1951 British Grand Prix

The 1951 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 14 July 1951 at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England. It was race 5 of 8 in the 1951 World Championship of Drivers and was contested over 90 laps. The race was the first victory for José Froilán González, and was also the first of many for the Scuderia Ferrari team. Both the team and driver also achieved their first ever pole position during the weekend.

1951 British Grand Prix
Silverstone Circuit in 1950–1951 configuration
Race details
Date 14 July 1951
Official name IV RAC British Grand Prix
Location Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone, England
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.649 km (2.888 mi)
Distance 90 laps, 408.410 km (253.774 mi)
Weather Mild, Dry
Pole position
Driver
Ferrari
Time 1:43.4
Fastest lap
Driver Nino Farina Alfa Romeo
Time 1:44.0 on lap 38
Podium
First
Ferrari
Second
Alfa Romeo
Third
Ferrari

Report

José Froilán González was one second quicker than Juan Manuel Fangio in qualifying, achieving the first pole position of his career. It was also the first pole position for the Ferrari team, and the first in the World Championship (excluding the Indy 500 races) not scored by an Alfa Romeo. Nino Farina and Alberto Ascari qualified in third and fourth positions, completing the front row.[1]

González and Fangio shot away almost parallel from the front row of the grid, closely followed by the other Alfa Romeos and Ferraris. Alfa Romeo driver Felice Bonetto, who started in seventh position, was the first man at the first corner, with the Ferrari of González in second position. González took the lead from Bonetto on the second lap with Fangio chasing. The BRM cars of Reg Parnell and Peter Walker were in hot pursuit of the leaders. The team had arrived at the last minute, and had not practiced or even qualified for their debut race, and had started in 19th and 20th positions. Bonetto's Alfa Romeo teammates of Fangio and reigning World Champion, Nino Farina, managed to overtake him to move into second and third places. On lap 6, Fangio began to close in on González; he passed him on the straight on lap 10, and slowly began to draw away. Consalvo Sanesi then pulled into the pits for fuel and new tyres.

The Maserati of John James became the first retirement of the race on lap 23 with a radiator problem, but was soon joined on the sidelines by Louis Chiron, both his Maserati teammates, the Ferrari of Alberto Ascari and Farina. Farina pulled up at Abbey curve after 75 laps with a slipping clutch and his engine on fire. He had set the lap record on lap 38, with a time of 1 minute 44 seconds, an average speed of 99.99 mph, ensuring he still left the weekend with one point. González retook the lead on lap 39 with an overtake at Becketts corner. He kept his lead for the remainder of the race (excluding one lap when he pitted just before Fangio did) extending it to 1 minute and 5 seconds with 5 laps to go, before easing off at the end of the race. The BRM drivers of Parnell and Walker were still battling on, despite the fact they were suffering from hand and feet burns, and would eventually finish fifth and seventh respectively.

The Alfa Romeos of Fangio and Farina pitted twice for fuel, owing to the awful fuel consumption of their cars. They were doing 1 1/2 miles to the gallon, and needed to take on 70 gallons for every stop. Both drivers needed to stop twice, and, owing to the lengthy, minutes-long pit stops of Formula One in 1951, the more fuel efficient Ferrari of González (who only needed to make one stop) was able to overtake the Alfa Romeos and pull out a considerable lead.

González eventually took his own and Ferrari's first victory in a World Championship race by 51 seconds. It was the first World Championship race (excluding the Indy 500) that was not won by an Alfa Romeo. An Alfa Romeo was still in second place though, in the form of the year's eventual champion Fangio. Luigi Villoresi became the second Ferrari on the podium after he finished in third place, two laps behind. Bonetto and Parnell were the other two point scorers at the race, finishing in fourth and fifth positions respectively.

As it turned out, González had actually raced with an older chassis and engine than his teammates, Villoresi and Ascari.[1]

Entries
NoDriverEntrantConstructorChassisEngineTyre
1 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo SpA Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159B Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s P
2 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159B Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s P
3 Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159B Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s P
4 Felice Bonetto Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159A Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s P
5 Joe Kelly Joe Kelly Alta Alta GP Alta 1.5 L4s D
6 Reg Parnell BRM Ltd. BRM BRM P15 BRM 15 1.5 V16s D
7 Peter Walker BRM BRM P15 BRM 15 1.5 V16s D
8 Bob Gerard Bob Gerard ERA ERA B ERA 1.5 L6s D
9 Brian Shawe-Taylor Brian Shawe-Taylor ERA ERA B/C ERA 1.5 L6s D
10 Luigi Villoresi Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 P
11 Alberto Ascari Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 P
12 José Froilán González Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 P
14 Peter Whitehead G. A. Vandervell Ferrari Ferrari 375 tw Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 P
15 David Murray Scuderia Ambrosiana Maserati Maserati 4CLT-48 Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s D
16 John James John James Maserati Maserati 4CLT-48 Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s D
17 Philip Fotheringham-Parker Philip Fotheringham-Parker Maserati Maserati 4CL Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s D
18 Duncan Hamilton Duncan Hamilton Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
19 Maurice Trintignant1 Equipe Gordini Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s E
20 Robert Manzon1 Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s E
21 André Simon1 Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s E
22 Louis Rosier Ecurie Rosier Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
23 Louis Chiron Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
24 Philippe Étancelin1 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
25 Johnny Claes Ecurie Belge Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
Sources:[2][3][4]
^1 — Maurice Trintignant, Robert Manzon, André Simon and Philippe Étancelin all withdrew from the event prior to practice.[5]

