1954 German Grand Prix

Previous race

At Silverstone, González led from the start and held off pressure throughout despite rain and several accidents. Fangio ran second but suffered technical trouble that dropped him to fourth, a lap down. Hawthorn finished second; young Onofre Marimón took third for Maserati.

Championship standings

Fangio leads the championship ahead of González. The German Grand Prix carries the honorary title of Grand Prix of Europe this year.

Entrants

Mercedes bring a revised W196 with open-wheeled bodywork to the Nürburgring — the streamlined version ran at a disadvantage to the Ferraris at Silverstone. Fangio, Kling, and pre-war team star Hermann Lang receive the open-wheel car in a one-off return for Lang; Herrmann runs the streamlined W196. The race distance has been extended from 18 to 22 laps to bring it in line with the approximately 500-kilometre distances standard elsewhere on the calendar.

Practice

Marimón’s Maserati failed to negotiate the Wehrseifen corner during practice, plunging down an embankment and somersaulting with the driver underneath. He was given the last rites by a Catholic priest before dying a few minutes after rescue workers reached him — the first fatality during a Formula One championship weekend. The Maserati works team, including Luigi Villoresi, immediately withdrew. Sergio Mantovani’s car is the sole surviving works Maserati entry. Stirling Moss qualified third in his privately entered Maserati.