1962 German Grand Prix

Championship standings

Hill retains the championship lead, but Clark’s dominant win at Aintree — where Hill could manage only fourth — has narrowed the gap.

Previous race

Clark led from start to finish at Aintree, coming close to lapping Hill, who finished fourth. Surtees held second despite losing second gear on lap 10. Gurney slid down the order with a slipping clutch. Brabham drove through foot burns sustained on lap 40 to finish fifth.

Entrants

Jack Brabham’s BT3 makes its long-awaited championship debut, designed by Ron Tauranac. Ferrari returns in force after a two-race strike-enforced absence, bringing four cars built to different specifications, including a new chassis with its six-speed gearbox mounted ahead of the engine for Phil Hill. Lorenzo Bandini tries the development car. Three new cars make their debuts: the Gilby with a BRM V8 engine driven by Keith Greene; and the Belgian ENB, a Maserati-engined car assembled from three old Emersons with a sharknose front end — its only World Championship appearance.

Practice

During practice, a television camera mounted to the rear of Carel Godin de Beaufort’s Porsche by a German TV crew fell off at speed and struck championship leader Hill, breaking his oil lines and sending him off the track. Tony Maggs slid on the spilled oil and also crashed, both drivers totalling their cars though neither was injured. De Beaufort was not a member of the Grand Prix Drivers’ Association, whose policy prohibits mounted cameras on safety grounds.

Milestones

Dan Gurney takes the first pole position for Porsche — as both constructor and engine supplier.