1952 Formula One Season

The 1952 Formula One season was the sixth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 3rd World Championship of Drivers, which was contested over eight races between 18 May and 7 September 1952. The season also included several non-championship races and a separate East German Championship.

The Formula One championship rounds were run under Formula Two regulations out of fear for a small number of entrants.Peter Higham, The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing, 1995, page 12

The World Drivers' Championship was won by Alberto Ascari driving for Scuderia Ferrari. The Italian won six out of the seven races he entered.

Neither British driver nor British constructor won a championship round. This would not happen again until .

Teams and drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1952 FIA World Championship of Drivers. The list does not include those that contested only the Indianapolis 500.

* Car entered only in the Indianapolis 500 race

Team and driver changes

* The introduction of Formula Two regulations opened the door for many new constructors (although only a few of them were works teams): AFM, Alta, Aston Butterworth, Connaught, Cooper, Frazer Nash, Veritas and several more German teams who only entered the Nürburgring race.
* Alfa Romeo were unable to fund a new car and withdrew from the sport. Reigning champion Juan Manuel Fangio moved to BRM, while champion Nino Farina moved to Ferrari.
* BRM were preparing two V16-powered cars for the season, but the project was delayed. Driver Stirling Moss moved to ERA, while Fangio waited until he drove the new BRM in June. He had entered a couple of non-championship races, before he crashed in the race at Monza and suffered a broken neck. After being treated in a Milan hospital, he spent the rest of the year recovering in Argentina.
* After one race in , HWM expanded their operations to enter the full 1952 season. Peter Collins and Lance Macklin were hired full-time, both men making their championship debuts, alongside several part-time drivers.
* Gordini driver André Simon moved to Ferrari, but only entered two championship rounds. The French team welcomed Jean Behra, who had just switched from motorcycle racing, and Thai Prince Bira.
* It took Maserati until the final round of the championship before their new chassis, compliant with the Formula Two regulations, was finished. They hired Felice Bonetto from Alfa Romeo, José Froilán González from Ferrari and Franco Rol, who had previously driven for them in .

Calendar

Calendar changes

* The Dutch Grand Prix was included in the championship for the first time.
* The French Grand Prix was moved from Reims-Gueux to Rouen-Les-Essarts for a year.
* The Spanish Grand Prix was scheduled to be held on 26 October but it was cancelled for monetary reasons.

Regulation changes

* Organisers predicted a small number of entrants for the 1952 season, so they decided that all races counting towards the Formula One championship, except for the Indianapolis 500, would be held for cars complying with Formula Two regulations. This paved the way for a more diverse field of competitors. Maximum allowed engine displacements were halved: Naturally-aspirated engines could be no larger than 2.0 L (down from 4.5) and compressed engines no larger than 750 cc (down from 1.5 L).
* Racing helmets were made mandatory.

Championship report

Round 1: Switzerland

For the second successive season, the championship's opening round was the Swiss Grand Prix, held at the Bremgarten Circuit in Bern. Ferrari's lead driver Ascari was absent due to his participation in the Indianapolis 500, so it was left to his teammates Nino Farina and Piero Taruffi to secure the first two places on the grid. Farina led from the start until he retired with magneto failure, leaving Taruffi to win his only championship Grand Prix and take the extra point for the fastest lap. Farina took over the car of his other teammate, Andre Simon, and was battling debutant Jean Behra for second place before both experienced mechanical trouble, Farina again unable to continue. It was, therefore, privateer Rudi Fischer who completed a Ferrari 1–2, with Jean Behra in third for Gordini. Ken Wharton finished fourth driving a Frazer-Nash, the manufacturer's only ever points finish.

Round 2: Indianapolis 500

As usual, the Indianapolis 500 had little bearing on the championship result, although regular Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari did compete, retiring after 40 laps. The race was dominated by Bill Vukovich, who led 150 laps before retiring. It was left to Troy Ruttman to win the race from Jim Rathmann and Sam Hanks.

