-britains-first-great-grand-prix-driver-saluted-adolf-hitler under the title “
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