1953 German Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

The 1953 German Grand Prix, held on 2 August at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, was the seventh round of the nine-race World Championship. Like the previous season, the 1953 championship was contested under Formula Two regulations rather than the standard Formula One rules. This race set a record for the largest starting grid in World Championship F1 history, with 34 cars taking the start.

Season: 1953 F1 World Championship
Race date: 2 August 1953
Circuit: Nürburgring, Nürburg, West Germany
Laps: 18
Circuit length: 22.810 km (14.173 miles)

Nino Farina claimed victory for Ferrari, finishing just over a minute ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio in second. This would be Farina’s final win in Formula One. Meanwhile, Alberto Ascari secured his second consecutive World Drivers’ Championship, as neither Mike Hawthorn, who finished third in the race, nor Fangio could catch his points total with just two races remaining.

Qualifying

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	9:59.800
2	5	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	10:03.700
3	2	Nino Farina	Ferrari	10:04.100
4	3	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	10:12.600
5	10	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	10:21.700
6	4	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	10:22.800
7	7	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	10:40.800
8	8	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	10:41.000
9	9	Jean Behra	Gordini	10:45.500
10	11	Harry Schell	Gordini	10:46.200
11	17	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	10:46.600
12	19	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	10:48.300
13	15	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	10:57.500
14	31	Hans Herrmann	Veritas	10:59.800
15	14	Prince Bira	Connaught Lea Francis	11:02.100
16	16	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	11:07.300
17	38	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	11:08.700
18	23	Willi Heeks	Veritas	11:18.000
19	18	Jacques Swaters	Ferrari	11:18.900
20	40	Rodney Nuckey	Cooper Bristol	11:22.100
21	28	Theo Fitzau	AFM BMW	11:23.400
22	20	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	11:27.400
23	21	Hans Von Stuck	AFM Bristol	11:37.200
24	35	Edgar Barth	EMW	11:40.800
25	12	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	11:45.500
26	36	Rudolf Krause	BMW	11:49.500
27	34	Kurt Adolff	Ferrari	11:53.100
28	24	Theo Helfrich	Veritas	11:56.300
29	22	Wolfgang Seidel	Veritas	11:59.300
30	41	Günther Bechem	AFM BMW	12:13.300
31	30	Ernst Loof	Veritas	12:16.800
32	37	Ernst Klodwig	BMW	12:24.600
33	32	Erwin Bauer	Veritas
34	26	Oswald Karch	Veritas

1953 German Grand Starting Grid

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	9:59.800
2	5	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	10:03.700
3	2	Nino Farina	Ferrari	10:04.100
4	3	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	10:12.600
5	10	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	10:21.700
6	4	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	10:22.800
7	7	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	10:40.800
8	8	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	10:41.000
9	9	Jean Behra	Gordini	10:45.500
10	11	Harry Schell	Gordini	10:46.200
11	17	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	10:46.600
12	19	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	10:48.300
13	15	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	10:57.500
14	31	Hans Herrmann	Veritas	10:59.800
15	14	Prince Bira	Connaught Lea Francis	11:02.100
16	16	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	11:07.300
17	38	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	11:08.700
18	23	Willi Heeks	Veritas	11:18.000
19	18	Jacques Swaters	Ferrari	11:18.900
20	40	Rodney Nuckey	Cooper Bristol	11:22.100
21	28	Theo Fitzau	AFM BMW	11:23.400
22	20	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	11:27.400
23	21	Hans Von Stuck	AFM Bristol	11:37.200
24	35	Edgar Barth	EMW	11:40.800
25	12	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	11:45.500
26	36	Rudolf Krause	BMW	11:49.500
27	34	Kurt Adolff	Ferrari	11:53.100
28	24	Theo Helfrich	Veritas	11:56.300
29	22	Wolfgang Seidel	Veritas	11:59.300
30	41	Günther Bechem	AFM BMW	12:13.300
31	30	Ernst Loof	Veritas	12:16.800
32	37	Ernst Klodwig	BMW	12:24.600
33	32	Erwin Bauer	Veritas
34	26	Oswald Karch	Veritas

1953 German Grand Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	2	Nino Farina	Ferrari	18	3:02:25.000	8
2	5	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	18	+64.000s	6
3	3	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	18	+103.600s	4
4	7	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	18	+528.600s	3
5	17	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	17	+1 lap	2
6	19	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	17	+1 lap	0
7	18	Jacques Swaters	Ferrari	17	+1 lap	0
8	1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari		SHC	1
8	1	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	17	+1 lap	0
9	31	Hans Herrmann	Veritas	17	+1 lap	0
10	20	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	17	+1 lap	0
11	40	Rodney Nuckey	Cooper Bristol	16	+2 laps	0
12	24	Theo Helfrich	Veritas	16	+2 laps	0
13	16	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	16	+2 laps	0
14	36	Rudolf Krause	BMW	16	+2 laps	0
NC	4	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari		SHC	0
NC	4	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	15	DNF	0
NC	38	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	15	DNF	0
15	37	Ernst Klodwig	BMW	15	+3 laps	0
16	22	Wolfgang Seidel	Veritas	14	+4 laps	0
NC	8	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	13	DNF	0
NC	12	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	12	DNF	0
NC	35	Edgar Barth	EMW	12	DNF	0
NC	26	Oswald Karch	Veritas	10	DNF	0
NC	23	Willi Heeks	Veritas	8	DNF	0
NC	9	Jean Behra	Gordini	7	DNF	0
NC	11	Harry Schell	Gordini	6	DNF	0
NC	14	Prince Bira	Connaught Lea Francis	6	DNF	0
NC	28	Theo Fitzau	AFM BMW	3	DNF	0
NC	34	Kurt Adolff	Ferrari	3	DNF	0
NC	41	Günther Bechem	AFM BMW	2	DNF	0
NC	15	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	1	DNF	0
NC	32	Erwin Bauer	Veritas	1	DNF	0
NC	10	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	1	DNF	0
NC	21	Hans Von Stuck	AFM Bristol	0	DNF	0
NC	30	Ernst Loof	Veritas	0	DNF	0

1953 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Alberto Ascari	33.5 (36.5)
2	Giuseppe Farina	20
3	Juan Manuel Fangio	19
4	Mike Hawthorn	18 (20)
5	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	13.5 (14.5)

Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

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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.