Classification

Qualifying
PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
1 12 José Froilán González Ferrari 1:43.4 –
2 2 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 1:44.4 + 1.0
3 1 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 1:45.0 + 1.6
4 11 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 1:45.4 + 2.0
5 10 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 1:45.8 + 2.4
6 3 Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo 1:50.2 + 6.8
7 4 Felice Bonetto Alfa Romeo 1:52.0 + 8.6
8 14 Peter Whitehead Ferrari 1:54.6 + 11.2
9 22 Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago-Talbot 1:56.0 + 12.6
10 8 Bob Gerard ERA 1:57.0 + 13.6
11 18 Duncan Hamilton Talbot-Lago-Talbot 1:57.2 + 13.8
12 9 Brian Shawe-Taylor ERA 1:58.2 + 14.8
13 23 Louis Chiron Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:00.2 + 16.8
14 25 Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:05.8 + 22.4
15 15 David Murray Maserati 2:06.0 + 22.6
16 17 Philip Fotheringham-Parker Maserati 2:13.2 + 29.8
17 16 John James Maserati 2:17.0 + 33.6
18 5 Joe Kelly Alta 2:18.4 + 35.0
19 7 Peter Walker BRM No time –
20 6 Reg Parnell BRM No time –
DNA 19 Maurice Trintignant Simca-Gordini – –
DNA 20 Robert Manzon Simca-Gordini – –
DNA 21 André Simon Simca-Gordini – –
DNA 24 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago-Talbot – –
Source:[6]

Race
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/retired Grid Points
1 12 José Froilán González Ferrari 90 2:42:18.2 1 8
2 2 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 90 +51.0 2 6
3 10 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 88 +2 laps 5 4
4 4 Felice Bonetto Alfa Romeo 87 +3 laps 7 3
5 6 Reg Parnell BRM 85 +5 laps 20 2
6 3 Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo 84 +6 laps 6
7 7 Peter Walker BRM 84 +6 laps 19
8 9 Brian Shawe-Taylor ERA 84 +6 laps 12
9 14 Peter Whitehead Ferrari 83 +7 laps 8
10 22 Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago-Talbot 83 +7 laps 9
11 8 Bob Gerard ERA 82 +8 laps 10
12 18 Duncan Hamilton Talbot-Lago-Talbot 81 +9 laps 11
13 25 Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago-Talbot 80 +10 laps 14
Ret 1 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 75 Clutch 3 11
NC 5 Joe Kelly Alta 75 Not Classified 18
Ret 11 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 56 Gearbox 4
Ret 17 Philip Fotheringham-Parker Maserati 46 Oil leak 16
Ret 15 David Murray Maserati 45 Engine 15
Ret 23 Louis Chiron Talbot-Lago-Talbot 41 Brakes 13
Ret 16 John James Maserati 23 Radiator 17
Source:[7]
Notes
  • ^1 – 1 point for fastest lap

Championship standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Juan Manuel Fangio 21
2 Nino Farina 15
2 3 Luigi Villoresi 12
5 4 José Froilán González 11
2 5 Lee Wallard 9
Source: [8]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.
gollark: Oops.
gollark: ```pythonimport syswith open(sys.argv[0]) as f: code = f.read()b = "`" * 3print(f"++exec {b}python\n{code}\n{b}")```
gollark: I don't know actual quine theory so this is easier.
gollark: ```pythonimport syswith open(sys.argv[0]) as f: print(f.read())```
gollark: ```pythonimport sysprint(sys.argv[0])```

References
  1. "GRAND PRIX RESULTS: BRITISH GP, 1951". grandprix.com. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. "1951 British Grand Prix - Race Entries". manipef1.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. "1951 British GP - Entry List". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  4. "Britain 1951 - Race entrants". statsf1.com. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  5. "Britain 1951 - Result". statsf1.com. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  6. "VI RAC British Grand Prix". silhouet.com. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  7. "1951 British Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  8. "Britain 1951 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
Previous race:
1951 French Grand Prix		 FIA Formula One World Championship
1951 season		 Next race:
1951 German Grand Prix
Previous race:
1950 British Grand Prix		 British Grand Prix Next race:
1952 British Grand Prix
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.