1958 German Grand Prix

1958 German Grand Prix
Previous←	1958 British Grand Prix
Round	8 of 1958
Next→	1958 Portuguese Grand Prix
Race Details
Date	August 3, 1958
Official Name	XX Großer Preis von Deutschland
Location	Nürburgring Nürburg, Germany
Course	Permanent racing facility 22.810 km (14.173 mi)
Distance	15 laps, 342.15 km (212.602 mi)
Pole Position
Driver	Mike Hawthorn Ferrari
Time	9:14.0
Fastest Lap
Driver	Stirling Moss Vanwall
Time	9:09.2 on lap 3
Podium
First	Tony Brooks Vanwall
Second	Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax
Third	Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax
Lap Leaders

The 1958 German Grand Prix was held on August 3, and was the eighth race of the 1958 Formula One Season. The race was won by Tony Brooks in a Vanwall, ahead of the Cooper-Climax cars of Roy Salvadori and Maurice Trintignant.

The race was marred by the fatal accident of Peter Collins on lap 11.

Background

Going into the German Grand Prix, several possible outcomes could still allow Moss, Hawthorn, or even others to win the Drivers’ Championship. While exact point totals immediately before the race are less often cited, some of the known standings and the structure of remaining races suggest:

A win by Moss (plus fastest lap) could significantly close the gap to Hawthorn.

Hawthorn, meanwhile, needed to score enough points in Germany (and in the remaining races) to maintain his lead under the “best six” rule.

Because only six results count, any low score or non-finish in Germany could be dropped if a driver had already six better results, but also could hurt if later results were worse.

Thus, the German GP was pivotal. It was the third last venue in Europe before the championship finale (which would include Portugal, Italy, and Morocco), so strong finishes here could make or break championship hopes under the dropping rules. For Hawthorn, continuing to accumulate points (especially finishing ahead of Moss) was essential; for Moss, a win was almost mandatory if he wished to challenge for the title. Other drivers (like Tony Brooks, Roy Salvadori, Peter Collins) had lesser but non-zero chances, particularly if both Hawthorn and Moss had misfortune.

Entry List

The full entry list for the 1958 German Grand Prix is outlined below:

No.	Driver	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model	Tyre
2	Peter Collins	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	D246	Ferrari	143 2.4 V6	E
3	Mike Hawthorn	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	D246	Ferrari	143 2.4 V6	E
4	Wolfgang von Trips	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	D246	Ferrari	143 2.4 V6	E
5	Jean Behra	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM	P25	BRM	P25 2.5 L4	D
6	Harry Schell	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM	P25	BRM	P25 2.5 L4	D
7	Stirling Moss	Vandervell Products	Vanwall	VW 5	Vanwall	254 2.5 L4	D
8	Tony Brooks	Vandervell Products	Vanwall	VW 5	Vanwall	254 2.5 L4	D
9	Stuart Lewis-Evans	Vandervell Products	Vanwall	VW 5	Vanwall	254 2.5 L4	D
10	Roy Salvadori	Cooper Car Company	Cooper	T45	Climax	FPF 2.0 L4	D
11	Maurice Trintignant	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper	T45	Climax	FPF 2.0 L4	D
12	Cliff Allison	Team Lotus	Lotus	16	Climax	FPF 2.2 L4	D
14	Troy Ruttman	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati	250F	Maserati	250F1 2.5 L6	P
15	Francisco Godia-Sales	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati	250F	Maserati	250F1 2.5 L6	P
16	Jo Bonnier	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati	250F	Maserati	250F1 2.5 L6	P
17	Hans Herrmann	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati	250F	Maserati	250F1 2.5 L6	P
18	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Ecurie Maarsbergen	Porsche	RS550	Porsche	547/3 1.5 F4	D
19	Dick Gibson	Privateer	Cooper	T43	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	D
20	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Car Company	Cooper	T45	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	D
21	Edgar Barth	Dr Ing F. Porsche KG	Porsche	RSK	Porsche	547/3 1.5 F4	—
22	Wolfgang Seidel	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper	T43	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	D
23	Phil Hill	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	D156	Ferrari	D156 1.5 V6	E
24	Jack Brabham	Cooper Car Company	Cooper	T45	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	D
25	Graham Hill	Team Lotus	Lotus	16	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	D
26	Ian Burgess	High Efficiency Motors	Cooper	T43	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	D
27	Christian Goethals	Ecurie Eperon d'Or	Cooper	T43	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	D
28	Ivor Bueb	Ecurie Demi Litre	Lotus	12	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	D
29	Brian Naylor	J.B. Naylor	Cooper	T45	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	D
30	Tony Marsh	Privateer	Cooper	T45	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	D
31	Richard Utley	Privateer	Tojeiro	F2	Climax	FPF 1.5 L4	—

