1952 Formula One season
The 1952 Formula One season was the sixth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. In comparison to previous seasons, the 1952 season consisted of a relatively small number of Formula One races, following the decision to run all the Grand Prix events counting towards the World Championship of Drivers to Formula Two regulations rather than Formula One. The Indianapolis 500 was still run to AAA regulations as in previous seasons.
1952 Formula One season | |||
Drivers' Champion: Alberto Ascari | |||
Previous: | 1951 | Next: | 1953 |
The 3rd FIA World Championship of Drivers, which began on 18 May and ended on 7 September after eight races, was won by Alberto Ascari, driving for Scuderia Ferrari.
In addition to the Formula One races and the World Championship Formula Two races, numerous other Formula Two races, which did not count towards the Championship, were held during the year.
World Championship season summary
Alfa Romeo, unable to fund a new car, withdrew from racing, while BRM had been preparing two V16-powered cars for the season but withdrew them before an April race at Valentino Park, Turin, whilst attempting to enlist Juan Manuel Fangio as teammate to Stirling Moss, leaving Ferrari as the only serious Formula One contender. This led World Championship organizers to run their races for Formula Two,[1] utilising 2-litre naturally aspirated engines, which meant larger fields and a greater variety of cars, even if the victories all went to Ferrari. Ascari won the six Grands Prix he entered, missing the Swiss race because he was at Indianapolis qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 – the first European to do so in the World Championship era. Maserati and Gordini offered little challenge, but Mike Hawthorn's drives in his Cooper would earn him a works Ferrari drive in 1953. Reigning champion Fangio, badly injured in an early season crash at Monza, took no part in the championship, but was to go on to drive for BRM.
World Championship season review
The 1952 World Championship of Drivers was contested over an eight race series.
Rnd | Race | Circuit | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver | Constructor | Tyre | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bremgarten | 18 May | P | Report | |||||
2 | Indianapolis | 30 May | F | Report | |||||
3 | Spa-Francorchamps | 22 June | P | Report | |||||
4 | Rouen-Les-Essarts | 6 July | P | Report | |||||
5 | Silverstone | 19 July | P | Report | |||||
6 | Nürburgring | 3 August | P | Report | |||||
7 | Zandvoort | 17 August | P | Report | |||||
8 | Monza | 7 September | P | Report |
All 1952 World Championship Grand Prix events were restricted to Formula Two cars and the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, which also counted towards the 1952 AAA Championship, was contested by AAA National Championship cars. The Spanish Grand Prix was scheduled to be held on October 26 at the Pedralbes Circuit in Barcelona, but was cancelled.[2]
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 event.
* Car entered only in the Indianapolis 500 race
1952 Drivers' Championship – final standings
Points were awarded to top five finishers in each race on an 8–6–4–3–2 basis. One point was awarded for fastest lap. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of who had driven more laps. Only the best four of eight scores counted towards the World Championship.
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- Italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded – point shared equally between drivers sharing fastest lap)
- Bold indicates pole position
- † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
- Only the best four results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
Non-championship race results
Other Formula One/Formula Two races, which did not count towards the World Championship of Drivers, were also held in 1952.
Race Name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gávea | 20 January | Report | |||
Syracuse | 16 March | Report | |||
Valentino Park | 6 April | Report | |||
Goodwood | 14 April | Report | |||
Goodwood | 14 April | Report | |||
Pau | 14 April | Report | |||
Ringwood | 19 April | Report | |||
Marseille | 27 April | Report | |||
Snetterton | 3 May | Report | |||
Silverstone | 10 May | Report | |||
Eläintarharata | 11 May | Report | |||
Posillipo | 11 May | Report | |||
Nürburgring | 25 May | Report | |||
Montlhéry | 25 May | Report | |||
Albi | 1 June | Report | |||
Chimay | 1 June | Report | |||
Dundrod | 7 June | Report | |||
Monza | 8 June | Report | |||
Aix-les-Bains | 8 June | Report | |||
Boreham | 21 June | Report | |||
Reims | 29 June | Report | |||
Sables | 13 July | Report | |||
Caen | 27 July | Report | |||
Boreham | 2 August | Report | |||
Comminges | 10 August | Report | |||
Turnberry | 23 August | Report | |||
La Baule | 24 August | Report | |||
Modena | 14 September | Report | |||
Cadours | 14 September | Report | |||
Skarpnäck | 14 September | Report | |||
Goodwood | 27 September | Report | |||
AVUS | 28 September | Report | |||
Castle Combe | 4 October | Report | |||
Charterhall | 11 October | Report | |||
Gávea | 14 December | Report |
East German Championship
Race Name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rostock | 20 April | Report | |||
Bernau | 4 May | Report | |||
Dessau | 11 May | Report | |||
Leipzig | 2 June | Report | |||
Halle-Saale-Schleife | 8 June | Report | |||
Leipzig | 17 August | Report | |||
Grenzlandring | 31 August | Report | |||
Sachsenring | 7 September | Report |
References
- Peter Higham, The Guinness Guide to International Motor Racing, 1995, page 12
- "Grand Prix Cancelled". Autosport. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- 1952 World Championship of Drivers results in the FIA Yearbook of Automobile Sport 1974, pages 118-119 show Manzon placed 6th below Hawthorn and Fischer who are shown as equal 4th