Swiss Grand Prix

The Swiss Grand Prix (French: Grand Prix de Suisse, German: Großer Preis der Schweiz, Italian: Gran Premio di Svizzera) was the premier auto race of Switzerland. In its later years it was a Formula One race.

Swiss Grand Prix
Dijon-Prenois (France)
Race information
Number of times held16
First held1934
Last held1982
Most wins (drivers) Rudolf Caracciola (3)
Most wins (constructors) Mercedes (5)
Circuit length3.800 km (2.361 mi)
Race length304.000 km (188.897 mi)
Laps80
Last race (1982)
Pole position
Podium
Fastest lap

History

Bremgarten (1934–1939, 1947–1954)

Grand Prix motor racing came to Switzerland in 1934, to the Bremgarten circuit, located just outside the town of Bremgarten, near the Swiss defacto capital of Bern. The Bremgarten circuit was the dominant circuit on the Swiss racing scene; it was a fast 7.27-kilometre (4.52 mi) stretch made up of public roads that went through stunning countryside and forests, sweeping from corner to corner without any real length of straight. From the outset, Bremgarten's tree-lined roads, often poor light conditions, and changes in road surface made for what was acknowledged to be a very dangerous circuit, especially in the wet- even after it stopped raining and the sun came out, the trees covering the circuit were still soaking wet, and water would drip onto the tarmac for at least an hour. Conditions at this circuit were similar to that of the Nürburgring in West Germany.

The first Swiss Grand Prix was a non-championship race; it was won by Hans Stuck in an Auto Union; British driver Hugh Hamilton died in a horrific accident in his Maserati. The car's left front wheel broke, Hamilton lost control and then the whole car violently hit a tree, and continued going for about 70 feet before it hit and was stopped by a bigger tree, shattering the car and killing Hamilton (who had not been thrown from the car) instantly. Despite this occurrence (there was hardly any, if any, thought put into safety in those days), the Swiss Grand Prix counted toward the European Championship from 1935 to 1939, during which time it was dominated by the German Silver Arrows.

Grand Prix racing returned after World War II, and the Bremgarten track remained the home of the Swiss Grand Prix. The first post-war race was won by Frenchman Jean-Pierre Wimille, and in 1948 it was designated the European Grand Prix, in a time when this title was an honorary designation given each year to one Grand Prix race in Europe. This event saw veteran Italian racer Achille Varzi die during practice in an Alfa Romeo. Helmets were not compulsory in those days, and Varzi, whose Alfa had overturned during the accident, was crushed by the car and had no chance (Varzi was not wearing a helmet, and cars did not have roll-over protection in those days). The race also saw Swiss Christian Kautz die in a Maserati after going off the road and crashing into an embankment at the second Eymatt corner; the race was won by Carlo Felice Trossi. Frenchman Maurice Trintignant was nearly killed in another accident after crashing and being thrown out of his car and landing unconscious on the track. Three drivers including Nino Farina went off and crashed while trying to avoid the motionless Frenchman, who survived after multiple serious injuries and spending 8 days in a coma.

1950 saw the Swiss Grand Prix being inducted as part of the new Formula One World Championship (although at the time, all the races were run in Europe except the Indianapolis 500, but this race was not run to F1 regulations). This race was won by Italian Nino Farina, who would go on to be the first Formula One world champion. 1951 saw Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio dominate in his Alfa after taking advantage of Farina's wrong decision not to make a pit stop to change tyres during changing wet-to-dry conditions. 1952 saw Briton up-and-comer Stirling Moss run as high as third in his underfunded Alta-powered HWM, and Italian Piero Taruffi scored his first and only F1 victory; it was also the only championship race (other than the Indianapolis 500) not won that year by his Ferrari teammate and countryman Alberto Ascari. Pre-war great and three-time Swiss GP winner Rudolf Caracciola was competing in a support sportscar race and crashed into a tree, and the violent accident that ensued ended up breaking one of his legs, which effectively ended his long racing career. 1953 saw Ascari battling back after a pit stop to fix the misfiring engine in his Ferrari; he came back out in fourth and stormed round the circuit, passed Fangio in a Maserati, his teammates Farina and Mike Hawthorn to take victory. Ascari also won his second Drivers' Championship at that event. 1954 saw Fangio (now driving a Mercedes) lead from start to finish in rainy weather and he took his second Drivers' Championship from countryman José Froilán González.

In 1955, however, the Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten was to be no more. After the Le Mans disaster in France that year which killed more than 80 people, the Swiss government declared circuit motor racing to be an unsafe sport and it was promptly banned; this forced the organizers to cancel the Grand Prix that year. Bremgarten was ultimately abandoned and was never used again for motor racing.

