1952 Swiss Grand Prix

Switzerland  1952 Swiss Grand Prix
Race details
Race 1 of 8 in the 1952 World Drivers' Championship

Circuit Bremgarten track layout
Date 18 May 1952
Official name XII Großer Preis der Schweiz
Location Circuit Bremgarten, Bern, Switzerland
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 7.280 km (4.524 mi)
Distance 62 laps, 451.360 km (280.462 mi)
Weather Sunny
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 2:47.5
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari
Time 2:49.1 on lap 46
Podium
First Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third Gordini

The 1952 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 18 May 1952 at Bremgarten Circuit. It was the first round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.

Pre-WWII Grand Prix great Rudolf Caracciola crashed heavily during a support sports car race. He survived with a broken leg, but this crash effectively ended his racing career. He was driving a Mercedes 300SL; his brakes locked up going into a corner and the car skidded off the road and hit a tree.

Italian driver Piero Taruffi scored his only win in a World Championship race, driving for Ferrari.

Report

With the withdrawal of Alfa Romeo from the World Championship, Ferrari were left as the sole competitive team under the existing regulations. It was therefore decided to run the Championship to Formula Two regulations.

The works Ferrari team brought three drivers to the Swiss Grand Prix, namely Farina, Taruffi and Simon. Regular Ferrari drivers Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi were both unavailable, the former due to his participation in the Indianapolis 500, and the latter because of his having had a road accident. Also running Ferraris were Rudi Fischer and Peter Hirt of Ecurie Espadon, and veteran Frenchman Louis Rosier. Gordini also had a three-car team for this race, consisting of Robert Manzon, B. Bira and the debutant Jean Behra. The HWM team, returning to the World Championship for the first time since the previous race at Bremgarten, fielded the all-British quartet of Abecassis, Collins, Macklin and Moss. Maserati had planned to enter defending World Drivers' Champion Juan Manuel Fangio and fellow Argentinian José Froilán González, but this did not come into fruition. Completing the field were the sole AFM entry of Hans Stuck and a number of privately run cars representing various constructors.

Former Alfa Romeo driver Nino Farina took pole position, alongside Taruffi and Manzon on the front row of the grid. Simon and Fischer started from the second row, in front of Collins, Behra and Toulo de Graffenried, who was driving an Enrico Platé-entered Maserati.

Polesitter Farina led the race until his car broke down. His Ferrari teammate assumed the lead, which he held for the remainder of the race. Moss was impressively running in third place in the early stages, behind Farina and Taruffi, before he had to stop. The main battle was between Behra and Simon, for second place (once Farina had retired). When Behra had to stop, due to his exhaust pipe having fallen off, Farina, who had taken over Simon's car, assumed second place. However, further problems meant that he once again had to retire, on lap 51, handing second to local driver Rudi Fischer. The Swiss driver took his first Championship podium, being the only driver not to be lapped by Taruffi, who took his first (and only) World Championship race victory. Behra completed the podium, taking third on debut, while Ken Wharton (fourth) and Alan Brown (fifth) took the first points finishes for Frazer Nash and Cooper, respectively.[1]

