1959 German Grand Prix
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Race details
Date	2 August 1959
Official name	XXI Grosser Preis von Deutschland
Location	AVUS West Berlin
Course	Public road/Permanent racing facility
Course length	8.300 km (5.157 miles)
Distance	2x30 laps, 498.00 km (309.42 miles)
Weather	Dry and dull.
Pole position
Driver	Tony Brooks	Ferrari
Time	2:05.9
Fastest lap
Driver	Tony Brooks	Ferrari
Time	2:04.5
Podium
First	Tony Brooks	Ferrari
Second	Dan Gurney	Ferrari
Third	Phil Hill	Ferrari
Lap leaders

The1959 German Grand Prix was aFormula One motor race held at theAutomobil-Verkehrs- und Übungs-Straße inWest Berlin on 2 August 1959. It was race 6 of 9 in the1959 World Championship of Drivers and race 5 of 8 in the1959 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. It was the 21stGerman Grand Prix and was only the second time the race was not held at theNürburgring which opened in 1927, the year after the first German GP at AVUS. As of 2025^[update] this is only official German Grand Prix in World Championship history not to be held at either theNürburgring orHockenheimring as a venue.

The race in the divided city, yet before theBerlin Wall was built in 1961, would mark the only time that AVUS would host a World Championship Grand Prix since the inception in 1950 of what is today referred to as the Formula One World Championship. AVUS had previously held the original German Grand Prix in1926 though the circuit had held the Avusrennen a few times times in the intervening years and continued to do so after this for lower category formula racing cars and sports cars until the circuit officially closed in 1998, though it would never host a World Championship Grand Prix ever again. The 1959 German Grand Prix was held over two 30 lap heats of the eight kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 498 kilometres.

In a unique Formula One race format, first, second and third were all claimed by the same team,Scuderia Ferrari. British driverTony Brooks set the second fastest practice time, and started from pole. His teammateCliff Allison was 0.1 quicker at 2:05.8, but only a reserve entrant in the 4th Ferrari. When allowed to start after two Formula 2 Porsches withdrew after the fatal crash ofJean Behra, it was only from the back of the field. Brooks won on aggregate, ahead of American teammatesDan Gurney andPhil Hill. All three droveFerrari Dino 246s.

The simplistic track consisted of two very longs straight down either side of a dual carriageway, punctuated at the Southern end by a hairpin and at the Northern by a steep banking made of bricks. AVUS was perhaps the fastest motor racing circuit in the world at the time- it was even faster than the Indianapolis oval which did not require hard braking. Tony Brooks started from pole position and then beat his practice time with the fastest lap, at average speed of 149 mph (240 km/h)- extremely fast for Formula One at the time.

Also uniquely in Formula One World Championship history, the race was divided into two heats, due to safety concerns about tire wear, having only left turns. In the first,Tony Brooks andDan Gurney took the lead.Masten Gregory in theCooper-Climax battled hard with them, passing first oneFerrari then the other as the lead changed hands until a big end bolt broke. It was a Ferrari 1-2-3 withPhil Hill taking the final podium place. In the second heat, once again the Ferraris had a duel at the front, this time withBruce 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 fromJo Bonnier andIan Burgess. This was the fastest Formula One race recorded at this time, with an average speed of 143.3 miles per hour.Hans Herrmann crashed hisBRM P25 five laps into the second heat. In the approach to the southern turn he struck hay bales and rolled his car, but was thrown clear and sent sliding down the track. While the car was destroyed, Herrmann escaped unscathed.^[1][2] Because of this incredible luck Herrmann got his nickname'Hans im Glück'.

Former Ferrari driver FrenchmanJean Behra was due to race hisBehra-Porsche Special in the Grand Prix but Behra was killed the day before racing aPorsche RSK in the Formula 2 support race at the same venue.^[3]

The results show evidence of the inconsistency with which rules were applied in this era. According to Formula One rules of the day, those drivers who retired before the end of the Grand Prix should only be classified if they pushed the car over the line after the finish. This rule was not applied to Harry Schell, who retired some 11 laps before the end. However, the rule was applied in other races, such as the1960 Belgian Grand Prix. The rules were later clarified in 1966.^[4]

Brooks' win allowed him to close to within four points of championship leader, AustralianCooper racerJack Brabham.

