1959 German Grand Prix

F1 1959 British Grand Prix 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix West Germany German 2 August Circuit AVUS.svg 1959 XXI Grosser Preis von Deutschland AVUSWest Berlin Public road/Permanent racing facility 5.157 8.300 2x30 309.42 498.00 Dry and dull. GBR Tony Brooks Ferrari 2:05.9 GBR Tony Brooks Ferrari 2:04.5 GBR Tony Brooks Ferrari USA 1959 Dan Gurney Ferrari USA 1959 Phil Hill Ferrari GER The 1959 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Automobil-Verkehrs- und Übungs-Straße in West Berlin on 2 August 1959. It was race 6 of 9 in the 1959 World Championship of Drivers and race 5 of 8 in the 1959 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 21st German Grand Prix and was only the second time the race was not held at the Nürburgring which opened in 1927, the year after the first German GP at AVUS. 2025 this is the only official German Grand Prix in World Championship history not to be held at either the Nürburgring or Hockenheimring as a venue. The race in the divided city, yet before the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, would mark the only time that AVUS would host a World Championship Grand Prix since the inception in 1950 of what is today referred to as the Formula One World Championship. AVUS had previously held the original German Grand Prix in 1926 though the circuit had held the Avusrennen a few times times in the intervening years and continued to do so after this for lower category formula racing cars and sports cars until the circuit officially closed in 1998, though it would never host a World Championship Grand Prix ever again. The 1959 German Grand Prix was held over two 30 lap heats of the eight kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 498 kilometres. In a unique Formula One race format, first, second and third were all claimed by the same team, Scuderia Ferrari. British driver Tony Brooks set the second fastest practice time, and started from pole. His teammate Cliff Allison was 0.1 quicker at 2:05.8, but only a reserve entrant in the 4th Ferrari. When allowed to start after two Formula 2 Porsches withdrew after the fatal crash of Jean Behra, it was only from the back of the field. Brooks won on aggregate, ahead of American teammates Dan Gurney and Phil Hill. All three drove Ferrari Dino 246s. Race report thumb|AVUS banked North turn in the 1955 race The simplistic track consisted of two very longs straight down either side of a dual carriageway, punctuated at the Southern end by a hairpin and at the Northern by a steep banking made of bricks. AVUS was perhaps the fastest motor racing circuit in the world at the time- it was even faster than the Indianapolis oval which did not require hard braking. Tony Brooks started from pole position and then beat his practice time with the fastest lap, at average speed of 149 mph (240 km/h)- extremely fast for Formula One at the time and 4 mph faster than the pole speed at Indianapolis that year. Also uniquely in Formula One World Championship history, the race was divided into two heats, due to safety concerns about tire wear, having only left turns. In the first, Tony Brooks and Dan Gurney took the lead. Masten Gregory in the Cooper-Climax battled hard with them, passing first one Ferrari then the other as the lead changed hands until a big end bolt broke. It was a Ferrari 1-2-3 with Phil Hill taking the final podium place. In the second heat, once again the Ferraris had a duel at the front, this time with Bruce McLaren until he suffered transfer gear problems. On aggregate placings, it was an all-Ferrari podium in the order Brooks, Gurney, Hill. Maurice Trintignant was fourth from Jo Bonnier and Ian Burgess. This was the fastest Formula One race recorded at this time, with an average speed of 143.3 miles per hour. Hans Herrmann crashed his BRM P25 five laps into the second heat. In the approach to the southern turn he struck hay bales and rolled his car, but was thrown clear and sent sliding down the track. While the car was destroyed, Herrmann escaped unscathed.German Grand Prix Crash https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-sydney-morning-herald-hans-hermann/156699887/ 7 October 2024 The Sydney Morning Herald 4 August 1959 6 Newspapers.com http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/16177.html German Grand Prix 1959 - Brooks and Ferrari shine amid the tedium En.espnf1.com August 23, 2026 Because of this incredible luck Herrmann got his nickname 'Hans im Glück'. Former Ferrari driver Frenchman Jean Behra was due to race his Behra-Porsche Special in the Grand Prix but Behra was killed the day before racing a Porsche RSK in the Formula 2 support race at the same venue.Driver Dies in Practice https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-terre-haute-tribune-jean-behra-augu/156700621/ 7 October 2024 The Tribune-Star 2 August 1959 Terre Haute, Indiana 43 Newspapers.com The results show evidence of the inconsistency with which rules were applied in this era. According to Formula One rules of the day, those drivers who retired before the end of the Grand Prix should only be classified if they pushed the car over the line after the finish. This rule was not applied to Harry Schell, who retired some 11 laps before the end. However, the rule was applied in other races, such as the 1960 Belgian Grand Prix. The rules were later clarified in 1966.Hayhoe, David & Holland, David (2006). Grand Prix Data Book (4th