| 1951 German Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Race details | |||||
| Date | 29 July 1951 | ||||
| Official name | XIV Großer Preis von Deutschland | ||||
| Location | Nürburgring Nürburg,Germany | ||||
| Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
| Course length | 22.810 km (14.173 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 20 laps, 456.20 km (283.47 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Sunny, Mild, Dry | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Scuderia Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 9:55.8 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | |||
| Time | 9:55.8 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First |
| Scuderia Ferrari | |||
| Second |
| Alfa Romeo | |||
| Third | Scuderia Ferrari | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The1951 German Grand Prix was aFormula Onemotor race held on 29 July 1951 at theNürburgring Nordschleife. It was race 6 of 8 in the1951 World Championship of Drivers.
Alfa Romeo once again fielded four cars, with local driverPaul Pietsch replacingConsalvo Sanesi, joiningFangio,Farina andBonetto. Following on from their maiden victory atSilverstone,Ferrari also entered four drivers.Piero Taruffi rejoined their lineup, alongsideAscari,Villoresi and British Grand Prix winnerJosé Froilán González. Ferrari continued their good form from the previous event, with Ascari and González the fastest two qualifiers. Fangio and Farina completed the front row, with Villoresi, Taruffi and Pietsch making up the second row.
Nino Farina initially took the lead, but, by the end of the first lap, had been passed by Fangio, Ascari and González. Paul Pietsch was running in fifth, but ended up at the back of the field after going off on the second lap. When Farina was forced to retire due to overheating problems, Fangio was left as the sole Alfa Romeo able to take the fight to the Ferrari drivers. Alberto Ascari took the lead on the fifth lap as a result of Fangio's first pitstop, but Fangio returned to the lead when Ascari took to the pits. As the Alfas required two pitstops, as opposed to just one for the Ferraris, Fangio needed to build a large lead in his second stint if he wanted to retain the lead after his second stop. He was unable to do so, therefore Ascari reclaimed the lead on the fifteenth lap of the race. Due to a misbehaving engine and a gearbox with only 3rd and 4th (4th being the highest gear), Fangio was unable to take advantage of an unexpected tyre change for Ascari, meaning that the Italian took his maiden World Championship race victory by over half a minute from Fangio. González completed the podium, with the remaining points positions going to the other works Ferraris of Villoresi and Taruffi.[1]
Ascari's victory took him to second in the Championship standings, ten points adrift of Fangio, who extended his lead from the previous race. After his second consecutive podium, José Froilán González moved up to third in the standings, level on points with Farina and Villoresi.
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71 |  Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 9:55.8 |
| 2 | 74 | José Froilán González | Ferrari | 9:57.5 |
| 3 | 75 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 9:59.0 |
| 4 | 76 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 10:01.1 |
| 5 | 72 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 10:06.6 |
| 6 | 73 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 10:12.9 |
| 7 | 78 |  Paul Pietsch | Alfa Romeo | 10:15.7 |
| 8 | 91 |  Rudi Fischer | Ferrari | 10:23.8 |
| 9 | 82 |  Robert Manzon | Simca-Gordini | 10:28.9 |
| 10 | 77 | Felice Bonetto | Alfa Romeo | 10:46.1 |
| 11 | 87 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 10:52.8 |
| 12 | 83 | André Simon | Simca-Gordini | 10:57.5 |
| 13 | 85 |  Louis Chiron | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 11:00.2 |
| 14 | 81 | Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini | 11:07.5 |
| 15 | 84 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 11:08.2 |
| 16 | 79 | Toulo de Graffenried | Maserati | 11:25.6 |
| 17 | 92 | Toni Branca | Maserati | 11:26.7 |
| 18 | 94 |  Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 11:33.9 |
| 19 | 90 | Pierre Levegh | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 11:41.9 |
| 20 | 88 |  Duncan Hamilton | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 11:49.3 |
| 21 | 86 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 11:52.9 |
| 22 | 93 | Jacques Swaters | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 12:09.1 |
| 23 | 89 | David Murray | Maserati | No time |
| Source:[5] | ||||
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 71 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 20 | 3:23:03.3 | 1 | 8 |
| 2 | 75 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 20 | +30.5 | 3 | 71 |
| 3 | 74 | José Froilán González | Ferrari | 20 | +4:39.0 | 2 | 4 |
| 4 | 72 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 20 | +5:50.2 | 5 | 3 |
| 5 | 73 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 20 | +7:49.1 | 6 | 2 |
| 6 | 91 | Rudi Fischer | Ferrari | 19 | +1 lap | 8 | |
| 7 | 82 | Robert Manzon | Simca-Gordini | 19 | +1 lap | 9 | |
| 8 | 84 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 19 | +1 lap | 15 | |
| 9 | 90 | Pierre Levegh | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 18 | +2 laps | 19 | |
| 10 | 93 | Jacques Swaters | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 18 | +2 laps | 22 | |
| 11 | 94 | Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 17 | +3 laps | 18 | |
| Ret | 87 | Yves Giraud Cabantous | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 17 | Accident | 11 | |
| Ret | 81 | Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini | 13 | Engine | 14 | |
| Ret | 77 | Felice Bonetto | Alfa Romeo | 12 | Magneto | 10 | |
| Ret | 88 | Duncan Hamilton | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 12 | Oil pressure | 20 | |
| Ret | 78 | Paul Pietsch | Alfa Romeo | 11 | Accident | 7 | |
| Ret | 83 | André Simon | Simca-Gordini | 11 | Engine | 12 | |
| Ret | 76 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 8 | Overheating | 4 | |
| Ret | 86 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 4 | Gearbox | 21 | |
| Ret | 85 | Louis Chiron | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 3 | Ignition | 13 | |
| Ret | 92 | Toni Branca | Maserati | 3 | Engine | 17 | |
| Ret | 79 | Toulo de Graffenried | Maserati | 2 | Engine | 16 | |
Source:[6] | |||||||
| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 27 (28) |
 4 | 2 | Alberto Ascari | 17 |
| 1 | 3 | José Froilán González | 15 |
 2 | 4 | Nino Farina | 15 |
| 2 | 5 | Luigi Villoresi | 15 |
| Source:[7] | |||
| Previous race: 1951 British Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1951 season | Next race: 1951 Italian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1950 German Grand Prix | German Grand Prix | Next race: 1952 German Grand Prix |
