Karl Kling (German pronunciation: ⓘ; 16 September 1910 – 18 March 2003) was a motor racing driver and manager from Germany. He participated in 11 Formula One Grands Prix, debuting on 4 July 1954. He achieved 2 podiums - the first German ever to achieve a Formula One podium - and scored a total of 17 championship points.

It is said, that he was born too late and too early. Too late to be in the successful Mercedes team of the 1930s and too early to have a real chance in 1954 and 1955. Unusually, Kling found his way into motorsport via his first job as a reception clerk at Daimler-Benz in the mid-1930s, competing in hillclimb and trials events in production machinery in his spare time. During the Second World War he gained mechanical experience servicing Luftwaffe aircraft, and after the cessation of hostilities he resumed his motorsport involvement in a BMW 328.

Kling was instrumental in developing Mercedes' return to international competition in the early 1950s, and his win in the 1952 Carrera Panamericana road race, driving the then-experimental Mercedes-Benz 300SL was a defining point in assuring the Daimler-Benz management that motorsport had a place in Mercedes' future. Called up to the revived Mercedes Grand Prix squad in 1954 he finished less than one second behind the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio on his Formula One debut, taking second place in the 1954 French Grand Prix at the fast Reims-Gueux circuit. This promising start was not to last, and with the arrival of Stirling Moss at Mercedes in 1955 Kling was effectively demoted to third driver. However, away from the World Championship, Kling took an impressive victory in the Berlin Grand Prix at AVUS, another high-speed circuit.

Having won all world championships they competed for, F1 in 1954 and 1955, plus sports cars in 1955, Mercedes retired from international racing after 1955 to focus on road car development. Kling succeeded Alfred Neubauer as head of Mercedes motorsport, with stock models only. He was in this post during their successful rallying campaigns of the 1960s, occasionally taking the wheel himself. On one such occasion he drove a Mercedes-Benz 220SE to victory in the mighty 1961 Algiers-Cape Town trans-African rally.

He died in 2003 at the age of 92.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 WDC Points 1954 Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes W196 Mercedes straight-8 ARG 500 BEL FRA
2 GBR
7 GER
4 SUI
Ret ITA
Ret ESP
5 5th 12 1955 Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes W196 Mercedes straight-8 ARG
4* MON 500 BEL
Ret NED
Ret GBR
3 ITA
Ret 11th 5

* Shared drive with Stirling Moss and Hans Herrmann.

Non-championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1954 Daimler-Benz AG Mercedes W196 Mercedes straight-8 SYR PAU LAV BOR INT BAR CUR ROM FRO COR BRC CRY ROU CAE AUG COR OUL RED PES SAC JOE CAD BER
1 GOO DTT

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps Pos. Class
Pos. 1952 Daimler-Benz AG Hans Klenk Mercedes-Benz W194 S
3.0 DNF DNF 1953 SpA Alfa Romeo Fritz Riess Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM S5.0 133 DNF
(Transmission) 1955 Daimler Benz AG Andre Simon Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR S3.0 130 DNF DNF