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The New Mercedes Entries Turn Formula 1 Upon Its Head at Reims in 1954.

1954 RACE 4
Reims, France

4 July, Forty-First Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France
Reims-Gueux

P1 Grid: J.M. Fangio, ARG, Mercedes 196W 2.5 liter fuel injection inline eight. Continental (12th, career).

K. Kling (Mercedes) wins the start.
Fangio (Mercedes) assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 3.
Kling assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 29.
Fangio assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 34.
Kling assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 38.
Fangio assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 39.
Kling assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 54.
Fangio assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 58.
Kling assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 60.
Fangio assumes the lead with a pass on Lap 61 (final lap) and drives on to victory.

Reims marks the racing debut of Daimler-Mercedes’ now legendary 196W Silver Arrows in Type Monza (aluminum body) trim under the trusting hands of Juan Manuel Fangio, a defector from Maserati, and a set of German drivers. The Mercedes easily prove out as the class of the field as Fangio and teammate Karl Kling dominate the contest in a glorious side by side duel on the venerable French circuit. After a breathtaking yet still mechanical exchange of P1 between the two drivers across the afternoon, Daimler orders Kling on the final lap to cede the battle to Fangio for the victory.

1. Fangio, ARG, Mercedes 196W 2.5 liter fuel injection inline eight. Continental (10th, career).
2. Kling, GER, Mercedes, -0.1 sec (parade result).
3. R. Manzon, FRA, Ecurie Rosier-Ferrari.

Constructor Victor: Daimler Benz-Mercedes (maiden).
Engine Victor: Mercedes (maiden).

Championship
J.M. Fangio-ARG 25, M. Trintignant-FRA 9, W. Vukovich-USA 8.

Scuderia Ferrari 20, Officine Alfieri Maserati 19, Kurtis Kraft 18.

The Day Belongs to Juan Manuel Fangio (50), Flanked All Afternoon by Farina and Ascari.

1953 RACE 9
Monza, Italy

13 September, Twenty-Fourth Gran Premio d’Italia
Autodromo Nazionale di Monza

P1 Grid: A. Ascari, ITA, Ferrari Tipo 500 2.0 liter inline four. Pirelli (13th, career).

A. Ascari (Ferrari) wins the start.
J.M. Fangio (Maserati) assumes the lead at Lap 7 with a pass.
Ascari assumes the lead at Lap 9 with a pass.
G. Farina (Ferrari) assumes the lead at Lap 10 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead on Lap 11 with a pass.
Farina assumes the lead on Lap 12 with a pass.
Ascari assumes the lead at Lap 14 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead on Lap 25 with a pass.
Farina assumes the lead on Lap 26 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead on Lap 27 with a pass.
Ascari assumes the lead at Lap 29 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead on Lap 34 with a pass.
Ascari assumes the lead at Lap 36 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead on Lap 41 with a pass.
Ascari assumes the lead at Lap 42 with a pass.
Farina assumes the lead on Lap 46 with a pass.
Ascari assumes the lead at Lap 47 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead on Lap 50 with a pass.
Ascari assumes the lead at Lap 53 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 80 (final lap) with a pass and drives on to victory.

With Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari already having captured the Formula 1 crown with his victory at the Nürburgring two weeks prior, the final meeting at Monza served only to settle home honors between Ferrari and Maserati. Scuderia honcho Enzo Ferrari’s public threats to shut down his factory operation at Maranello only adds to the prerace buildup as crowds press into the Autodromo to perhaps witness the final running of his red prancing horses. No one leaves disappointed as a breathtaking duel between Ascari, teammate Nino Farina, and Maserati ace Juan Manuel Fangio, arguably the greatest in F1 history, dominates the afternoon. All three cars fiercely contest for the point over the first fifty circuits, and the result appears in doubt until Ascari assumes the lead at Lap 53. The Italian ace maintains P1 for the remaining 27 laps with Fangio tightly hugging his rear wheels, yet the final curve at Parabolica holds a surprise for all racers and spectators at the circuit. Entering the final turn in the lead, Ascari drifts wide to avoid backmarker John Fairman in his Connaught, yet his rear breaks loose and slides into Onofore Marimon’s Maserati. Both cars spin in the middle of the circuit, collecting Fairman, yet both Fangio and Farina deftly dodge the obstructions and cover the remaining metres to the finish. Both Fangio and Maserati gleefully cheer their maiden victory in Formula 1 as well as their crushing defeat of Ferrari on home soil.

