1959 German Grand Prix

1959 German Grand Prix
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Round	6 of 1959
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Race Details
Date	August 2, 1959
Official Name	XXI Großer Preis von Deutschland
Location	AVUS West Berlin, West Germany
Course	Temporary road circuit 8.300 km (5.157 mi)
Distance	2 heats of 30 laps,
Pole Position
Driver	Tony Brooks Ferrari
Time	2:05.9
Fastest Lap
Driver	Tony Brooks Ferrari
Time	2:04.5 on lap 18
Podium
First	Tony Brooks
Second	Dan Gurney
Third	Phil Hill
Lap Leaders

The 1959 German Grand Prix was the sixth round of the 1959 Formula One Season, held on August 2nd. For political reasons, the race was run on the AVUS circuit, in southwestern Berlin. The mostly straight line track proved to be perfect for Ferrari, as their cars went 1-2-3, with Tony Brooks leading home Dan Gurney and Phil Hill.

Background

1958 and 1959 were a time of heightening tensions between the NATO Pact and Warsaw Bloc countries, and nowhere was this felt more strongly than in West Berlin. A number of parties felt that a dose of western extravaganza, in the form of a Grand Prix, might be a propaganda coup. So the decision was made to run the 1959 German race at AVUS.

Entry list

The full entry list for the 1959 German Grand Prix is outlined below:

No.	Driver	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Model	Tyre
1	Jack Brabham	Cooper Car Company	Cooper	T51	Climax	FPF L4 2.5	D
2	Bruce McLaren	Cooper Car Company	Cooper	T51	Climax	FPF L4 2.5	D
3	Masten Gregory	Cooper Car Company	Cooper	T51	Climax	FPF L4 2.5	D
4	Tony Brooks	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	D264	Ferrari	155 V6 2.4	D
5	Phil Hill	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	D264	Ferrari	155 V6 2.4	D
6	Dan Gurney	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	D264	Ferrari	155 V6 2.4	D
7	Stirling Moss	RRC Walker Racing Team	Cooper	T51	Climax	FPF L4 2.5	D
8	Maurice Trintignant	RRC Walker Racing Team	Cooper	T51	Climax	FPF L4 2.5	D
9	Jo Bonnier	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM	P25	BRM	P25 L4 2.5	D
10	Harry Schell	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM	P25	BRM	P25 L4 2.5	D
11	Hans Herrmann	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM	P25	BRM	P25 L4 2.5	D
12	Jean Behra	Jean Behra	Behra-Porsche	RSK	Porsche	547/6 F4 1.5	D
14	Wolfgang von Trips	Dr Ing F. Porsche KG	Porsche	718 RSK	Porsche	547/6 F4 1.5	D
15	Innes Ireland	Team Lotus	Lotus	16	Climax	FPF L4 2.5	D
16	Graham Hill	Team Lotus	Lotus	16	Climax	FPF L4 2.5	D
17	Cliff Allison	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	D264	Ferrari	155 V6 2.4	D
18	Ian Burgess	Scuderia Centro Sud	Cooper	T51	Maserati	250S L4 2.5	D

Qualifying

Results

The full qualifying results for the 1959 German Grand Prix is outlined below:

Pos.	No.	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	17	Cliff Allison*	Ferrari	2:05.8	—
2	4	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	2:05.9	+0.1
3	7	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax	2:06.8	+1.0
4	6	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	2:07.2	+1.4
5	1	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	2:07.4	+1.6
6	3	Masten Gregory	Cooper-Climax	2:07.5	+1.7
7	5	Phil Hill	Ferrari	2:07.6	+1.8
8	9	Jo Bonnier	BRM	2:10.3	+4.5
9	10	Harry Schell	BRM	2:10.3	+4.5
10	2	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	2:10.4	+4.6
11	16	Graham Hill	Lotus-Climax	2:10.8	+5.0
12	11	Hans Herrmann	BRM	2:11.4	+5.6
13	8	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Climax	2:12.7	+6.9
14	15	Innes Ireland	Lotus-Climax	2:14.6	+8.8
15	18	Ian Burgess*	Cooper-Maserati	2:18.9	+13.1
WD	12	Jean Behra**	Behra-Porsche	—	—
WD	14	Wolfgang von Trips**	Porsche	—	—

* - Reserve entries
** - After Behra's fatal accident on Saturday, both Porsche entries were withdrawn, and no official times were released.

Race

Heat 1 Grid

Pos		Pos		Pos		Pos
Driver		Driver		Driver		Driver
						______________
				______________		1
		______________		2		Tony Brooks
______________		3		Stirling Moss
4		Dan Gurney
Jack Brabham
					______________
			______________		5
	______________		6		Masten Gregory
	7		Phil Hill
	Jo Bonnier
						______________
				______________		8
		______________		9		Harry Schell
______________		10		Bruce McLaren
11		Graham Hill
Hans Herrmann
					______________
			______________		12
	______________		13		Maurice Trintignant
	14		Innes Ireland
	Cliff Allison*
						______________
				______________		15
		______________		16
______________		17		Ian Burgess*
18

* - Reserve entries

Heat 1 Results

The final results for the 1959 German Grand Prix are shown below:

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
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	Crownwheel/pinion	13
Ret	17	Cliff Allison	Ferrari	2	Clutch	14
Ret	7	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax	1	Transmission	2

Milestones

• Sixth and final victory for Tony Brooks
• First podium for Dan Gurney

Standings after race

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