German GP 1958

German GP, 1958

Once again the German GP organizers decided to run Formula 1 and Formula 2 cars together in the German GP and so the field was increased to 26 cars, although Troy Ruttman's Maserati did not have an engine for the race and was withdrawn. The Formula 2 contingent included future star Bruce McLaren, who was making his F1 debut while Phil Hill made his first appearance in a Ferrari - albeit an F2 Ferrari Dino 156.

Mike Hawthorn set the fastest practice time and had Vanwall drivers Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss and his team mate Peter Collins alongside him on the front row of the 4-3-4 grid. Wolfgang Von Trips (Ferrari) shared the second row with the Coopers of Roy Salvadori and Maurice Trintignant (a Rob Walker entry) while the third row featured the BRMs of Harry Schell, Jean Behra, Phil Hill's F2 Ferrari and Ian Burgess in the High Efficiency Motors F2 Cooper.

Moss took the lead with Brooks behind him but the second Vanwall driver was overtaken by Hawthorn and Collins during the first lap. On the fourth lap Moss suffered a broken magneto and was out, leaving the Ferrari drivers 1-2 with a big gap back to Brooks. Collins had moved ahead of Hawthorn and so Hawthorn was Brooks's first target when he caught the Ferraris on the ninth lap. He battled with Hawthorn before getting ahead at the start of the 11th lap. Brooks also made it past Collins and began to pull away. Collins tried to keep up and at Pflanzgarten the Ferrari went wide, hooked a wheel in a ditch, and somersaulted. Collins was thrown out into a tree and suffered severe head injuries. He was flown by helicopter to Bonn where he died in hospital.

Hawthorn narrowly avoided being involved in the crash but within a few minutes had retired with a clutch failure. Brooks was left with an enormous lead over Salvadori. Trintignant was third with Von Trips fourth and McLaren fifth, the winner of the F2 class.

POSNODRIVERENTRANTLAPSTIME/RETIREMENTQUAL POS
Tony Brooks Vanwall VW (57) 15 2h21m15.000s  
10 Roy Salvadori Cooper-Climax T45 15 2h24m44.700s  
11 Maurice Trintignant Cooper-Climax T45 15 2h26m26.200s  
Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari D246 15 2h27m31.300s  
20 Bruce McLaren Cooper-Climax T45 15 2h27m41.300s *f2 12 
21 Edgar Barth Porsche RSK 15 2h27m47.400s *f2 13 
26 Ian Burgess Cooper-Climax T43 15 2h28m14.300s *f2 11 
30 Tony Marsh Cooper-Climax T45 15 2h28m24.900s *f2 14 
23 Phil Hill Ferrari D156 15 2h29m00.500s *f2 10 
10 12 Cliff Allison Lotus-Climax 16 13  24 
11 28 Ivor Bueb Lotus-Climax 12 13 *f2 16 
Mike Hawthorn Ferrari D246 11 Clutch 
Peter Collins Ferrari D246 10 Fatal Accident 
Harry Schell BRM P25 Brakes 
22 Wolfgang Seidel Cooper-Climax T43 *f2, Suspension 17 
Jean Behra BRM P25 Suspension 
25 Graham Hill Lotus-Climax 16 *f2, Mechanical 22 
27 Christian Goethals Cooper-Climax T43 Fuel Pump 23 
17 Hans Herrmann Maserati 250F Engine 20 
Stirling Moss Vanwall VW (57) Magneto 
18 Carel Godin de Beaufort Porsche RS550 *f2, Engine 15 
19 Dick Gibson Cooper-Climax T43 *f2, Engine 18 
24 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax T45 *f2, Accident 19 
29 Brian Naylor Cooper-Climax T45 *f2, Fuel Pump 25 
16 Jo Bonnier Maserati 250F Accident 21 
ns 14 Troy Ruttman Maserati 250F  Engine 26