1. Fangio, ARG, Officine Alfieri Maserati, Maserati A6SSG 2.0 liter inline six. Pirelli (7th, career).
2. Farina, ITA, Scuderia Ferrari, -1.4 sec.
3. L. Villoresi, ITA, Scuderia Ferrari.

Constructor Victor: Officine Alfieri Maserati (maiden).
Engine Victor: Officine Alfieri Maserati (maiden).

A. Ascari ascends as the all-time leader in P1 grid positions with 13, and heads the Formula 1 tables with 13 victories.

Scuderia Ferrari stands atop the tables with 17 constructor and engine victories.

Championship
A. Ascari-ITA 46.5, G. Farina-ITA 32, J.M. Fangio-ARG 29.5. (Official: Ascari, Fangio, Farina).

Scuderia Ferrari 119.5, Officine Alfieri Maserati 62.5, Keck-Kurtis Kraft 9.

1953 F1 Driver’s Champion: A. Ascari, Italy, Ferrari (2nd career, all-time leader).

1953 F1 Constructor’s Champion: Scuderia Ferrari (3rd all-time).

Briton Mike Hawthorn (Ferrari) and Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati, 18, right) In Fierce Hand-to-Hand Combat at Reims in 1953.

1953 RACE 5
Reims, France

5 July, Fortieth Grand Prix de l’Automobile Club de France
Reims-Gueux

P1 Grid: A. Ascari, ITA, Ferrari Tipo 500 2.0 liter inline four. Pirelli (10th, career).

J.F. Gonzalez (Maserati) wins the start.
J.M. Fangio (Maserati) assumes the lead at Lap 30 with a pass.
M. Hawthorn (Ferrari) assumes the lead at Lap 32 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 35 with a pass.
Hawthorn assumes the lead at Lap 38 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 39 with a pass.
Hawthorn assumes the lead at Lap 42 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 45 with a pass.
Hawthorn assumes the lead at Lap 48 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 49 with a pass.
Hawthorn assumes the lead at Lap 54 with a pass.
Fangio assumes the lead at Lap 55 with a pass.
Hawthorn assumes the lead at Lap 57 with a pass and drives on to victory.

In a remarkable wheel-to-wheel Grand Prix duel for the ages, Maserati and Ferrari wage an epic battle between drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Briton Michael Hawthorn. Commencing on Lap 30, both drivers initiate a side-by-side donnybrook that involves alternating passes of each other on the final corner at Reims before the home straight. Hawthorn, taking his mark on the famed Argentine, makes his decisive move for the point with only three laps remaining and then bravely holds off hard charging Fangio by a breathtaking five meter margin. An ecstatic Hawthorn, the standing champion at Le Mans for Jaguar claimed just one week prior, earns both his maiden Formula 1 victory as well as the first driver triumph for Great Britain.

1. Hawthorn, GBR, Scuderia Ferrari, Ferrari Tipo 500 2.0 liter inline four. Pirelli (maiden, career).
2. Fangio, ARG, Officine Alfieri Maserati, -1.0 sec.
3. Gonzalez, ARG, Officine Alfieri Maserati.

Constructor Victor: Scuderia Ferrari (14).
Engine Victor: Scuderia Ferrari (14).

Championship
A. Ascari-ITA 28, M. Hawthorn-GBR 14, L. Villoresi-ITA 13.

Scuderia Ferrari 64, Officine Alfieri Maserati 26, Keck-Kurtis Kraft 9.

Martin Ambrose (leading car) Blows His Chance for a Maiden NASCAR victory with a Stupendous Blunder at Sonoma.

NASCAR Sprint Cup at Sonoma, 6.20.2010

A classic road race duel between Jimmie Johnson and Oz racer Martin Ambrose ends up in disaster for the latter on the road course at Sonoma.

Ambrose comfortably leads Johnson in the closing stages of the race until Brad Kezlowski’s spin with nine laps to go again bunches up the field. All seems normal as the cars parade around under the caution condition, yet as the cars cross over the finish line and proceed up the hill behind the safety car, Ambrose’s car suddenly slows to a stop. Race fans and commentators scratch their heads in confusion for several moments before Ambrose finally refires his vehicle and dashes back up to the lead position. We learn soon thereafter that Ambrose, in his plan to conserve fuel, cut out the engine just prior to the hill climb and inadvertently stalled out his engine.

