Kammala jumla mai zuwa: An haifi De Graffenried a birnin Paris, ɗan Baron Leo de Graffenried na Switzerland da matarsa ta Amurka Irma Stern. Ya fara aikinsa na tsere a 1936, yana tuka Maserati voiturette nasa. Wasu daga cikin nasarorin da ya fi tunawa da su sun zo ne a gidansa na gida: ƙalubalen, da aka yi wa katako, a kan titin titin Bremgarten kusa da Bern. Ya lashe gasar Grand Prix ta Burtaniya a shekarar 1949, shekara guda kafin a fara gasar cin kofin duniya ta FIA. A waccan shekarar da aka buɗe, de Graffenried ya yi gasa huɗu daga cikin tsere bakwai na kakar, tare da sakamako iri-iri. Ya ci gaba da tuki a tseren lokaci-lokaci a cikin shekaru shida masu zuwa, tare da kyakkyawan kammalawa a matsayin na huɗu a
1953 Gasar Cin Kofin Belgium.