1936 Mercedes-Benz W25K
The W25K’s failure when put to the test led to abandoned races and an overhaul of racing-car design at Mercedes.
Nineteen thirty-five was an excellent Grand Prix season, the best against strong and varied opposition that Mercedes-Benz enjoyed in Year Two of the new 750-kilogram G.P. formula. In its second season the W25 was fully proven and raced as part of a team that was at last operating as a team, driven by two absolute aces in Rudy Caracciola and Luigi Fagioli.
Caught napping by the Germans, who had been quicker to see the potential of the new rules, Alfa Romeo and Maserati introduced new and faster cars in 1935 that threatened to be sterner rivals in 1936. And the meteoric Bernd Rosemeyer was displaying uncommon skill at the wheel of his Auto Union. Major changes in the Mercedes-Benz equipment for the formula’s third year were clearly needed.