Round 3: Belgium

Ascari returned to Ferrari for round 3 of the championship at Spa-Francorchamps, with Maserati still absent as they developed their A6GCM. The Ferrari cars dominated the weekend, with Ascari taking pole, the race win, and the fastest lap while leading every lap bar one. He was followed home by teammate Nino Farina, and Robert Manzon finished in third for Gordini. Jean Behra again impressed as he led the opening lap before falling behind the Ferrari juggernaut and eventually retiring after an incident with the third Ferrari of Piero Taruffi.

Round 4: France

Scuderia Ferrari dominated once again at Rouen, taking all three podium places. Ascari led all the way from pole position to assume the championship lead and achieve his fourth career victory, drawing him level with his teammate Nino Farina who finished second. Piero Taruffi finished third after falling behind the Gordinis of Robert Manzon and Jean Behra at the start. Manzon was the highest Non-Ferrari finisher ahead of his teammate Maurice Trintignant, who drove an older model.

Round 5: Britain

Although Ascari again dominated, it wasn't plain sailing for his teammates as Ferrari eventually dominated as they had done throughout the year. The Italian's third consecutive victory strengthened his eventually successful championship challenge as his main competitor, Nino Farina, failed to score despite taking pole position. The third Ferrari of Piero Taruffi dropped down to ninth at the start but eventually recovered to take second place, while a pitstop for new spark plugs meant Farina finished in the sixth position. It was a triumphant day for British cars and drivers, with Mike Hawthorn taking his first podium driving a Cooper-Bristol, while British cars and drivers occupied the other points-paying positions.

Round 6: Germany

The belated arrival of the Maserati factory team failed to stop the dominance of Ferrari, with Ascari clinching his first World Title and equalling the injured Juan Manuel Fangio's win record. It was his fourth consecutive victory of the season, again leading every race lap from pole position. He briefly lost the race lead to Farina after pitting for oil, but this is not reflected in the lap charts as he caught and passed his teammate before they crossed the line at the end of the lap. Farina finished second, and privateer Ferrari driver Rudi Fischer finished third ahead of the works car of Taruffi to ensure a Ferrari 1-2-3-4. Jean Behra scored the final points for Gordini just ahead of another Ferrari car, this time driven by Roger Laurent.

Round 7: Netherlands

Ascari started from pole position and led from start to finish, taking the fastest lap as well, winning his fifth consecutive Grand Prix and earning his second consecutive Grand Slam, and the third his season and career. In addition, with his victory, Ascari overtook Fangio as the winningest Formula One Driver, although the Argentinian would eventually reclaim the record at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix. Further down the order, Giuseppe Farina and Luigi Villoresi, also driving for Ferrari, completed the podium, resulting in an Italian 1-2-3 and a 1-2-3 for the Scuderia. As a result, Ascari extended his championship points total to 36, extending his lead to 12 points over second-placed Farina.

Round 8: Italy

The 80-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari after he started from pole position. José Froilán González finished second for the Maserati team and Ascari's teammate Luigi Villoresi came in third.

Results and standings

Grands Prix

Scoring system

Points were awarded to the top five classified finishers, with an additional point awarded for setting the fastest lap, regardless of finishing position or even classification. Only the best four results counted towards the championship. Shared drives result in half points for each driver if they finished in a points-scoring position. If more than one driver set the same fastest lap time, the fastest lap point would be divided equally between the drivers. Points were awarded in the following system:

World Championship of Drivers standings

* † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
* * Point for fastest lap shared between different drivers.
* Only the best four results counted towards the championship. Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Non-championship races

Other Formula One/Formula Two races, which did not count towards the World Championship of Drivers, were also held in 1952.

East German races

Note - a blue background denotes a round of the East German Championship.

East German Championship

The table below shows the points awarded for each race. Only East German drivers were eligible for points.

Notes

References

{{Formula One Championship

Formula One seasons

Formula Two series