• Drivers in rose are Formula Two entries.

Practice Overview

Friday Practice

Practice officially began on Friday afternoon at the Nürburgring, following teams’ arrivals and some informal running by Ferrari the previous day.

Ferrari had arrived by midday Thursday, already conducting unofficial track familiarisation with their Dino 246 cars, including one Formula 2 variant. Meanwhile, BRM, Vanwall, Cooper, Lotus, and Porsche contingents continued to make their arrivals so that by Friday afternoon there was significant on-track activity. BRM, in particular, was making its first appearance at the demanding Eifel circuit and thus was starting from less prior “circuit knowledge” compared to more experienced teams or drivers.

The fastest mark in Friday practice was set by Mike Hawthorn in his Ferrari. Vanwall drivers Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss were close behind, lining up as serious challengers. In later recollections, Brooks noted that his best practice time put him about a second slower than Hawthorn (his 9m15s to Hawthorn’s leading time) — a substantial gain versus Vanwall’s embarrassing Nürburgring showing in 1957 when Brooks could only manage 9m36.1s in practice.

Vanwall entered the weekend with fewer engines than usual (only three cars rather than the customary four) due to recent engine damage, limiting their flexibility. They used Friday practice to focus heavily on suspension settings, shock absorbers, anti-roll geometry and steering — lessons learnt from the prior year's Nürburgring experience.

Ferrari, meanwhile, ran both their standard Dino 246 machines and experimental chassis, using the session to evaluate handling differences and setup options on the tricky Nordschleife layout.

Saturday Practice

During Saturday’s sessions at the Nürburgring, teams continued refining car balance, brakes, gearing, and suspension in preparation for qualifying and the race. Although detailed lap-by-lap times from practice are not comprehensively documented, several outcomes and observations from Saturday were reported:

• Ferrari drivers, notably Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins, used Saturday practice to further test setup variations on their Dino 246 chassis, focusing particularly on handling through the faster stretches and correcting understeer or oversteer behavior on the undulating Nordschleife.
• Vanwall likewise remained active, attempting to optimize their cars’ behaviour in high-speed corners and experimenting with braking settings given the heavy demands of the circuit.
• Some drivers used Saturday to push for outright lap times as a dry run for qualifying, while others continued long runs to assess tyre wear and fuel consumption over race-like stints.
• The practice helped finalize car setups that would be used in the official qualifying session, which later saw Mike Hawthorn take pole with a lap time of 9:14.0.

Because historical sources focus more on qualifying and race results than practice session specifics, the finer details of fastest practice times, local incidents, or driver comments from Saturday are less well preserved in the traffic of archival reporting.

