1951 German Grand Prix Explained

Type:F1
Country:Germany
Grand Prix:German
Official Name:XIV Großer Preis von Deutschland
Date:29 July
Year:1951
Previous Round:1951 British Grand Prix
Next Round:1951 Italian Grand Prix
Location:Nürburgring
Nürburg, Germany
Course:Permanent racing facility
Course Mi:14.173
Course Km:22.810
Distance Laps:20
Distance Mi:283.47
Distance Km:456.20
Weather:Sunny, Mild, Dry
Pole Driver:Alberto Ascari
Pole Team:Scuderia Ferrari
Pole Time:9:55.8
Pole Country:Italy
Fast Driver:Juan Manuel Fangio
Fast Team:Alfa Romeo
Fast Time:9:55.8
Fast Country:Argentina
First Driver:Alberto Ascari
First Team:Scuderia Ferrari
First Country:Italy
Second Driver:Juan Manuel Fangio
Second Team:Alfa Romeo
Second Country:Argentina
Third Driver:José Froilán González
Third Team:Scuderia Ferrari
Third Country:Argentina

The 1951 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 July 1951 at the Nürburgring Nordschleife. It was race 6 of 8 in the 1951 World Championship of Drivers.

Report

Alfa Romeo once again fielded four cars, with local driver Paul Pietsch replacing Consalvo Sanesi, joining Fangio, Farina and Bonetto. Following on from their maiden victory at Silverstone, Ferrari also entered four drivers. Piero Taruffi rejoined their lineup, alongside Ascari, Villoresi and British Grand Prix winner José 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.

Entries

No Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre
71 Alberto AscariScuderia FerrariFerrariFerrari 375Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12
72 Luigi VilloresiFerrariFerrari 375Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12
73 Piero TaruffiFerrariFerrari 375Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12
74 José Froilán GonzálezFerrariFerrari 375Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12
75 Juan Manuel FangioAlfa Romeo SpAAlfa RomeoAlfa Romeo 159BAlfa Romeo 1.5 L8s
76 Nino FarinaAlfa RomeoAlfa Romeo 159BAlfa Romeo 1.5 L8s
77 Felice BonettoAlfa RomeoAlfa Romeo 159AAlfa Romeo 1.5 L8s
78 Paul PietschAlfa RomeoAlfa Romeo 159Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s
79 Toulo de GraffenriedEnrico PlatéMaseratiMaserati 4CLT-48Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s
80 Paul PietschMaseratiMaserati 4CLT-48Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s
81 Maurice TrintignantEquipe GordiniSimca-GordiniSimca-Gordini T15Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s
82 Robert ManzonSimca-GordiniSimca-Gordini T15Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s
83 André SimonSimca-GordiniSimca-Gordini T15Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s
84 Louis RosierEcurie RosierTalbot-LagoTalbot-Lago T26C-DATalbot 23CV 4.5 L6
85 Louis ChironTalbot-LagoTalbot-Lago T26CTalbot 23CV 4.5 L6
86 Philippe ÉtancelinPhilippe ÉtancelinTalbot-LagoTalbot-Lago T26C-DATalbot 23CV 4.5 L6
87 Yves Giraud-CabantousYves Giraud-CabantousTalbot-LagoTalbot-Lago T26CTalbot 23CV 4.5 L6
88 Duncan HamiltonDuncan HamiltonTalbot-LagoTalbot-Lago T26CTalbot 23CV 4.5 L6
89 David MurrayScuderia AmbrosianaMaseratiMaserati 4CLT-48Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s
90 Pierre LeveghPierre LeveghTalbot-LagoTalbot-Lago T26CTalbot 23CV 4.5 L6
91 Rudi FischerEcurie EspadonFerrariFerrari 212Ferrari 212 2.5 V12
92 Toni BrancaAntonio BrancaMaseratiMaserati 4CLT-48Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s
93 Jacques SwatersEcurie BelgiqueTalbot-LagoTalbot-Lago T26CTalbot 23CV 4.5 L6
94 Johnny ClaesEcurie BelgeTalbot-LagoTalbot-Lago T26C-DATalbot 23CV 4.5 L6
95 Prince BiraEcurie SiamMaseratiMaserati 4CLT-48Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s
96 Erik LundgrenErik LundgrenEL-FordEL SpecialFord V8?
97 Chico LandiEscuderia BandeirantesMaseratiMaserati 4CLT-48Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s
Sources:[2] [3]

