Rennleiter Alfred Neubauer, Racing Manager of the Mercedes Grand Prix Team, shares his thoughts on the best driver he knew, Rudolf Caracciola. Mercedes Benz history is chalk full of dynamic characters and domineering personalities. One of the most influential and visible of these people was Alfred Neubauer. Neubauer (29 March 1891 in Neutitschein – 22 August 1980 in Stuttgart) was the racing manager of the Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix team from 1926 to 1955.
Neubauer was involved in the repair of motor vehicles while an officer in the Imperial Austrian army. After the First World War, he joined the Austrian car manufacturer Austro-Daimler, where Ferdinand Porsche appointed him chief tester. From 1922 onwards, Neubauer also drove in races, but without any great success. In 1923, when Ferdinand Porsche moved to the Daimler Works at Stuttgart (Daimler-Benz was not founded until 1926), he took Neubauer with him. In 1926, recognizing that he himself was not a great racing driver, Neubauer had an inspiration. He invented the position of racing team manager (Rennleiter).
