1953 Formula One season
The 1953 Formula One season was the seventh season of the FIA's Formula One racing. It consisted only of a number of non-championship motor races. As in 1952, all races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers, apart from the Indianapolis 500, were held for cars complying with Formula Two regulations rather than with Formula One, with the Indianapolis 500 held to AAA regulations.
1953 Formula One season | |||
Drivers' Champion: Alberto Ascari | |||
Previous: | 1952 | Next: | 1954 |
The 4th FIA World Championship of Drivers,[1] which commenced on 18 January and ended on 13 September after nine races,[2] was won by Alberto Ascari,[1] driving for a Scuderia Ferrari.[3] Ascari became the first driver to successfully defend his title.
In addition to the non-championship Formula One races and the World Championship Formula Two races, numerous other non-championship Formula Two races were also held during the year.
World Championship season summary
Ferrari drivers again dominated the championship, taking seven of the eight grands prix, although Juan Manuel Fangio's challenge in his more fragile Maserati took him to second place in the championship and a win at Monza. Ascari extended his unbeaten run to nine consecutive World Championship grand prix wins before his teammate Mike Hawthorn broke the sequence in becoming the first ever British winner in the French Grand Prix at Reims after a thrilling battle with Fangio.
In 1953, all but one of the races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers were run under Formula 2 regulations, while the remaining one, the Indianapolis 500, was run under AAA Championship Car regulations. The 1953 championship was the first truly global World Championship of Drivers, with a championship event being staged outside of Europe or the United States for the first time. That race, the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix, was marred by an accident involving the Ferrari of Giuseppe Farina, which crashed into an unprotected crowd, killing nine spectators.
World Championship season review
![](../I/m/Ferrari_500.jpeg)
The 1953 World Championship of Drivers was contested over a nine race series.
The Spanish Grand Prix, scheduled to be staged on 26 October, was cancelled.[2] The Indianapolis 500 also counted towards the 1953 AAA Championship.
Teams and drivers
![](../I/m/Alberto_Ascari.jpg)
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1953 FIA World Championship of Drivers.
1953 World Championship of Drivers – final standings
Championship points were awarded to first five finishers in each race on an 8-6-4-3-2 basis. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of the number of laps driven by each. One point was also awarded for the fastest lap in each race. The point was shared equally between drivers sharing the fastest lap. Only the best four results from the nine races counted towards a driver's total points in the World Championship. Numbers without parentheses are retained championship points and numbers within parentheses are total points scored.
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- * Italics indicate fastest lap
- Bold indicates pole position
- † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
- ‡ Several cars were shared in this race. See the race page for details.
Non-championship race results
The following Formula One/Formula Two races, which did not count towards the World Championship of Drivers, were held during 1953.
Race Name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Constructor | Report |
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Syracuse | 22 March | ![]() |
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Pau | 6 April | ![]() |
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Goodwood | 6 April | ![]() |
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Snetterton | 18 April | ![]() |
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Bordeaux | 3 May | ![]() |
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Karl-Marx-Stadt | 3 May | ![]() |
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Silverstone | 9 May | ![]() |
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Eläintarharata | 10 May | ![]() |
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Posillipo | 10 May | ![]() |
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Dundrod | 16 May | ![]() |
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Charterhall | 23 May | ![]() |
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Crystal Palace | 23 May | ![]() |
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Chimay | 24 May | ![]() |
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Snetterton | 30 May | ![]() |
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Nürburgring | 31 May | ![]() |
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Albi | 31 May | ![]() |
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Montlhéry | 31 May | ![]() |
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Dessau | 7 June | ![]() |
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Snetterton | 27 June | ![]() |
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Silverstone | 27 June | ![]() |
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Rouen-les-Essarts | 28 June | ![]() |
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Halle-Saale-Schleife | 5 July | ![]() |
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Crystal Palace | 11 July | ![]() |
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AVUS | 12 July | ![]() |
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Snetterton | 25 July | ![]() |
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Aix-les-Bains | 26 July | ![]() |
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Dresden-Hellerau | 26 July | ![]() |
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Thruxton | 3 August | ![]() |
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Oulton Park | 8 August | ![]() |
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Les Sables-d'Olonne | 9 August | ![]() |
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Charterhall | 15 August | ![]() |
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Cadours | 30 August | ![]() |
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Sachsenring | 6 September | ![]() |
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Snetterton | 12 September | ![]() |
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Skarpnäck | 13 September | ![]() |
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Crystal Palace | 19 September | ![]() |
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Modena | 20 September | ![]() |
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Goodwood | 26 September | ![]() |
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Bernau | 27 September | ![]() |
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Castle Combe | 3 October | ![]() |
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Snetterton | 17 October | ![]() |
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References
- World Championship of Drivers, 1974 FIA Yearbook, Grey section, pages 118 & 119
- Mike Lang, Grand Prix! Volume 1: 1950 to 1965, pages 53 to 66
- Steve Small, The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who, 1994, page 37