With the 1972 season passing its midway point Grand Prix races are happening with great rapidity, being held every alternate weekend, so that there is little time for the teams to do other than repair the ravages of the previous race before the next one is due.
A very full entry arrived in the Nurburgring paddock for the German Grand Prix and they were all on time and ready to go, for the 22.835-kilometre circuit round the Eifel mountains is not one to be taken lightly.
The Ferrari team had been testing some weeks earlier and, in conjunction with the Firestone tyre engineers, had come to the conclusion that the layout and geometry of the rear suspension was not all it might be, so the revised layout that appeared at Clermont-Ferrand was designed, and they were now keen to see if it was equally successful on the Nurburgring. Chief engineer Forghieri was paying a visit to the German race to watch developments as he was not convinced they had got the right answer to the rear wheel movement, though it appeared to be a reasonable one. Regazzoni was fit once more, his broken wrist mended, so the team was up to full strength, with Ickx in car number 5, Regazzoni in car number 7 and Merzario in car number 8, there being no spare car.
