The spectators near the start/finish line would see Fangio get a great jump at the start and lead the field into the first turn and some time after that. However, the crowd assembled just a mile or so further down the circuit would see Ascari leading the way as his superior pace would just push him past Fangio as if he was driving a car of lower class. Very quickly, Mike Hawthorn and Giuseppe Farina would join Fangio and their pursuit of the reigning World Champion.
Not at all concerned with the pace or the race at the front of the field, Seidel could concentrate on getting into his own comfortable rhythm. He knew full well he could not keep pace with the front-runners, and unless something incredibly dramatic happened, there was no chance at a top result. This would actually be freeing to some degree as he would not be tempted by the pace at the front. Instead, he could focus on settling in and making smart choices. Seidel would do exactly that and would immediately begin to draw up the running order.
Seidel’s run up the order would be helped by his apparent level of comfort at the Nurburgring, but also, by the attrition that would sweep through the field almost immediately. Two cars wouldn’t even make it off the starting grid. Three more wouldn’t make it much farther before they too would have to retire from the race. By the time the race had completed 10 laps, the field had been reduced from thirty-four to twenty-one, nearly half of the field.
Even Ascari wouldn’t be entirely free of drama. Throughout the first half dozen laps or so, Ascari was untouchable. He was routinely putting together lap times that were enabling him to pull away from Hawthorn, Farina and Fangio. However, around eight laps into the race, and with a rather large lead already built up, he would run into trouble. The trio of Hawthorn, Farina and Fangio would all flash by a stricken Ascari as his car had lost one of its wheels. Ascari would do everything he could and would limp the car back to the pits. Making it back to the pits would save Ascari, and his car, from retiring from the race. Soon, Luigi Villoresi would pull in and would give his good friend his Ferrari for the remainder of the race. Villoresi would also rejoin the race in Ascari’s repaired Ferrari.
Rejoining the race Ascari knew he really needed to do something special if he wanted to make sure the title would go to him. At the time he slowly made his way to the pits, Hawthorn was right up there at the front of the field and had actually led a few laps. Hawthorn had already won at the French Grand Prix. If he could win the German Grand Prix as well there were still enough races left for Ascari to come under challenge. Ascari knew he needed to do everything he could to prevent the title chase from going any further. Because of this, his effort in the last half of the race would become truly memorable in grand prix history
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From the moment he took over Villoresi’s car Ascari was on it. He would go right back to running laps similar in time to his qualifying effort. The performance was truly magnificent. Each and every lap Ascari consistently lapped near his qualifying time. And just when it seemed he had gone as fast as he could he would lower the time even more. And then, on the 12th lap of the race, he would do something truly remarkable. Driving absolutely in anger behind the wheel, Ascari would rattle off a lap time of nine minutes and fifty-six seconds! This was nearly four seconds faster than his pole-winning time. It was definitely within the realm of the old and powerful Formula One cars of just a couple of years previous.
Farina, who was leading the race at this point in time, just knew Ascari was on a charge. Deep down he could just feel him coming, but as with the previous year, there was very little he could do. Ascari was just on the absolute limit and was managing to stay there lap after lap. Farina knew he would need some help. He would get it.
Driving on the ragged edge every single lap, Ascari was asking everything possible from the Ferrari. And while the car was willing to give it to him it came with a time limit. And after 15 laps, less than three away from the finish, the time limit ran out. He had asked everything of the car and it had given everything; it just wasn’t enough to make it the end. The engine in the car would expire; this left Ascari out of the race for sure.
This would provide some relief for Farina. The retirement wouldn’t be all that bad for Ascari though either. Farina had already taken over the lead and had pulled away from Hawthorn. Fangio had also gotten by for 2nd place. If things ended as they were he would be World Champion.
If things ended as they were, Seidel wouldn’t have the difficulty of figuring how many seconds behind he was for he would just have to figure it out in minutes. Seidel was certainly not concerned with the battle and the pace up at the front of the field. Concerned with finishing the race and having a good result amongst the other German entries in the field, Seidel was averaging lap times nearly into the thirteen minute range. It would translate into a difference of nearly three minutes between his pace and that at the front of the field.
At the front of the field, Farina was holding sway over everybody. Averaging a little more than 83 mph, he would cruise to victory by a little more than a minute over Fangio. Mike Hawthorn wasn’t able to keep up with the other two and would have to settle for a 3rd place finish nearly two minutes behind Farina. As a result of the results, Ascari would also be able to celebrate as he would be the first repeat World Champion!
The pace difference had worked out in such a way that a little more than every three laps around the 14 mile circuit Seidel was seeing Ascari or Farina come by to put him a lap down. Although he was still running at the end of the race, Seidel, because of the pace difference, would end up four laps, or around forty-eight minutes, behind at the finish. Nonetheless, the young German finished his first World Championship race. Amongst the Germans still left running at the end, he would finish the race 5th.
While not the most spectacular display, Seidel once again proved equal to the challenge of the Nurburgring. He had travelled 14 laps of the 14 mile circuit. Many older, more-experienced, racers had barely completed 14 laps of the circuit throughout their entire careers. It was obvious this young man had the talent to do some great things. What was more, he was still young. Therefore, he still had many years of racing ahead of him.
While he may have still had a number of years of racing ahead of him, Seidel’s grand prix season would end with the German Grand Prix. While he would still go on to take part in the Nurburgring 1000km sports car race at the end of the month and would finish that race 5th, Seidel would not take part in any other grand prix race for the rest of the season.
