Mercedes-Benz

Mercedes-Benz is a German automobile manufacturer whose factory racing programme — under the banner of the Silver Arrows — was the dominant force in Grand Prix racing from 1934 to 1939. In the context of this vault, Mercedes-Benz is Alfa Romeo’s most powerful adversary during the period when Manfred von Brauchitsch, Rudolf Caracciola, and Hermann Lang drove the W25 and W125 to multiple European Championship victories.

The Silver Arrows era (1934–1939) saw Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union — both funded by the German state — comprehensively outpace the Italian constructors. Alfa Romeo’s best response was the development of the Alfa Romeo Bimotore in 1935 (a twin-engined experiment) and the continued development of the B-type (P3) in near-obsolete configuration. The weight of the German programme effectively ended the period of Italian dominance that had characterised Grand Prix racing since 1924.

Connections

• Alfa Romeo — principal adversary in the 1934–1939 Silver Arrows era, source: wikipedia.org
• Manfred von Brauchitsch — Mercedes-Benz works driver; faced Alfa Romeo at the 1932 Avusrennen in the SSKL, source: wikipedia.org
• Auto Union — jointly represented Germany in the Silver Arrows era, source: wikipedia.org
• German Grand Prix 1935 — race where Silver Arrows supremacy over Alfa was illustrated, source: wikipedia.org