Dijon-Prenois, France (1975, 1982)

The Swiss Grand Prix returned in 1975 as a non-Championship Grand Prix just across the border, at the Dijon-Prenois circuit, France. Swiss Clay Regazzoni won the race. The Swiss Grand Prix only ran once more, when it returned to the Formula One (F1) World Championship in 1982. The 1982 race, also held at Dijon, was the first F1 win by Finland's Keke Rosberg, driving for Williams, in what proved to be his Championship-winning season. Rosberg displayed a spirited drive in which he passed several cars, was held up by for some time by backmarker Andrea de Cesaris, then caught and passed polesitter Alain Prost. Although both the 1975 and 1982 races were held on French soil, the Dijon circuit was near the French-Swiss border, with both races organized by the Swiss Automobile Club.

Legislation

On 6 June 2007, Swiss Parliament voted to lift the ban of circuit racing in Switzerland, 97 in favor and 77 opposed.[1] However, the legislation was subsequently not ratified by the Swiss Council of States (the Senat).[2] In 2015 the Swiss government allowed a relaxation of the law, permitting head-to-head racing events to be held in Switzerland for electric vehicles only.[3] As a result, on 10 June 2018, Switzerland hosted its first motor race in 64 years when the first Zürich ePrix was held as a round of the all-electric Formula E championship.[4]

Official names and sponsors
  • 1950-1951: Großer Preis der Schweiz für Automobile (no official sponsor)[5][6]
  • 1952-1953: Großer Preis der Schweiz für Automobile, Motorräder und Seitenwagen (no official sponsor)[7][8]
  • 1954: Grand Prix Bern (no official sponsor)[9]
  • 1982: Grand Prix de Suisse (no official sponsor)[10]

Winners of the Swiss Grand Prix

Repeat winners (drivers)

A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship.

Wins Driver Years won
3 Rudolf Caracciola 1935, 1937, 1938
2 Alberto Ascari 1949, 1953
Juan Manuel Fangio 1951, 1954

Repeat winners (constructors)

A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship.

Wins Constructor Years won
5 Mercedes 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1954
4 Alfa Romeo 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951
Ferrari 1949, 1952, 1953, 1975
2 Auto Union 1934, 1936

Repeat winners (engine manufacturers)

A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship.

Wins Manufacturer Years won
5 Mercedes 1935, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1954
4 Alfa Romeo 1947, 1948, 1950, 1951
Ferrari 1949, 1952, 1953, 1975
2 Auto Union 1934, 1936

Year by year
Circuit Bremgarten, used in 1934–1939 and 1947–1954

A pink background indicates an event which was not part of the Formula One World Championship.
A yellow background indicates an event which was part of the pre-war European Championship.

Year Driver Constructor Location Report
1934 Hans Stuck Auto Union Bremgarten Report
1935 Rudolf Caracciola Mercedes-Benz Bremgarten Report
1936 Bernd Rosemeyer Auto Union Report
1937 Rudolf Caracciola Mercedes-Benz Report
1938 Rudolf Caracciola Mercedes-Benz Report
1939 Hermann Lang Mercedes-Benz Report
1940
–
1946		 Not held
1947 Jean-Pierre Wimille Alfa Romeo Bremgarten Report
1948 Carlo Felice Trossi Alfa Romeo Report
1949 Alberto Ascari Ferrari Report
1950 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo Bremgarten Report
1951 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo Report
1952 Piero Taruffi Ferrari Report
1953 Alberto Ascari Ferrari Report
1954 Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes Report
1955
–
1974		 Not held
1975 Clay Regazzoni Ferrari Dijon
(France)		 Report
1976
–
1981		 Not held
1982 Keke Rosberg Williams-Ford Dijon
(France)		 Report
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gollark: I don't think people do much of the time, though.
gollark: You could use metric prefixes like kilokelvin if you wanted.
gollark: It's as consistent as imperial, if not more so.
gollark: I don't see why you would use imperial when you could use the superior furlong-firkin-fortnight system.

References
  1. "Switzerland lifts motor racing ban". Updatesport.com. 6 June 2007. Archived from the original on 10 October 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  2. "Swiss vote against racing". GrandPrix.com. 10 October 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2007.
  3. Adams, Ariel (3 March 2015). "TAG Heuer and Formula E Racing Help End 60-Year Auto Racing Ban in Switzerland". forbes.com. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  4. Pauchard, Olivier (8 June 2018). "Motor racing returns to Switzerland via Formula E". Swissinfo. Retrieved 10 June 2018.
  5. "1950 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  6. "1951 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  7. "1952 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  8. "1953 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  9. "1954 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
  10. "1982 Formula 1 World Championship Programmes | The Motor Racing Programme Covers Project". www.progcovers.com.
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