In common with other organisers, the Automobile Club von Deutschland decided to reduce the German Grand Prix from its former powerful position down to a “milk-and-water” type of event by reducing the distance from 22 laps of the Nürburgring to 15 laps, a mere 342 kilometres, and as last year they ran a Formula II event in with the Grand Prix. To make the programme a “bumper one” they laid on a short sports-car and Gran Turismo car race in the morning before the main event.
The Scuderia Ferrari arrived midday on Thursday with three V6 Dino 246 Grand Prix cars, an experimental model and a Formula 2 car and, being early, they put in some unofficial practice that afternoon, this being the first time the Dino models had been to the Nürburgring. Hawthorn, von Trips and Phil Hill were there as drivers, the fourth member of the team, Collins, being due to arrive the next morning. The BRM team, the Vanwall team, Coopers, Lotus and Porsche all began arriving, so that when practice started on Friday afternoon there was plenty of activity.
The BRM team were making their first appearance at the formidable Eifel circuit and would have liked to have made some unofficial practice earlier but their drivers were not available, so they had to “find out,” just as Vanwalls had last year, though both Behra and Schell knew the circuit well, which helped a great deal.