edition). Haynes, Sparkford, UK. 1-84425-223-X Brooks' win allowed him to close to within four points of championship leader, Australian Cooper racer Jack Brabham. Classification Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap1 4 UK Tony Brooks Ferrari 2:05.9—2 7 UK Stirling Moss Cooper-Climax 2:06.8 +0.93 6 USA 1959 Dan Gurney Ferrari 2:07.2 +1.34 1 Australia Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 2:07.4 +1.55 3 USA 1959 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 2:07.5 +1.66 5 USA 1959 Phil Hill Ferrari 2:07.6 +1.77 9 Sweden Jo Bonnier BRM 2:10.3 +4.48 10 USA 1959 Harry Schell BRM 2:10.3 +4.49 2 New Zealand Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 2:10.4 +4.510 16 UK Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 2:10.8 +4.911 11 FRG Hans Herrmann BRM 2:11.4 +5.512 8 France Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax 2:12.7 +6.813 15 UK Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 2:14.6 +8.714 17 UK Cliff Allison1 1 Ferrari 2:05.8—15 18 UK Ian Burgess1 1 Cooper-Maserati 2:18.9 +13.0DNS Did not start 12 France Jean Behra Behra-Porsche-Porsche——DNS Did not start 14 FRG Wolfgang von Trips Porsche—— Source:http://www.chicanef1.com/race.pl?year=1959&gp=German%20GP&r=1&type=qual 1959 German GP Chicanef1.com 26 July 2020 1 1 — Cliff Allison and Ian Burgess were listed as reserve drivers for the race. They were only allowed to start the race after Porsche withdrew following Jean Behra's fatal accident. Allison had set fastest time in practice but had to start from the back of the grid while Brooks was on pole. Race Heat 1 Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 4 GBR Tony Brooks Ferrari 30 1:03:17.6 1 2 6 USA 1959 Dan Gurney Ferrari 30 + 1.3 3 3 5 USA 1959 Phil Hill Ferrari 30 + 1:04.5 6 4 2 NZL Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 29 + 1 Lap 9 5 10 USA 1959 Harry Schell BRM 29 + 1 Lap 8 6 8 FRA Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax 29 + 1 Lap 12 7 9 SWE Jo Bonnier BRM 29 + 1 Lap 7 8 11 FRG Hans Herrmann BRM 29 + 1 Lap 11 9 18 GBR Ian Burgess Cooper-Maserati 28 + 2 Laps 9 Ret Retired 3 USA 1959 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 23 Engine 5 Ret Retired 1 AUS Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 15 Transmission 4 Ret Retired 16 GBR Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 10 Gearbox 10 Ret Retired 15 GBR Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 7 Crown wheel/pinion 13 Ret Retired 17 GBR Cliff Allison Ferrari 2 Clutch 14 Ret Retired 7 GBR Stirling Moss Cooper-Climax 1 Transmission 2 Heat 2 After a break for tire changes and minor servicing, the nine cars that remained were lined up on the grid in finishing order of the first heat. Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid 1 4 GBR Tony Brooks Ferrari 30 1:06:14.0 1 2 5 USA 1959 Phil Hill Ferrari 30 +0.3 3 3 6 USA 1959 Dan Gurney Ferrari 30 +0.6 2 4 8 FRA Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax 30 +18.4 6 5 9 SWE Jo Bonnier BRM 29 +1 Lap 7 6 18 GBR Ian Burgess Cooper-Maserati 28 +2 Laps 9 7 10 USA 1959 Harry Schell BRM 20 +10 Laps 5 Ret Retired 2 NZL Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 6 Transmission 4 Ret Retired 11 FRG Hans Herrmann BRM 6 Accident 8 Aggregate Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 4 GBR Tony Brooks Ferrari 60 2:09:31.6 1 91 1 2 6 USA 1959 Dan Gurney Ferrari 60 + 2.9 3 6 3 5 USA 1959 Phil Hill Ferrari 60 + 1:04.8 6 4 4 8 FRA Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax 59 + 1 Lap 12 3 5 9 SWE Jo Bonnier BRM 58 + 2 Laps 7 2 6 18 GBR Ian Burgess Cooper-Maserati 56 + 4 Laps 15   7 10 USA 1959 Harry Schell BRM 49 + 11 Laps 8   Ret Retired 2 NZL Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 36 Transmission 9   Ret Retired 11 FRG Hans Herrmann BRM 36 Accident 11   Ret Retired 3 USA 1959 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 23 Engine 5   Ret Retired 1 AUS Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 15 Transmission 4   Ret Retired 16 GBR Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 10 Gearbox 10   Ret Retired 15 GBR Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 7 Differential 13   Ret Retired 17 GBR Cliff Allison Ferrari 2 Clutch 14   Ret Retired 7 GBR Stirling Moss Cooper-Climax 1 Transmission 2   DNS Did not start 12 FRA Jean Behra Behra-Porsche-Porsche Fatal accident in support race DNS Did not start 14 FRG Wolfgang von Trips Porsche Withdrew Source:http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1959/643/ 1959 German Grand Prix formula1.com 16 August 2015 https://web.archive.org/web/20140924083116/http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1959/643/ 24 September 2014 Notes 1 1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings PosDriverPoints 10px 1 AUS Jack Brabham 27 10px 2 GBR Tony Brooks 23 10px 3 USA 1959 Phil Hill 13 10px 2 4 SWE Jo Bonnier 10 10px 4 5 FRA Maurice Trintignant 9Source:https://www.statsf1.com/en/1959/allemagne/championnat.aspx Germany 1959 - Championship • STATS F1 Statsf1.com 18 March 2019 Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 10px 1 GBR Cooper-Climax29 10px 2 ITA Ferrari24 10px 3 GBR BRM16 10px 4 GBR Lotus-Climax3Source: Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings. References German Grand Prix 1959 1959 British Grand Prix 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix 1958 German Grand Prix 1960 German Grand Prix German Grand Prix Category:German Grand Prix German Grand Prix