1959 German Grand Prix

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 top speed of 143.3 miles per hour.

Results

Notes

*Pole position: Tony Brooks - 2:05.9
*Fastest L

*High speed AVUS track with banked North turn
*Hans Herrmann had a spectacular crash at the South turn
*Unusual in Formula 1:triple-victory (The podium consisted of one team)

F1 race report
Name_of_race = German Grand Prix
Year_of_race = 1959
Previous_race_in_season = 1959 British Grand Prix
Next_race_in_season = 1959 Portuguese Grand Prix
Previous_year's_race = 1958 German Grand Prix
Next_year's_race = 1961 German Grand Prix