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	4	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	2:05.9	—
2	7	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax	2:06.8	+0.9
3	6	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	2:07.2	+1.3
4	1	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	2:07.4	+1.5
5	3	Masten Gregory	Cooper-Climax	2:07.5	+1.6
6	5	Phil Hill	Ferrari	2:07.6	+1.7
7	9	Jo Bonnier	BRM	2:10.3	+4.4
8	10	Harry Schell	BRM	2:10.3	+4.4
9	2	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	2:10.4	+4.5
10	16	Graham Hill	Lotus-Climax	2:10.8	+4.9
11	11	Hans Herrmann	BRM	2:11.4	+5.5
12	8	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Climax	2:12.7	+6.8
13	15	Innes Ireland	Lotus-Climax	2:14.6	+8.7
14	17	Cliff Allison1	Ferrari	2:05.8	—
15	18	Ian Burgess1	Cooper-Maserati	2:18.9	+13.0
DNS	12	Jean Behra	Behra-Porsche-Porsche	—	—
DNS	14	Wolfgang von Trips	Porsche	—	—
Source:[5]

^1 — Cliff Allison and Ian Burgess were listed as reserve drivers for the race. They were only allowed to start the race after Porsche withdrew following Jean Behra's fatal accident. Allison had set fastest time in practice but had to start from the back of the grid while Brooks was on pole.

Pos. No. Driver    Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid1 4 United Kingdom Tony Brooks Italy Ferrari 30 1:03:17.6 12 6 United States Dan Gurney Italy Ferrari 30 +1.3 33 5 United States Phil Hill Italy Ferrari 30 +1:04.5 64 2 New Zealand Bruce McLaren United Kingdom Cooper-Climax 29 +1 Lap 95 10 United States Harry Schell United Kingdom BRM 29 +1 Lap 86 8 France Maurice Trintignant United Kingdom Cooper-Climax 29 +1 Lap 127 9 Sweden Jo Bonnier  United Kingdom BRM 29 +1 Lap 78 11 Germany Hans Herrmann  United Kingdom BRM 29 +1 Lap 119 18 United Kingdom Ian Burgess United Kingdom Cooper-Maserati 28 +2 Laps 9Ret 3 United States Masten Gregory United Kingdom Cooper-Climax 23 Engine 5Ret 1 Australia Jack Brabham  United Kingdom Cooper-Climax 15 Transmission 4Ret 16 United Kingdom Graham Hill United Kingdom Lotus-Climax 10 Gearbox 10Ret 15 United Kingdom Innes Ireland United Kingdom Lotus-Climax 7 Crown wheel/pinion 13Ret 17 United Kingdom Cliff Allison Italy Ferrari 2 Clutch 14Ret  7 United Kingdom Stirling Moss United Kingdom Cooper-Climax 1 Transmission 2

After a break for tire changes and minor servicing, the nine cars that remained were lined up on the grid in finishing order of the first heat.

Pos. No. Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid1 4 United Kingdom Tony Brooks Italy Ferrari 30 1:06:14.0 12 5 United States Phil Hill Italy Ferrari 30 +0.3 33 6 United States Dan Gurney Italy Ferrari 30 +0.6 24 8 France Maurice Trintignant United Kingdom Cooper-Climax 30 +18.4 65 9 Sweden Jo Bonnier United Kingdom BRM 29 +1 Lap 76 18 United Kingdom Ian Burgess United Kingdom Cooper-Maserati 28 +2 Laps 97 10 United States Harry Schell United Kingdom BRM 20 +10 Laps 5Ret 2 New Zealand Bruce McLaren United Kingdom Cooper-Climax 6 Transmission 4Ret 11 Germany Hans Herrmann United Kingdom BRM 6 Accident 8

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	4	Tony Brooks	Ferrari	60	2:09:31.6	1	91
2	6	Dan Gurney	Ferrari	60	+ 2.9	3	6
3	5	Phil Hill	Ferrari	60	+ 1:04.8	6	4
4	8	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Climax	59	+ 1 Lap	12	3
5	9	Jo Bonnier	BRM	58	+ 2 Laps	7	2
6	18	Ian Burgess	Cooper-Maserati	56	+ 4 Laps	15
7	10	Harry Schell	BRM	49	+ 11 Laps	8
Ret	2	Bruce McLaren	Cooper-Climax	36	Transmission	9
Ret	11	Hans Herrmann	BRM	36	Accident	11
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	Differential	13
Ret	17	Cliff Allison	Ferrari	2	Clutch	14
Ret	7	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax	1	Transmission	2
DNS	12	Jean Behra	Behra-Porsche-Porsche		Fatal accident in support race
DNS	14	Wolfgang von Trips	Porsche		Withdrew
Source:[6]

Notes

• ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Jack Brabham 27 2 Tony Brooks 23 3 Phil Hill 13 2 4 Jo Bonnier 10 4 5 Maurice Trintignant 9 Source:[7]

Constructors' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Cooper-Climax 29 2 Ferrari 24 3 BRM 16 4 Lotus-Climax 3 Source:[7]

• Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

• 1959 Formula One races
• German Grand Prix
• 1959 in West German motorsport

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