1959 German Grand Prix

  1959 German Grand Prix

Race details
Race 6 of 9 in the 1959 Formula One season
Date	2 August 1959
Official name	XXI Grosser Preis von Deutschland
Location	AVUS West Berlin, West Germany
Course	Public road/Permanent racing facility 8.300 km (5.157 mi)
Distance	2x30 laps, 498.00 km (309.42 mi)
Weather	Dry and dull.
Pole position
Driver	Tony Brooks	Ferrari
Time	2:05.9
Fastest lap
Driver	Tony Brooks	Ferrari
Time	2:04.5
Podium
First	Tony Brooks	Ferrari
Second	Dan Gurney	Ferrari
Third	Phil Hill	Ferrari

The 1959 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at AVUS in Berlin on August 2, 1959.

Race report

For the first time in Formula One history, a championship race was held at the AVUS circuit in Berlin. This simplistic track consisted of a very fast straight down either side of a dual carriageway, punctuated at one end by a hairpin and at the other by a steep banking.

Also uniquely in Formula One World Championship history, the race was divided into two heats. 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.

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.

Results

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	4	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	60	2:09:31.6	1	9
2	6	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	60	+ 2.9	3	6
3	5	Phil Hill	Ferrari	60	+ 1:04.8	6	4
4	8	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Climax	59	+ 1 Lap	12	3
5	9	Jo Bonnier	BRM	58	+ 2 Laps	7	2
6	18	Ian Burgess	Cooper-Maserati	56	+ 4 Laps	15
7	10	Harry Schell	BRM	49	+ 11 Laps	8
Ret	2	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	36	Transmission	9
Ret	11	Hans Herrmann	BRM	36	Accident	11
Ret	3	Masten Gregory	Cooper-Climax	23	Engine	5
Ret	1	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	15	Transmission	4
Ret	16	Graham Hill	Lotus-Climax	10	Gearbox	10
Ret	15	Innes Ireland	Lotus-Climax	7	Differential	13
Ret	17	Cliff Allison	Ferrari	2	Clutch	14
Ret	7	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax	1	Transmission	2

Notes

• Pole position: Tony Brooks - 2:05.9
• Fastest Lap: Tony Brooks - 2:04.5
• High speed AVUS track with banked North turn
• Hans Herrmann had a spectacular crash at the South turn
• An unusual for Formula 1 triple victory (the podium consisted of 3 drivers from one team)

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jack Brabham 27 2 Tony Brooks 23 3 Phil Hill 13 4 Joakim Bonnier 10 5 Stirling Moss 8.5

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Cooper-Climax 29 2 Ferrari 24 3 BRM 16 4 Lotus-Climax 3

• Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References

Previous race: 1959 British Grand Prix	FIA Formula One World Championship 1959 season	Next race: 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix
Previous race: 1958 German Grand Prix	German Grand Prix	Next race: 1961 German Grand Prix

This page uses some content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1959 German Grand Prix. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Autopedia, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.