1952 German Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

The 1952 German Grand Prix, held on 3 August at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, was the sixth round of the eight-race World Championship. Like all races that season, it was contested under Formula Two regulations rather than the standard Formula One rules.

Season: 1952 F1 World Championship
Race date: 3 August 1952
Circuit: Nürburgring, Nürburg, West Germany
Laps: 18
Circuit length: 22.810 km (14.173 miles)

Ferrari dominated the event, with Alberto Ascari taking victory after starting from pole position. His teammates Giuseppe Farina and Rudi Fischer completed the podium, securing a Ferrari 1-2-3 finish in the gruelling 18-lap race.

With the win, Ascari clinched the 1952 World Championship, making him the first driver to win the title with two races left to go.

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Qualifying

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPS	TIME / RETIRED	PTS.
1	101	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	18	3:06:13.300	9
2	102	Nino Farina	Ferrari	18	+14.100s	6
3	117	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	18	+430.100s	4
4	103	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	17	+1 lap	3
5	108	Jean Behra	Gordini	17	+1 lap	2
6	119	Roger Laurent	Ferrari	16	+2 laps	0
7	121	Fritz Riess	Veritas	16	+2 laps	0
8	125	Toni Ulmen	Veritas	16	+2 laps	0
9	124	Helmut Niedermayr	AFM BMW	15	+3 laps	0
10	113	Johnny Claes	HWM Alta	15	+3 laps	0
11	128	Hans Klenk	Veritas	14	+4 laps	0
12	135	Ernst Klodwig	BMW	14	+4 laps	0
NC	107	Robert Manzon	Gordini	8	DNF	0
NC	123	Willi Heeks	AFM BMW	7	DNF	0
NC	120	Tony Gaze	HWM Alta	6	DNF	0
NC	110	Marcel Balsa	BMW	5	DNF	0
NC	126	Adolf Brudes	Veritas	5	DNF	0
NC	130	Günther Bechem	BMW	5	DNF	0
NC	116	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	4	DNF	0
NC	136	Rudolf Krause	BMW	3	DNF	0
NC	118	Rudolf Schoeller	Ferrari	3	DNF	0
NC	114	Bill Aston	Aston Butterworth	2	DNF	0
NC	104	Piero Carini	Ferrari	1	DNF	0
NC	127	Paul Pietsch	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	122	Theo Helfrich	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	112	Paul Frere	HWM Alta	1	DNF	0
NC	129	Josef Peters	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	109	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	1	DNF	0
DQ	105	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	1	DSQ	0
NC	115	Gino Bianco	Maserati	0	DNF	0

1952 German Grand Starting Grid

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	LAPS	TIME / RETIRED	PTS.
1	101	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	18	3:06:13.300	9
2	102	Nino Farina	Ferrari	18	+14.100s	6
3	117	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	18	+430.100s	4
4	103	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	17	+1 lap	3
5	108	Jean Behra	Gordini	17	+1 lap	2
6	119	Roger Laurent	Ferrari	16	+2 laps	0
7	121	Fritz Riess	Veritas	16	+2 laps	0
8	125	Toni Ulmen	Veritas	16	+2 laps	0
9	124	Helmut Niedermayr	AFM BMW	15	+3 laps	0
10	113	Johnny Claes	HWM Alta	15	+3 laps	0
11	128	Hans Klenk	Veritas	14	+4 laps	0
12	135	Ernst Klodwig	BMW	14	+4 laps	0
NC	107	Robert Manzon	Gordini	8	DNF	0
NC	123	Willi Heeks	AFM BMW	7	DNF	0
NC	120	Tony Gaze	HWM Alta	6	DNF	0
NC	110	Marcel Balsa	BMW	5	DNF	0
NC	126	Adolf Brudes	Veritas	5	DNF	0
NC	130	Günther Bechem	BMW	5	DNF	0
NC	116	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	4	DNF	0
NC	136	Rudolf Krause	BMW	3	DNF	0
NC	118	Rudolf Schoeller	Ferrari	3	DNF	0
NC	114	Bill Aston	Aston Butterworth	2	DNF	0
NC	104	Piero Carini	Ferrari	1	DNF	0
NC	127	Paul Pietsch	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	122	Theo Helfrich	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	112	Paul Frere	HWM Alta	1	DNF	0
NC	129	Josef Peters	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	109	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	1	DNF	0
DQ	105	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	1	DSQ	0
NC	115	Gino Bianco	Maserati	0	DNF	0

1952 German Grand Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	101	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	18	3:06:13.300	9
2	102	Nino Farina	Ferrari	18	+14.100s	6
3	117	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	18	+430.100s	4
4	103	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	17	+1 lap	3
5	108	Jean Behra	Gordini	17	+1 lap	2
6	119	Roger Laurent	Ferrari	16	+2 laps	0
7	121	Fritz Riess	Veritas	16	+2 laps	0
8	125	Toni Ulmen	Veritas	16	+2 laps	0
9	124	Helmut Niedermayr	AFM BMW	15	+3 laps	0
10	113	Johnny Claes	HWM Alta	15	+3 laps	0
11	128	Hans Klenk	Veritas	14	+4 laps	0
12	135	Ernst Klodwig	BMW	14	+4 laps	0
NC	107	Robert Manzon	Gordini	8	DNF	0
NC	123	Willi Heeks	AFM BMW	7	DNF	0
NC	120	Tony Gaze	HWM Alta	6	DNF	0
NC	110	Marcel Balsa	BMW	5	DNF	0
NC	126	Adolf Brudes	Veritas	5	DNF	0
NC	130	Günther Bechem	BMW	5	DNF	0
NC	116	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	4	DNF	0
NC	136	Rudolf Krause	BMW	3	DNF	0
NC	118	Rudolf Schoeller	Ferrari	3	DNF	0
NC	114	Bill Aston	Aston Butterworth	2	DNF	0
NC	104	Piero Carini	Ferrari	1	DNF	0
NC	127	Paul Pietsch	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	122	Theo Helfrich	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	112	Paul Frere	HWM Alta	1	DNF	0
NC	129	Josef Peters	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	109	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	1	DNF	0
DQ	105	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	1	DSQ	0
NC	115	Gino Bianco	Maserati	0	DNF	0

1952 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Alberto Ascari	36
2	Piero Taruffi	22
3	Nino Farina	18
4	Rudi Fischer	10
5	Troy Ruttman	8

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.