1953 Swiss Grand Prix

1953 Swiss Grand Prix
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Circuit Bremgarten track layout
Circuit Bremgarten track layout
Race details
Date 23 August 1953
Official name XIII Großer Preis der Schweiz
Location Bremgarten, Bern, Switzerland
Course Temporary street/road circuit
Course length 7.280 km (4.524 miles)
Distance 65 laps, 473.200 km (294.033 miles)
Weather Sunny, mild, dry
Pole position
Driver Maserati
Time 2:40:1
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari
Time 2:41.3 on lap 50
Podium
First
  • Italy Alberto Ascari
Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 1953 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 23 August 1953 at Bremgarten Circuit. It was race 8 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used. World Champion Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari won the race, the last race win and finish of his career.

The race marked the brief return of Grand Prix-era legend Hermann Lang. He was given a chance to participate in Formula 1 racing driving for Officine Alfieri Maserati after one of their team drivers was injured. He raced in two World Drivers' Championship events overall—one in 1953 and one in 1954—and his result here, a fifth-place finish, was his best result.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 32 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Maserati 2:40.1
2 46 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari 2:40.7 + 0.6
3 24 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari 2:42.6 + 2.5
4 8 France Maurice Trintignant Gordini 2:43.8 + 3.7
5 36 Argentina Onofre Marimón Maserati 2:44.5 + 4.4
6 28 Italy Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 2:44.6 + 4.5
7 26 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 2:48.1 + 8.0
8 42 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 2:49.9 + 9.8
9 20 United Kingdom Ken Wharton Cooper-Bristol 2:51.5 + 11.4
10 30 Italy Felice Bonetto Maserati 2:52.0 + 11.9
11 34 Germany Hermann Lang Maserati 2:54.8 + 14.7
12 6 France Jean Behra Gordini 2:55.0 + 14.9
13 2 Belgium Jacques Swaters Ferrari 2:55.1 + 15.0
14 10 France Louis Rosier Ferrari 2:55.4 + 15.3
15 16 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 2:57.1 + 17.0
16 14 Belgium Paul Frère HWM-Alta 2:57.9 + 17.8
17 38 Switzerland Peter Hirt Ferrari 3:01.5 + 21.4
18 18 Switzerland Albert Scherrer HWM-Alta 3:07.4 + 27.3
19 40 Switzerland Max de Terra Ferrari 3:21.1 + 41.0
20 4 Brazil Chico Landi Maserati 3:29.1 + 49.0
21 12 Monaco Louis Chiron OSCA No time
22 22 France Élie Bayol OSCA No time
23 44 United States Fred Wacker Gordini No time
Source:[1]

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 46 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari 65 3:01:34.40 2 91
2 24 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari 65 + 1:12.93 3 6
3 26 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 65 + 1:35.96 7 4
4 32 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio
Italy Felice Bonetto
Maserati 64 + 1 Lap 1 1.5
1.5
5 34 Germany Hermann Lang Maserati 62 + 3 Laps 11 2
6 28 Italy Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 62 + 3 Laps 6  
7 20 United Kingdom Ken Wharton Cooper-Bristol 62 + 3 Laps 9  
8 40 Switzerland Max de Terra Ferrari 51 + 14 Laps 19  
9 18 Switzerland Albert Scherrer HWM-Alta 49 + 16 Laps 18  
Ret 4 Brazil Chico Landi Maserati 54 Gearbox 20  
Ret 42 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 49 Transmission 8  
Ret 36 Argentina Onofre Marimón Maserati 46 Engine 5  
Ret 8 France Maurice Trintignant Gordini 43 Axle 4  
Ret 6 France Jean Behra Gordini 37 Oil Pressure 12  
Ret 30 Italy Felice Bonetto
Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio
Maserati 29 Engine 10  
Ret 16 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 29 Engine 15  
Ret 38 Switzerland Peter Hirt Ferrari 17 Engine 17  
Ret 14 Belgium Paul Frère HWM-Alta 1 Engine 16  
Ret 2 Belgium Jacques Swaters Ferrari 0 Spun Off 13  
Ret 10 France Louis Rosier Ferrari 0 Spun Off 14  
DNS 12 Monaco Louis Chiron OSCA 0 Did not start  
DNS 22 France Élie Bayol OSCA 0 Did not start  
DNS 44 United States Fred Wacker Gordini 0 Did not start  
Source:[2]
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Shared drives

  • (Fangio and Bonetto switched cars)
    • Car #32: Fangio (12 laps) then Bonetto (52 laps). They shared the points for 4th place.
    • Car #30: Bonetto (12 laps) then Fangio (17 laps)

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Italy Alberto Ascari 34.5 (46.5)
2 Italy Nino Farina 24 (26)
3 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio 20.5
4 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn 19 (24)
5 Argentina José Froilán González 13.5 (14.5)
Source: [3]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References

  1. ^ "Switzerland 1953 - Qualifying". statsf1.com. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. ^ "1953 Swiss Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Switzerland 1953 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.


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1953 German Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1953 season
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1953 Italian Grand Prix
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1952 Swiss Grand Prix
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1954 Swiss Grand Prix