Qualifying Results

The full qualifying results for the 1958 German Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap	Ave. Speed
1	3	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	9:14.0	—	148.224 km/h
2	8	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	9:15.0	+1.0s	147.957 km/h
3	7	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	9:19.9	+5.9s	146.662 km/h
4	2	Peter Collins	Ferrari	9:21.9	+7.9s	146.140 km/h
5	4	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	9:24.7	+10.7s	145.415 km/h
6	10	Roy Salvadori	Cooper-Climax	9:35.3	+21.3s	142.736 km/h
7	11	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Climax	9:36.9	+22.9s	142.340 km/h
8	6	Harry Schell	BRM	9:39.6	+25.6s	141.677 km/h
9	5	Jean Behra	BRM	9:46.8	+32.8s	139.939 km/h
10	23	Phil Hill	Ferrari	9:48.9	+34.9s	139.440 km/h
11	26	Ian Burgess	Cooper-Climax	9:55.3	+41.3s	137.941 km/h
12	20	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	9:56.0	+42.0s	137.779 km/h
13	21	Edgar Barth	Porsche	9:57.2	+43.2s	137.502 km/h
14	30	Tony Marsh	Cooper-Climax	9:57.5	+43.5s	137.433 km/h
15	18	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	10:01.5	+47.5s	136.519 km/h
16	28	Ivor Bueb	Lotus-Climax	10:02.6	+48.6s	136.269 km/h
17	22	Wolfgang Seidel	Cooper-Climax	10:21.0	+1:07.0	136.269 km/h
18	19	Dick Gibson	Cooper-Climax	10:55.0	+1:41.0	125.368 km/h
19	24	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	9:43.4	+29.4s	140.754 km/h
20	17	Hans Herrmann	Maserati	10:13.5	+59.5s	133.848 km/h
21	16	Jo Bonnier	Maserati	9:42.7	+28.7s	140.923 km/h
22	25	Graham Hill	Lotus-Climax	18:56.0	+9:42.0	72.285 km/h
23	27	Christian Goethals	Cooper-Climax	11:22.9	+2:08.9	120.246 km/h
24	12	Cliff Allison	Lotus-Climax	9:44.3	+30.3s	140.537 km/h
25	29	Brian Naylor	Cooper-Climax	10:17.9	+1:03.9	132.895 km/h
NC*	14	Troy Ruttman	Maserati	—
WD	9	Stuart Lewis-Evans	Vanwall	Withdrawn
WD	15	Francisco Godia-Sales	Maserati	No car
WD	31	Richard Utley	Tojeiro-Climax	No car

• Bold indicates a driver's best/qualifying time.
• * Ruttman had failed to set his time as he had a broken engine.

Grid

Note: F2 drivers highlighted in rose.

Pos		Pos		Pos		Pos
Driver		Driver		Driver		Driver
						______________
				______________		1
		______________		2		Mike Hawthorn
______________		3		Tony Brooks
4		Stirling Moss
Peter Collins
					______________
			______________		5
	______________		6		Wolfgang von Trips
	7		Roy Salvadori
	Maurice Trintignant
						______________
				______________		8
		______________		9		Harry Schell
______________		10		Jean Behra
11		Phil Hill
Ian Burgess
					______________
			______________		12
	______________		13		Bruce McLaren
	14		Edgar Barth
	Tony Marsh
						______________
				______________		15
		______________		16		Carel Godin de Beaufort
______________		17		Ivor Bueb
18		Wolfgang Seidel
Dick Gibson
					______________
			______________		19
	______________		20		Jack Brabham
	21		Hans Herrmann
	Jo Bonnier
						______________
				______________		22
		______________		23		Graham Hill
______________		24		Christian Goethals
25		Cliff Allison
Brian Naylor

Race

Pre-race

The atmosphere before the start of the 1958 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring was tense, with championship implications, demanding circuit, and diverse field of competitors all combining to create high stakes. Below are the key elements that shaped what would happen once the lights went green.

Starting grid and qualifying

Qualifying determined grid positions for the race, and Mike Hawthorn in the Ferrari secured pole position with a lap time of 9:14.000.

Behind him:

• Tony Brooks (Vanwall) was second on the grid, just one second slower (9:15.000),
• Stirling Moss (Vanwall) took third with a time of 9:19.100, followed by Peter Collins (Ferrari) in fourth at 9:21.900, and Wolfgang von Trips (Ferrari) rounding out the top five with 9:24.700.

These times reflected the fine margins and the importance of extracting every fraction of performance in the difficult Nordschleife. The grid thus had a strong mix of Ferrari and Vanwall in the front rows, implying a likely duel among them, with the rest of the field (including drivers from Cooper-Climax, BRM, and smaller privateers) hoping for attrition or mechanical failures to play their part.

As with the earlier races in the season, the German Grand Prix carried considerable weight for the Drivers’ Championship. With only three races remaining in Europe after Germany, plus Morocco later, strong results here could significantly shift momentum among the leading contenders. Although exact standings before the race are not fully detailed in the sources consulted, it is clear that Mike Hawthorn and Stirling Moss were among the key challengers, and any failure or nonfinish could seriously hamper a driver’s title hopes. (The “best six results” counting rule added extra strategic pressure.)

