The 1936 Grand Prix season was the third year of the 750 kg Formula. The next iteration of the Mercedes-Benz did not prove successful and the team withdrew during the season to instead prepare for the next one. It therefore fell to the resurgent Auto Union team to dominate the racing. In particular, it was their young, new superstar, Bernd Rosemeyer, who mastered the tricky car and who showed superlative skill in wet conditions. Rosemeyer easily won this season's European Championship by winning three of the four Grands Prix.
Once again, it was the old master, Tazio Nuvolari, driving the new Alfa Romeo for the Scuderia Ferrari who proved the greatest challenger to the all-conquering German cars. Without competitive cars, and not wanting to suffer further humiliation from the German teams, the French racing authorities instead ran their major races to their own new sports car regulations. With tensions in Europe rising, politics was increasingly playing a major part in motor-racing. Benito Mussolini ordered Italian teams to boycott the early races in the season, and the Belgian Grand Prix was cancelled. Strikes forced the Le Mans 24 Hours to be postponed, then cancelled, and when Spain erupted into civil war later in the year, racing ceased there.
