1957 German Grand Prix

Report

Fangio had taken notice of the tyre and fuel-level selection of the Ferrari drivers, and realized they were probably going to run the entire race without a pit stop. Fangio decided he would use softer tyres, and only a half tank of fuel. This would allow the car to take corners faster, but also require a pit stop. Behra did the same, and was the first to come into the pits after lap 10. He even left his car, to reduce the weight that had to get jacked up, and to wash his face. After the car was refuelled, the filler cap, opening forward from his head rest, was snapped off when Behra jumped back into the seat. With the cap retrieved and closed, Behra rejoined in 9th position.

Fangio took his pit stop on lap 13, in first place, and 30 seconds ahead of Hawthorn and Collins. His stop was even more of a disaster than the preceding one of Behra. With Fangio out, the mechanic on the right removed his rear right Centrelock wheel quickly but let the winged nut roll under the car without noticing. He had the new tyre on while the left side mechanic was still hammering on the knock-off nut to open it. Finding the nut took nearly half a minute. Fangio left the pit lane in third place, and 48 seconds behind Collins who was in second place. But in his Maserati 250F he began to mount a charge. Over the next 10 laps, Fangio broke and rebroke the lap record 9 times (7 of the records were in successive laps) and he took 15.5 seconds off Hawthorn's lead in the first lap, then another 8.5 seconds in the next lap. Early in the 21st lap, Fangio went on the inside of the left corner at the ESSO Terrasse taking second place from Collins. Late in the 21st lap, during a left corner, Fangio cut past Hawthorn on the inside of the corner, with only his right tyres on the track and his left tyres on the grass. This probably took place at the left-right combination before the Breidscheid bridge, as Fangio said it was at a 90° left followed by an also tight right just before Breidscheid and Hawthorn recollected being overtaken at a right turning bend. Fangio probably overtook Hawthorn in the left turn and then closed the door going to the right turn, thus boxing Hawthorn in. Fangio maintained his lead, but not easily, as Hawthorn fought back, nearly overtaking Fangio at a few corners, but to no avail, and Fangio won the race with about 3 seconds of a lead.

After the race, Fangio commented, "I have never driven that quickly before in my life and I don't think I will ever be able to do it again". Later on, Fangio was also quoted as saying: "Nürburgring was my favourite track. I fell totally in love with it and I believe that on that day in 1957 I finally managed to master it. It was as if I had screwed all the secrets out of it and got to know it once and for all... For two days I couldn't sleep, still making those leaps in the dark on those curves where I had never before had the courage to push things so far."

Formula 2

To increase participation and provide more action for the spectators, the organizers opened the field to 1500cc Formula 2 cars. The two races were run at the same time but the Formula 2 entries (shown in yellow) were not eligible for World Championship points and some sources do not consider these starts in career stats. While all F1 cars still had the engine in front, with the driver sitting above or next to the drivetrain, all the F2 entrants already used the Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout that would dominate F1 from 1959 onwards. F2 regulations allowed closed bodywork, thus three Porsche 550A sportscars were entered from which only passenger seat and spare wheel were removed.

The best F2 was the Porsche of Edgar Barth who qualified and finished 12th, ahead of several 2500cc F1, and ahead of no less than six Cooper T43-Climax, including future World Champion Jack Brabham.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

;Notes

• – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Notes

• Due to F2 cars being allowed to participate, this was the Formula One World Championship debut for British drivers Brian Naylor, Tony Marsh and Dick Gibson, Dutch driver Carel Godin de Beaufort and Australian driver Paul England.
• Due to F2 cars being allowed to participate, this was the Formula One World Championship debut for German manufacturer Porsche (both as a constructor and as an engine supplier).

Championship standings after the race

• Bold text indicates the World Champion. ;Drivers' Championship standings

• Note: Only the top five positions are included.

References

References

1. 8:53 https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x8zfj7a
2. Manishin, Glenn B.. (29 March 2010). "The Early Years".
3. "1957 German GP Qualification".
4. "1957 German Grand Prix". formula1.com.
5. "Germany 1957 - Championship • STATS F1".