— Paul Pietsch qualified and raced in a different car, the #78 Alfa Romeo.[4]

— Prince Bira, Erik Lundgren and Chico Landi all withdrew from the event prior to practice.[4]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
171 Alberto AscariFerrari9:55.8
274 José Froilán GonzálezFerrari9:57.5+ 1.7
375 Juan Manuel FangioAlfa Romeo9:59.0+ 3.2
476 Nino FarinaAlfa Romeo10:01.1+ 5.3
572 Luigi VilloresiFerrari10:06.6+ 10.8
673 Piero TaruffiFerrari10:12.9+ 17.1
778 Paul PietschAlfa Romeo10:15.7+ 19.9
891 Rudi FischerFerrari10:23.8+ 28.0
982 Robert ManzonSimca-Gordini10:28.9+ 33.1
1077 Felice BonettoAlfa Romeo10:46.1+ 50.3
1187 Yves Giraud-CabantousTalbot-Lago-Talbot10:52.8+ 57.0
1283 André SimonSimca-Gordini10:57.5+ 1:01.7
1385 Louis ChironTalbot-Lago-Talbot11:00.2+ 1:04.4
1481 Maurice TrintignantSimca-Gordini11:07.5+ 1:11.7
1584 Louis RosierTalbot-Lago-Talbot11:08.2+ 1:12.4
1679 Toulo de GraffenriedMaserati11:25.6+ 1:29.8
1792 Toni BrancaMaserati11:26.7+ 1:30.9
1894 Johnny ClaesTalbot-Lago-Talbot11:33.9+ 1:38.1
1990 Pierre LeveghTalbot-Lago-Talbot11:41.9+ 1:46.1
2088 Duncan HamiltonTalbot-Lago-Talbot11:49.3+ 1:53.5
2186 Philippe ÉtancelinTalbot-Lago-Talbot11:52.9+ 1:57.1
2293 Jacques SwatersTalbot-Lago-Talbot12:09.1+ 2:13.3
2389 David MurrayMaseratiNo time
Source:[5]

Race

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/retiredGridPoints
171 Alberto AscariFerrari203:23:03.318
275 Juan Manuel FangioAlfa Romeo20+30.537
374 José Froilán GonzálezFerrari20+4:39.024
472 Luigi VilloresiFerrari20+5:50.253
573 Piero TaruffiFerrari20+7:49.162
691 Rudi FischerFerrari19+1 lap8
782 Robert ManzonSimca-Gordini19+1 lap9
884 Louis RosierTalbot-Lago-Talbot19+1 lap15
990 Pierre LeveghTalbot-Lago-Talbot18+2 laps19
1093 Jacques SwatersTalbot-Lago-Talbot18+2 laps22
1194 Johnny ClaesTalbot-Lago-Talbot17+3 laps18
Ret87 Yves Giraud CabantousTalbot-Lago-Talbot17Accident11
Ret81 Maurice TrintignantSimca-Gordini13Engine14
Ret77 Felice BonettoAlfa Romeo12Magneto10
Ret88 Duncan HamiltonTalbot-Lago-Talbot12Oil pressure20
Ret78 Paul PietschAlfa Romeo11Accident7
Ret83 André SimonSimca-Gordini11Engine12
Ret76 Nino FarinaAlfa Romeo8Overheating4
Ret86 Philippe ÉtancelinTalbot-Lago-Talbot4Gearbox21
Ret85 Louis ChironTalbot-Lago-Talbot3Ignition13
Ret92 Toni BrancaMaserati3Engine17
Ret79 Toulo de GraffenriedMaserati2Engine16
Notes

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Juan Manuel Fangio27 (28)
42 Alberto Ascari17
13 José Froilán González15
24 Nino Farina15
25 Luigi Villoresi15
Source:[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: German GP, 1951 Race Report. Grandprix.com. 11 August 2012.
  2. Web site: 1951 German Grand Prix - Race Entries. https://web.archive.org/web/20120509150738/http://www.manipef1.com/results/1951/germany/entries/. 9 May 2012. manipef1.com. 6 January 2016.
  3. Web site: 1951 German GP - Entry List. chicanef1.com. 5 December 2013.
  4. Web site: Germany 1951 - Result. statsf1.com. 9 January 2014.
  5. Web site: Germany 1951 - Qualifications • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 5 March 2019.
  6. Web site: Germany 1951 - Championship • STATS F1. www.statsf1.com. 1 March 2019.