Entries

No Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre
2 West Germany Hans Stuck AFM AFM-Küchen AFM 6 Küchen 2.0 V8 E
4 West Germany Toni Ulmen Toni Ulmen Veritas Veritas Meteor Veritas 2.0 L6 D
6 France Jean Behra Equipe Gordini Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
8 France Robert Manzon Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
10 Thailand Prince Bira Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 E
12 France Louis Rosier Ecurie Rosier Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 D
14 France Maurice Trintignant Ferrari Ferrari 166F2-50 Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 P
16 United Kingdom George Abecassis HW Motors HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
18 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
20 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
22 United Kingdom Ken Wharton Scuderia Franera Frazer Nash-Bristol Frazer Nash FN48 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
24 United Kingdom Eric Brandon Ecurie Richmond Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
26 United Kingdom Alan Brown Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
28 Italy Nino Farina Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
30 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
32 France André Simon1 Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
34 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio2 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati Maserati A6GCM Maserati A6G 2.0 L6 P
36 Argentina José Froilán González2 Maserati Maserati A6GCM Maserati A6G 2.0 L6 P
38 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried Enrico Platé Maserati-Platé Maserati 4CLT-48 Platé 2.0 L4 P
40 United States Harry Schell Maserati-Platé Maserati 4CLT-50 Platé 2.0 L4 P
42 Switzerland Rudi Fischer Ecurie Espadon Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
44 Switzerland Peter Hirt3 Ferrari Ferrari 212 Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 P
46 United Kingdom Stirling Moss HW Motors HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
50 Switzerland Max de Terra4 Alfred Dattner Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T11 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 E
Sources: [2][3]
^1 — André Simon qualified and drove 21 laps of the race in the #32 Ferrari. Nino Farina, whose own vehicle had already retired, took over the car for a further 30 laps before again being forced to retire.[4]
^2 — Juan Manuel Fangio and José Froilán González, whose cars were unavailable, withdrew from the event prior to practice.[5]
^3 — Peter Hirt qualified and drove the entire race in the #44 Ferrari. Rudolf Schoeller, named substitute driver for the car, was not used during the Grand Prix.[6]
^4 — Max de Terra drove the #50 Simca-Gordini in the race. Alfred Dattner, who was also entered in the same car, was unable to take part in the Grand Prix due to illness.[5]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 28 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari 2:47.5
2 30 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari 2:50.1 + 2.6
3 8 France Robert Manzon Gordini 2:52.1 + 4.6
4 32 France André Simon Ferrari 2:52.4 + 4.9
5 42 Switzerland Rudi Fischer Ferrari 2:53.3 + 5.8
6 18 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta 2:55.9 + 8.4
7 6 France Jean Behra Gordini 2:55.9 + 8.4
8 38 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried Maserati-Platé 2:56.4 + 8.9
9 46 United Kingdom Stirling Moss HWM-Alta 2:56.4 + 8.9
10 16 United Kingdom George Abecassis HWM-Alta 2:56.9 + 9.4
11 10 Thailand Prince Bira Simca-Gordini 2:59.3 + 11.8
12 20 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 3:00.2 + 12.7
13 22 United Kingdom Ken Wharton Frazer Nash-Bristol 3:00.9 + 13.4
14 2 West Germany Hans Stuck AFM-Küchen 3:01.7 + 14.2
15 26 United Kingdom Alan Brown Cooper-Bristol 3:02.5 + 15.0
16 4 West Germany Toni Ulmen Veritas 3:05.6 + 18.1
17 24 United Kingdom Eric Brandon Cooper-Bristol 3:05.8 + 18.3
18 40 United States Harry Schell Maserati-Platé 3:07.6 + 20.1
19 44 Switzerland Peter Hirt Ferrari 3:10.2 + 22.7
20 12 France Louis Rosier Ferrari No time
21 50 Switzerland Max de Terra Simca-Gordini No time
22 14 France Maurice Trintignant Ferrari No time

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 30 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari 62 3:01:46.1 2 9
2 42 Switzerland Rudi Fischer Ferrari 62 +2:37.2 5 6
3 6 France Jean Behra Gordini 61 +1 lap 7 4
4 22 United Kingdom Ken Wharton Frazer Nash-Bristol 60 +2 laps 13 3
5 26 United Kingdom Alan Brown Cooper-Bristol 59 +3 laps 15 2
6 38 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried Maserati-Platé 58 +4 laps 8
7 44 Switzerland Peter Hirt Ferrari 56 +6 laps 19
8 24 United Kingdom Eric Brandon Cooper-Bristol 55 +7 laps 17
Ret 10 Thailand Prince Bira Simca-Gordini 52 Engine 11
Ret 32 France André Simon
Italy Nino Farina
Ferrari 51 Magneto 4
Ret 40 United States Harry Schell Maserati-Platé 31 Engine 18
Ret 46 United Kingdom Stirling Moss HWM-Alta 24 Withdrew 9
Ret 20 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 24 Withdrew 12
Ret 8 France Robert Manzon Gordini 20 Radiator 3
Ret 28 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari 16 Magneto 1
Ret 18 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta 12 Halfshaft 6
Ret 16 United Kingdom George Abecassis HWM-Alta 12 Halfshaft 10
Ret 2 West Germany Hans Stuck AFM-Küchen 4 Engine 14
Ret 4 West Germany Toni Ulmen Veritas 4 Fuel leak 16
Ret 12 France Louis Rosier Ferrari 2 Accident 20
Ret 50 Switzerland Max de Terra Simca-Gordini 1 Magneto 21
DNS 14 France Maurice Trintignant Ferrari 0 Engine 22
Source: [7]

Notes

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Italy Piero Taruffi 9
2 Switzerland Rudi Fischer 6
3 France Jean Behra 4
4 United Kingdom Ken Wharton 3
5 United Kingdom Alan Brown 2

References

  1. "Swiss GP, 1952 Race Report". Grandprix.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
  2. "1952 Swiss Grand Prix - Race Entries". manipef1.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. "1952 Swiss GP - Entry List". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  4. "Swiss Grand Prix 1952 - Results". ESPN F1. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  5. 1 2 "Switzerland 1952 - Result". statsf1.com. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  6. "Switzerland 1952 - Race entrants". statsf1.com. Retrieved 10 January 2014.
  7. "1952 Swiss Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
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