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. 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
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. 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.
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.
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 Tony Brooks Ferrari 2:05.9—2 7 Stirling Moss Cooper-Climax 2:06.8 +0.93 6 Dan Gurney Ferrari 2:07.2 +1.34 1 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 2:07.4 +1.55 3 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 2:07.5 +1.66 5 Phil Hill Ferrari 2:07.6 +1.77 9 Jo Bonnier BRM 2:10.3 +4.48 10 Harry Schell BRM 2:10.3 +4.49 2 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 2:10.4 +4.510 16 Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 2:10.8 +4.911 11 Hans Herrmann BRM 2:11.4 +5.512 8 Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax 2:12.7 +6.813 15 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 2:14.6 +8.714 17 Cliff Allison Ferrari 2:05.8—15 18 Ian Burgess Cooper-Maserati 2:18.9 +13.0 12 Jean Behra Behra-Porsche-Porsche—— 14 Wolfgang von Trips Porsche—— Source:
— 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 Tony Brooks Ferrari 30 1:03:17.6 1 2 6 Dan Gurney Ferrari 30 + 1.3 3 3 5 Phil Hill Ferrari 30 + 1:04.5 6 4 2 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 29 + 1 Lap 9 5 10 Harry Schell BRM 29 + 1 Lap 8 6 8 Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax 29 + 1 Lap 12 7 9 Jo Bonnier BRM 29 + 1 Lap 7 8 11 Hans Herrmann BRM 29 + 1 Lap 11 9 18 Ian Burgess Cooper-Maserati 28 + 2 Laps 9 3 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 23 Engine 5 1 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 15 Transmission 4 16 Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 10 Gearbox 10 15 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 7 Crown wheel/pinion 13 17 Cliff Allison Ferrari 2 Clutch 14 7 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 Tony Brooks Ferrari 30 1:06:14.0 1 2 5 Phil Hill Ferrari 30 +0.3 3 3 6 Dan Gurney Ferrari 30 +0.6 2 4 8 Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax 30 +18.4 6 5 9 Jo Bonnier BRM 29 +1 Lap 7 6 18 Ian Burgess Cooper-Maserati 28 +2 Laps 9 7 10 Harry Schell BRM 20 +10 Laps 5 2 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 6 Transmission 4 11 Hans Herrmann BRM 6 Accident 8
Aggregate 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 2 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax 36 Transmission 9 11 Hans Herrmann BRM 36 Accident 11 3 Masten Gregory Cooper-Climax 23 Engine 5 1 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax 15 Transmission 4 16 Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 10 Gearbox 10 15 Innes Ireland Lotus-Climax 7 Differential 13 17 Cliff Allison Ferrari 2 Clutch 14 7 Stirling Moss Cooper-Climax 1 Transmission 2 12 Jean Behra Behra-Porsche-Porsche Fatal accident in support race 14 Wolfgang von Trips Porsche Withdrew Notes – Includes 1 point for fastest lap
Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings PosDriverPoints 1 Jack Brabham 27 2 Tony Brooks 23 3 Phil Hill 13 2 4 Jo Bonnier 10 4 5 Maurice Trintignant 9Source:
Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Cooper-Climax29 2 Ferrari24 3 BRM16 4 Lotus-Climax3Source:
Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.
References