1939 Belgian Grand Prix

  1939 Belgian Grand Prix

Race details
Race 1 of 4 in the 1939 European Championship
Date	25 June 1939
Official name	VIII Grand Prix de Belgique
Location	Spa-Francorchamps Spa, Belgium
Course	Road course
Course length	14.50 km (9.01 mi)
Distance	35 laps, 507.50 km (315.35 mi)
Weather	Heavy rain, intermittent
Pole position
Driver	Hermann Paul Müller	Auto Union
Grid positions set by ballot
Fastest lap
Driver	Hermann Lang	Mercedes-Benz
Time	5:19.9
Podium
First	Hermann Lang	Mercedes-Benz
Second	Rudolf Hasse	Auto Union
Third	Manfred von Brauchitsch	Mercedes-Benz

The 1939 Belgian Grand Prix was a Grand Prix motor race held on 25 June 1939 at Spa-Francorchamps.

Richard Seaman crashed at the La Source hairpin into a tree, causing the fuel line to break. Fuel rushed over the car and the car caught fire. Seaman couldn't move because his right hand was broken and he was also trapped by his steering wheel. After a minute of futile rescue attempts, a Belgian soldier walked into the blaze and freed Seaman. However, he had suffered burns on sixty percent of the body and Britain's most successful pre-war driver died before midnight.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Team	Car	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	22	Hermann Lang	Daimler-Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz W154	35	3:20:21.0	2	1
2	8	Rudolf Hasse	Auto Union	Auto Union D	35	+16.9	4	2
3	24	Manfred von Brauchitsch	Daimler-Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz W154	35	+1:53.0	9	3
4	12	Raymond Sommer	Private entry	Alfa Romeo Tipo 308	33	+2 Laps	10	4
5	14	Robert Mazaud	Private entry	Delahaye T135CS	31	+4 Laps	11	4
6	18	Louis Gérard	Private entry	Delahaye T135CS	30	+5 Laps	12	4
Ret	2	Tazio Nuvolari	Auto Union	Auto Union D	28	Accident damage	4	4
Ret	6	Hermann Paul Müller	Auto Union	Auto Union D	26	Valve	1	5
Ret	26	Richard Seaman	Daimler-Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz W154	21	Fatal accident	5	5
Ret	10	Giuseppe Farina	Private entry	Alfa Romeo Tipo 316	20	Supercharger	3	5
Ret	28	Adolfo Mandirola	Private entry	Maserati 6CM	19	Front Suspension	13	5
Ret	8	Georg Meier	Auto Union	Auto Union D	13	Accident	6	6
Ret	20	Rudolf Caracciola	Daimler-Benz AG	Mercedes-Benz W154	7	Accident	7	7