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Alberto Ascari and his Lancia Take a Precarious Tumble Into the Harbor After Blowing the Chicane at the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix.

1955 RACE 2
Principality of Monaco

22 May, Thirteenth Grand Prix de Monaco
Circuit de Monaco

P1 Grid: J.M. Fangio, ARG, Mercedes 196W 2.5 liter fuel injection inline eight. Continental (16th, career).

Fangio wins the start.
S. Moss (Mercedes) assumes the lead at Lap 50 after Fangio suffers mechanicals.
M. Trintignant (Ferrari) assumes the lead at Lap 81 after Moss suffers mechanicals and A. Ascari suffers a dramatic shunt at Harbour Chicane. Trintigant drives on to victory.

The May 1955 Monaco meeting triggers a horrific strech for motor sport that continues to prompt pause among enthusiasts to the current day. In the race proper, the heady Daimler Benz team, thrilled with its recent signing of Briton ace Stirling Moss, roar off the grid with J.M. Fangio and Moss at the spearhead. The afternoon seemingly emeges as a dominant performance for the Silver Arrows, yet Fangio suffers mechanicals (failed transmission) on Lap 49, yielding the lead to teammate Moss. Moss confidently leads the field for the next thirty laps, but on Lap 80 suffers another mechanical, rare for the Teuton marque. A. Ascari, driving for Lancia, inherits the point for a brief moment before breaking loose in Moss’ oil stream. Ascari misses the apex at Harbour Chicane, slides into the harbor wall, and in dramatic fashion flips over the barrier and soars into the Cote d’Azur. As officials retrieve the injured Ascari and his auto from the harbor, M. Trintignant speeds his Ferrari 625 into the lead and on to the flag, a surprise maiden victory for both himself and the French nation.

Motor sport takes a dark turn shortly afterward; the great Ascari, likely still suffering from the injuries inflicted at Monaco, dies four days later in a horrific shunt during a test session at Monza. Seventeen days later at the Sarthe, Pierre Levegh’s flaming Mercedes hurtles an embankment near Maison Blanche and crashes headlong into the main tribune, killing over eighty spectators. A stunned Daimler Benz AG, distressed over the negative press, swiftly withdraws from the contest, and shortly thereafter from all of international motor sport.

1. Trintignant, FRA, Scuderia Ferrari 625 Type 106, 2.5 liter inline four. Pirelli (maiden victory).
2. E. Castellotti, ITA Lancia D50, -20.3 sec.
3. C. Perdisa, ITA,Officine Alfieri Maserati.

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

Championship
Trintignant-FRA 11.33, Fangio-ARG 10, G. Farina-ITA 6.33.

Scuderia Ferrari 21, Daimler Benz AG 13, Officine Alfieri Maserati 8.

1954 Drivers’ Champion: Juan Manuel Fangio, Argentina (second, all-time with Ascari).  Mercedes 196W Silver Arrow.

1954 Putative Constructors’ Champion: Ferrari (fourth, all-time).

Fangio ascends atop the tables as the all-time leader in P1 grid positions (15) and race victories (13).

The season marks the debut of Mercedes’ wondrous Silver Arrows as well as the Scuderia’s latest iterations, the 625 and the 553, which rises to the fore at Monza.  The Lancia D50 under Ascari makes its debut in the final meeting at Barcelona.

1954 Bremgarten stands as the final time Formula 1 hosts a race in Switzerland; the Le Mans Maison Blanche disaster in the following summer (June 1955) prompts Swiss authorities to cancel the 1955 event at Bern before announcing its prohibition of motor sport.

Adytum on High: The sport loses Argentine driver Onofre Marimon (Maserati) during a qualifying session at the Nurburging in late July. Marimon purportedly suffers brake failure at the bottom of incline while approaching the Wehrseifen curve. Marimon’s car veers off the course over a banking, soars into the trees, and lands upside down, fatally pinning the driver to the steering shaft.

Constructors’ Champion:

1954 Ferrari 625

1954 Ferrari 553

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.

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.

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.

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.