Teams arrived at the Nürburgring with considerable prior preparation. The Ferrari squad was well-prepared, with their Dino 246 cars known for good handling and reliability, while Vanwall had demonstrated strong pace (Brooks and Moss especially) in qualifying. Other constructors (Cooper, BRM, Lotus) and private entrants were less likely to challenge for victory but hoped to score points or exploit any misfortune among the front-runners.

Mechanical reliability was as always a central concern at the Nürburgring. The circuit’s length, elevation changes, and mix of high-speed and slow corners put substantial stress on engines, brakes, suspension, and tyres. Drivers and teams would have been acutely aware that finishing the race was as much a challenge as outright speed. While there is no specific record in the sources consulted of late mechanical failures immediately before the German GP, the pattern of retirements in other races (and in this event itself) reflects that many competitors would have been running on the edge.

Nürburgring in early August typically has variable conditions—possible fog or damp in the early hours, but often dry by mid-morning. The track surface, especially over the long Nordschleife layout, would have had changes in grip depending on shade, elevation and ambient temperature; these variances make setting up car suspension, tyre pressures, and brake cooling especially critical.

Strategically, teams faced choices about tyre durability vs speed, fuel loadings, and whether to push from the start or adopt a more conservative pace. Given the championship implications, those in contention likely planned to avoid risk from the start, while others farther back might gamble to try make up places or force mistakes. Furthermore, because of the “best six results” scoring rule, some drivers with already six strong finishes may have weighed the benefit of risk differently (risking a DNF vs aiming for a small but safe points haul).

On race-morning, grid assembly would have involved drivers walking the course (a common practice in earlier decades though less documented for this particular event), final mechanical checks, tyre warm-up, and ensuring that fuel, oil, and coolant levels were optimal.

Mike Hawthorn’s pole position meant he would lead from the front row, with Brooks flanking him. Vanwall, being second and third on the grid, had a strong chance to press Ferrari from the beginning. Behind them, Peter Collins and Wolfgang von Trips in Ferraris, and Roy Salvadori in a Cooper-Climax, were in positions to capitalize if any of the front two faltered. Spectators and press saw the race as likely to be a battle between Ferrari and Vanwall. Hawthorn’s performance in qualifying reinforced Ferrari’s credentials, but Vanwall’s closeness in time (especially Brooks just a second off the pole) suggested they could challenge. Drivers like Roy Salvadori, Maurice Trintignant, and others in mid-field would be aiming for the cooler heads and clean performance rather than all-out aggression, hoping reliability or strategy might deliver rewards.

Report

Mike Hawthorn, having taken pole with a lap of 9:14.000, led the field at the start from Tony Brooks, Stirling Moss, Peter Collins, and Wolfgang von Trips. Stirling Moss made a strong early showing, attempting to assert his pace. On lap 3, he pushed hard and laid down a blistering lap of 9:09.200, the fastest of the race and a new lap record. At that point he held a sizeable lead over the Ferrari pair, with Collins and Hawthorn pursuing, and Brooks not far behind.

Moss’s run came to an abrupt end on lap 4 when his car suffered a magneto failure. He coasted to a stop at the Schwalbenschwanz section of the circuit, retiring from the lead. This opened up the contest among the remaining front-runners.

Ferrari’s drivers, led by Peter Collins and Mike Hawthorn, initially benefitted by Moss’s retirement. Brooks, meanwhile, remained close, maintaining pressure. Several other cars dropped out through the first part of the race due to mechanical problems. Among those retiring were notable names such as Jean Behra, Harry Schell, and others. In a grim turn of events, Peter Collins was involved in a serious accident on lap 10 whilst trying to pass with his Ferrari. He lost control at the Pflanzgarten section of the Nordschleife, crashing heavily. Unfortunately, the injuries he sustained were fatal: Collins died later that day as a result of the crash. The tragedy cast a shadow over what had been shaping up to be a fine contest.