But wait … the NASCAR rules require that all racers maintain a safe speed during a caution condition, and that a driver who does not maintain such a speed AND is passed during such a state must forfeit his prior position. The hammer blow strikes hard as Ambrose and his crew realize that their overkill fuel conservation strategy (not required, given their recent final stop, the few remaining laps left, and the caution condition) costs them the lead and the driver’s maiden NASCAR victory. Jimmie Johnson (48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) inherits the lead and cruises the remaining six laps to victory while a dejected and humiliated Ambrose slinks away in shame.

Race Officials Tend to the Injured After Nino Farina Plows Into the Crowd at Buenos Aires.

1953 RACE 1
Buenos Aires, Argentina

18 January, Maiden Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina
Autodromo Oscar Alferedo Galéz

P1 Grid: A. Ascari, ITA, Ferrari Tipo 500 2.0 liter inline four. Pirelli (8th, career).

The 1953 Grand Prix season again runs under the Formula 2 specification.

Ascari wins the start and leads wire to wire for ninety-seven laps for victory, yet the race story revolves around Ferrari driver Giuseppe ‘Nina’ Farina. Per the permission of Argentine president Juan Perón, race fans line up trackside in rally-style fashion at many locations around the circuit, including the right hand sweeper that terminates the front stretch. The crowd presses itself onto the circuit’s asphalt edge as the race proceeds and on Lap 30, a young boy steps on the circuit to cheer the passing cars. Farina, approaching the curve, brakes and swerves to stay clear of the wayward child, yet his car breaks loose with the sudden action and careens into the crowd. Five to seven spectators lose their lives and scores suffer injuries in the horrific debacle as Farina climbs from the wreckage without a scratch.

Ferrari ascends as the series all-time leader in constructor and engine victories with eleven, surpassing one-time marque power Alfa Romeo.

1. Ascari, ITA, Scuderia Ferrari (9th, career).
2. L. Villoresi, ITA, Scuderia Ferrari, -31.7 sec.
3. J. F. Gonzalez, ARG, Officine Alfieri Maserati.

Constructor Victor: Scuderia Ferrari (11, all-time).
Engine Victor: Scuderia Ferrari (11, all-tiime).

Championship
A. Ascari-ITA 9, L. Villoresi-ITA 6, J.F. Gonzaléz-ARG 4.

Scuderia Ferrari 19, Officine Alfieri Maserati 6.

The Unassailable Alberto Ascari and Ferrari Dominate the Nurburgring and the Entire Series in 1952.

With the permanent withdrawal of Alfa Romeo and the accompanying pullback of Maserati from Formula 1 after the 1951 season, the field was literally left wide open for Scuderia Ferrari. Series organizers, stunned by the sudden departure by the Italian marques, desperately adopts a lesser mechanical formula (F2) in order to encourage other constructors, primarily the British, to replenish the depleted starting grid.

The Scuderia takes full advantage of the fallow period and in turn emblazons its brand among the minds of racing enthusiasts for all time. The marque dominates all events with the exception of Indianapolis, and ace driver Alberto Ascari establishes the F1 pantheon after winning six consecutive races, including four by wire-by-wire result. Along the way to his maiden F1 championship, Ascari ascends atop the tables with eight career victories, eclipsing the great Argentine Fangio, who misses most of the 1952 circuit with injury.

Ferrari wins its second consecutive constructor’s championship and matches former racing power Alfa Romeo with ten chassis and engine victories.

The Ferrari Tipo 500 1.9 Liter Inline Four.

With the Demise of Peugeot Follows the Rise of Audi at 2010 Le Mans.

The great European diesels, the defender Peugeot 908 HDi and the Audi R15 TDI, again match up at the Sarthe for a Twice Around the Clock shootout and provide all with a memorable affair.

Brief Recount:

The Peugeots break out early at the start and all three cars lead the field in parade order.

The 3 Peugeot retires in the third hour due to front suspension failure. The 2 Peugeot still rides at the point as the Audi TDIs fail to match pace with the French.

The 1 Peugeot moves out front in the fourth hour.

The 1 Peugeot enters the garage in the eighth hour for purported electrical problems, yielding the point to the sister 2 entry.

The sole contending 2 Peugeot entry leads throughout the night and builds a two lap lead over its rivals, yet in a momentous blow during the postdawn seventeenth hour, the engine lets go at Tetre Rouge (see photo above), thus yielding the point to the 9 Audi.

The 1 Peugeot (drivers Anthony Davidson and Alexander Wurz) offers up one last desperate press during the twenty-first hour and rises through the field up to P2 before its engine gives up the fire and retires.

The 4 Peugeot entry, constructed by Oreca yet backed by the works, takes up the charge after the Teuton diesels and closes up before losing its engine at Indianapolis during the twenty-third hour.

After a steady drive that easily manages to outlast the French defenders, the Audis receive checkers in parade order, and the honors going to the 9 entry (9 Audi R15 TDI Plus 5.5L V10 Turbo, Timo Bernhard-GER, Michael Rockenfeller-GER, Romain Dumas-FRA).

The Winning Audi R15 TDI Entry (Bernhard, Rockenfeller, Dumas).

Juan Manuel Fangio Celebrates His Maiden F1 Driver's Championship, and the Second for Alfa Romeo.

1951 RACE 8
BARCELONA, SPAIN

28 October, Eleventh Gran Premio de Espana
Pedralbes Circuit

P1 Grid: A. Ascari, Italy, Scuderia Ferrari (2).

Ascari (Ferrari) wins the start.
J.M. Fangio (Alfa Romeo) assumes the lead on Lap 4 when Ascari suffers severe tire degradation. Fangio drives on to victory.

Ferrari’s disastrous tire option selection at Pedralbes dooms  Ascari’s title chances early in the meeting as the marque’s entries suffer from catastrophic tread degradation out on the circuit. The error gifts Fangio his maiden F1 driver’s championship and salves his late season title failure at Monza in the prior season. Alfa Romeo SpA announces shortly thereafter its intention to withdraw from Formula 1 racing.

1. Fangio, Argentina, Alfa Romeo (6th, career).
2. J.F. Gonzalez, Argentina, Ferrari, – 54.28 sec.
3. E.G. Farina, Italy, Alfa Romeo.

Constructor Victor: Alfa Romeo SpA (10).
Engine Victor: Alfa Romeo SpA (10).

Championship
Fangio-ARG 37, Ascari-ITA 28, Gonzalez-ITA 27.

Scuderia Ferrari 86, Alfa Romeo SpA 75, Belanger-Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 9.

1951 Driver’s Champion: J.M. Fangio, Argentina (maiden).
1951 Constructor’s Champion: Scuderia Ferrari (maiden).

Argentina's J.F. Gonzalez Pushes the Fledgling Ferrari 375 to its Maiden Victory at Silverstone.

1951 RACE 5
SILVERSTONE, ENGLAND

14 July, Fourth British Grand Prix
Silverstone Circuit

P1 Grid: J.F. Gonzalez, Argentina, Scuderia Ferrari 375 F1.  4.5 liter Lampredi natural aspiration twin bank twelve. Pirelli. (maiden, career).

F. Bonetto (Alfa Romeo) wins the start.
Gonzalez (Ferrari) assumes the lead on Lap 2 with a pass.
J.M. Fangio (Alfa Romeo) assumes the lead on Lap 10 with a pass.
Gonzalez assumes the lead on Lap 39 as pit service commences.
Fangio assumes the lead on Lap 48 during the pit cycle.
Gonzalez assumes the lead on Lap 49 with a swift service cycle and pass before driving on to victory.

The Ferrari 375 V12 finally breaks through for its maiden Formula 1 victory at the same meeting in which British Racing Motors (BRM) debuts its highly unconventional supercharged V16 entry.

1. Gonzalez, Argentina, Ferrari (maiden win, career).
2. Fangio, Argentina, Alfa Romeo, -51 sec.
3. L. Villoresi, Italy, Ferrari.

Constructor Victor: Scuderia Ferrari (1).
Engine Victory: Scuderia Ferrari (1).

Championship
Fangio-ARG 21, Farina-ITA 15, Villoresi-ITA 12.

Alfa Romeo SpA 48, Scuderia Ferrari 41, Belanger-Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser 9.