The 1962 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Nürburgring on 5 August 1962. It was race 6 of 9 in both the 1962 World Championship of Drivers and the 1962 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The 15-lap race was won by BRM driver Graham Hill after he started from second position. John Surtees finished second for the Lola team and Porsche driver Dan Gurney came in third. The race was notable for having six different constructors taking the first six positions.
Race
thumb|left|[[Graham Hill, leading Surtees and Gurney. These are the positions in which the race ended.]]
After a heavy midday downpour, the race was delayed by over an hour as streams of water and mud covered parts of the track. It never dried fully, and the race was run in wet conditions. Graham Hill drove masterfully in the wet conditions, followed by John Surtees who was gradually proving himself a great driver.
Jim Clark absentmindedly forgot to turn on the fuel pump at the start, losing thirteen seconds and being in 26th place after the start. A rapid climb began, and he passed seventeen cars on the opening lap. He was closing in to the leaders with three to four seconds per lap, but after a few near crashes in the middle of the race he chose to ease off the pace a bit. Most importantly, Jack Brabham's new BT3 finally appeared after a marathon effort by his mechanics. He spun the main bearings on the first day practice, and qualified with an engine built using parts from Trevor Taylor's car (his engine bent a valve). He started the race from the rear of the field, with the Climax engine from his Lotus 24. He climbed to ninth place by the end of the first lap, but then his throttle broke and he had to retire after nine laps. Nonetheless, Brabham was happy with the car, particularly the handling.
|}
;Notes
- – Four drivers were not allowed to start, as race organisers deemed they had not completed sufficient laps in practice. Trevor Taylor was eventually allowed, but was demoted to the back of the field.
- † – Maggs switched from his V8 primary machine to a four-cylinder back-up car after a crash during the second practice. His time during the third practice session was the only one that counted towards the grid.
Race
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!Pos
! No
! Driver
! Constructor
! Laps
! Time/Retired
! Grid
! Points
|-
! 1
| 11
| Graham Hill
| BRM
| 15
| 2:38:45.3
| 2
| 9
|-
! 2
| 14
| John Surtees
| Lola-Climax
| 15
| + 2.5
| 4
| 6
|-
! 3
| 7
| Dan Gurney
| Porsche
| 15
| + 4.4
| 1
| 4
|-
! 4
| 5
| Jim Clark
| Lotus-Climax
| 15
| + 42.1
| 3
| 3
|-
! 5
| 9
| Bruce McLaren
| Cooper-Climax
| 15
| + 1:19.6
| 5
| 2
|-
! 6
| 3
| Ricardo Rodríguez
| Ferrari
| 15
| + 1:23.8
| 10
| 1
|-
! 7
| 8
| Jo Bonnier
| Porsche
| 15
| + 4:37.3
| 6
|
|-
! 8
| 12
| Richie Ginther
| BRM
| 15
| + 5:00.1
| 7
|
|-
! 9
| 10
| Tony Maggs
| Cooper-Climax
| 15
| + 5:07.0
| 23
|
|-
! 10
| 2
| Giancarlo Baghetti
| Ferrari
| 15
| + 8:14.7
| 13
|
|-
! 11
| 25
| Ian Burgess
| Cooper-Climax
| 15
| + 8:15.3
| 16
|
|-
! 12
| 19
| Jo Siffert
| Lotus-Climax
| 15
| + 8:15.5
| 17
|
|-
! 13
| 18
| Carel Godin de Beaufort
| Porsche
| 15
| + 9:11.8
| 8
|
|-
! 14
| 32
| Heini Walter
| Porsche
| 14
| + 1 Lap
| 14
|
|-
! 15
| 26
| Nino Vaccarella
| Porsche
| 14
| + 1 Lap
| 15
|
|-
! 16
| 21
| Lucien Bianchi
| ENB-Maserati
| 14
| + 1 Lap
| 25
|
|-
!
| 20
| Jackie Lewis
| Cooper-Climax
| 10
| Suspension
| 21
|
|-
!
| 1
| Phil Hill
| Ferrari
| 9
| Suspension
| 12
|
|-
!
| 16
| Jack Brabham
| Brabham-Climax
| 9
| Throttle
| 24
|
|-
!
| 27
| Keith Greene
| Gilby-BRM
| 7
| Suspension
| 19
|
|-
!
| 15
| Roy Salvadori
| Lola-Climax
| 4
| Gearbox
| 9
|
|-
!
| 17
| Maurice Trintignant
| Lotus-Climax
| 4
| Gearbox
| 11
|
|-
!
| 4
| Lorenzo Bandini
| Ferrari
| 4
| Accident
| 18
|
|-
!
| 28
| Heinz Schiller
| Lotus-BRM
| 4
| Oil Pressure
| 20
|
|-
!
| 31
| Bernard Collomb
| Cooper-Climax
| 2
| Gearbox
| 22
|
|-
!
| 6
| Trevor Taylor
| Lotus-Climax
| 0
| Accident
| 26
|
|-
!
| 29
| Tony Shelly
| Lotus-Climax
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 34
| Wolfgang Seidel
| Lotus-BRM
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 30
| Jay Chamberlain
| Lotus-Climax
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| 34
| Günther Seiffert
| Lotus-BRM
|
|
|
|
|-
!
| -
| Tony Marsh
| BRM
|
| Car not ready
|
|
|-
!
| -
| Carlo Abate
| Lotus-Climax
|
| Withdrawn
|
|
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
Notes
- This was the Formula One World Championship debut for Swiss driver Heini Walter and German driver Günther Seiffert.
- Dan Gurney achieved his first pole position; it was also the first for Porsche - both as a constructor and as an engine supplier.
- Jack Brabham debuted with a car of his own making, as Brabham made its debut in the Formula One World Championship.
- ENB also made its debut in this race, being the first Belgian constructor in Formula One World Championship history.
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!
!Pos
!Driver
!Points
|-
|align="left"| 10px
|align="center"| 1
| Graham Hill
|align=left| 28
|-
|align="left"| 10px
|align="center"| 2
| Jim Clark
|align=left| 21
|-
|align="left"| 10px 2
|align="center"| 3
| John Surtees
|align=left| 19
|-
|align="left"| 10px 1
|align="center"| 4
| Bruce McLaren
|align=left| 18
|-
|align="left"| 10px 1
|align="center"| 5
| Phil Hill
|align=left| 14
|-
!colspan=4|Source:
|}
;Constructors' Championship standings
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!
! Pos
! Constructor
! Points
|-
|align="left"| 10px 1
|align="center"| 1
| BRM
|align=left| 31 (32)
|-
|align="left"| 10px 1
|align="center"| 2
| Lotus-Climax
|align=left| 27
|-
|align="left"| 10px
|align="center"| 3
| Cooper-Climax
|align=left| 23
|-
|align="left"| 10px 1
|align="center"| 4
| Lola-Climax
|align=left| 19
|-
|align="left"| 10px 1
|align="center"| 5
| Porsche
|align=left| 16
|-
!colspan=4|Source: