Emmanuel
De Graffenried

Emmanuel "Toulo" de Graffenried was born in Paris on 18 May 1914, the son of a Swiss baron and an American mother. He was a Swiss racing driver and began his career in 1936 in a Maserati voiturette that he owned himself. In 1949, a year before the World Championship began, he won the British Grand Prix.

He made his World Championship debut in 1950, contesting four races that year in a Maserati. Up to 1956 he made 22 starts from 23 entries, mostly in Maserati cars. In 1951 he drove for both Alfa Romeo and Maserati and finished 17th in the standings. In 1952 he started three of his four entries. His best championship position came in 1953, when he finished eighth after seven starts. He took part in two races in 1954 and one in 1956. He did not win a race, reach the podium or take a pole position in the championship.

He doubled for Kirk Douglas during the filming of The Racers. In 1998, at the celebrations for Silverstone's 50th anniversary, he drove a racing car for the last time at the age of 84. De Graffenried died in Lonay, Switzerland, on 22 January 2007. He was the last surviving driver from the first Grand Prix of the Formula One World Championship.

Source: Wikipedia, “Toulo de Graffenried”. Text licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.