After Moss’s exit, Tony Brooks took command of the race. He managed the remaining laps carefully, avoiding error or mechanical failure, and brought the Vanwall home to win in 2:21:15.000.

Roy Salvadori, driving a Cooper-Climax, finished in second place, over three minutes behind Brooks. Maurice Trintignant, also in a Cooper-Climax, rounded out the podium in third. Wolfgang von Trips took fourth for Ferrari. Several Formula 2 cars filled places behind, though only the F1 entrants gained championship points.

With Brooks’s victory and Moss’s failure to finish, Mike Hawthorn’s lead in the Drivers’ Championship was strengthened. He remained Championship leader, having extended his advantage over Moss. For Constructors, Vanwall’s win was significant, bolstering their claims against Ferrari.

The death of Peter Collins was one of the darkest outcomes of the weekend. Collins was a beloved and promising British driver, teammates with Hawthorn at Ferrari, and his loss had emotional impact across the paddock. The incident underscored the danger of the Nürburgring and of Formula One in that era.

Results

The full results for the 1958 German Grand Prix are outlined below:

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	8	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	15	2:21:15.0	2	8
2	10	Roy Salvadori	Cooper-Climax	15	+3:29.7	6	6
3	11	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Climax	15	+5:11.2	7	4
4	4	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	15	+6:16.3	5	3
5	20	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	15	+6:26.3	12
6	21	Edgar Barth	Porsche	15	+6:32.4	13
7	26	Ian Burgess	Cooper-Climax	15	+6:59.3	11
8	30	Tony Marsh	Cooper-Climax	15	+7:09.9	14
9	23	Phil Hill	Ferrari	15	+7:45.5	10
10	12	Cliff Allison	Lotus-Climax	13	+2 laps	24
11	28	Ivor Bueb	Lotus-Climax	13	+2 laps	16
Ret	3	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	11	Clutch	1
Ret	2	Peter Collins	Ferrari	10	Fatal accident	4
Ret	6	Harry Schell	BRM	9	Brakes	8
Ret	22	Wolfgang Seidel	Cooper-Climax	9	Suspension	17
Ret	5	Jean Behra	BRM	4	Suspension	9
Ret	25	Graham Hill	Lotus-Climax	4	Oil leak	22
Ret	27	Christian Goethals	Cooper-Climax	4	Fuel pump	23
Ret	17	Hans Herrmann	Maserati	3	Engine	20
Ret	7	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	3	Magneto	3	1FL
Ret	18	Carel Godin de Beaufort	Porsche	3	Engine	15
Ret	19	Dick Gibson	Cooper-Climax	2	Engine	18
Ret	24	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	1	Accident	19
Ret	29	Brian Naylor	Cooper-Climax	1	Fuel pump	25
Ret	16	Jo Bonnier	Maserati	1	Engine	21
DNS	14	Troy Ruttman	Maserati
WD	9	Stuart Lewis-Evans	Vanwall
WD	15	Francisco Godia-Sales	Maserati
WD	31	Richard Utley	Tojeiro-Climax

• ^FL Indicates a driver scored one point for fastest lap.

Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Lap	Time	Gap	Avg. speed	Race
1	7	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	3	9:09.2		149.519 km/h	Ret
2	21	Edgar Barth	Porsche	12	9:42.8	+33.6 s	140.899 km/h	6

Milestones

• It was the 72nd World Championship race ever run.
• It was the 7th World Championship German Grand Prix held at the Nürburgring (i.e. the 7th time Germany hosted a Championship GP at that circuit).
• The race distance had been shortened from previous editions: it was run over 15 laps (342.150 km) rather than the longer distances used previously.
• The organizers opened the field to Formula 2 cars competing (in the same event) alongside the Formula 1 cars — though the F2 entries were not eligible for World Championship points.
• For Tony Brooks, this was his 3rd World Championship race win.
• For Roy Salvadori, it was his 2nd and last podium finish in a Championship Grand Prix.
• It was the 32nd and final Grand Prix start for Peter Collins.
• This was the 6th win (for the Vanwall marque) in the World Championship era.
• It was also the 6th win for the Vanwall engine (i.e. counting engine-as-constructor or engine credit) in the Championship records.

References

Images and Videos:

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