1952 British Grand Prix

1952 British Grand Prix
← Previous raceNext race →
Silverstone Circuit in 1952–1973 configuration
Silverstone Circuit in 1952–1973 configuration
Race details
Date 19 July 1952
Official name 5th RAC British Grand Prix
Location Silverstone Circuit
Silverstone, England
Course Permanent racing facility
Course length 4.7105 km (2.927 miles)
Distance 85 laps, 400.307 km (248.739 miles)
Weather Overcast, dry.
Attendance 100,000 (estimate)
Pole position
Driver Ferrari
Time 1:50.0
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari
Time 1:52.0
Podium
First
  • Italy Alberto Ascari
Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third Cooper-Bristol
Lap leaders

The 1952 British Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 19 July 1952 at Silverstone Circuit. It was race 5 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.

Photo from Grandstand

New pit facilities had been built on the straight between Woodcote and Copse corners; the original pits were located between Abbey and Woodcote.

Report

Jean Behra was unable to take part in the British Grand Prix, having broken his shoulder blade at the non-championship Grand Prix de Sables d'Olonne the previous weekend. Consequently, Maurice Trintignant took over Behra's Gordini T16 for Silverstone, having driven a Simca-Gordini T15 at Rouen-Les-Essarts. The Gordini team also fielded regular drivers Robert Manzon and Prince Bira. As in the previous race, Belgian driver Johnny Claes entered a privateer Simca-Gordini under the 'Ecurie Belge' moniker. Ferrari stuck with the same three drivers — Alberto Ascari, Nino Farina and Piero Taruffi — who had monopolised the podium positions at the French Grand Prix. There were also a number of privateer Ferrari entrants: Fischer and Hirt for Ecurie Espadon, Peter Whitehead and Roy Salvadori. HWM continued their policy of partnering regulars Peter Collins and Lance Macklin with a local driver, in this case Duncan Hamilton. The Connaught team ran a quartet of Lea Francis-engined entries — McAlpine, Downing, Thompson and Poore — while the remainder of the grid was made up of a series of privateers of various constructors, including Coopers and Maseratis.

The three works Ferraris, led on this occasion by Farina, again qualified in the top three positions on the grid, this time being joined on the four-car front row by Manzon. The second row consisted of Downing alongside Reg Parnell and Mike Hawthorn in a pair of Cooper-Bristols. The Connaughts of Poore and Thompson shared row three with Bira's Gordini and Hamilton in his HWM.

Ascari took the lead at the start of the race and held onto it for the whole 85 laps, taking his third consecutive victory in the World Championship. Polesitter Nino Farina was in second place for the first 26 laps but he dropped down the field when he needed to pit to change spark plugs, eventually finishing in sixth, just outside the points. Despite making a bad start that saw him drop to ninth by the end of the first lap, fellow Ferrari driver Taruffi recovered to take second place, finishing a lap behind Ascari. Dennis Poore, who had been running in third after Farina's pit stop, needed to make a stop of his own in order to refuel his car. This allowed Hawthorn to inherit third place, which he held for the remainder of the race. He finished a lap behind Taruffi and took his first World Championship podium in just his third race. Poore took fourth, ahead of Connaught teammate Eric Thompson in the fifth and final points position.

Ascari's win, coupled with yet another fastest lap, allowed him to extend his lead in the Drivers' Championship once again. He now enjoyed an eight-point lead over fellow Ferrari driver Taruffi. Farina, having not scored any points, was seven points adrift of Taruffi.

Entries

No Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre
1 United Kingdom Graham Whitehead Peter Whitehead Alta Alta F2 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
2 United Kingdom Bill Aston W.S. Aston Aston Butterworth Aston NB41 Aston Butterworth F4 2.0 F4 D
3 United Kingdom Kenneth McAlpine Connaught Engineering Connaught-Lea Francis Connaught A Lea Francis 2.0 L4 D
4 United Kingdom Ken Downing Connaught-Lea Francis Connaught A Lea Francis 2.0 L4 D
5 United Kingdom Eric Thompson Connaught-Lea Francis Connaught A Lea Francis 2.0 L4 D
6 United Kingdom Dennis Poore Connaught-Lea Francis Connaught A Lea Francis 2.0 L4 D
7 United Kingdom David Murray Ecurie Ecosse Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
8 United Kingdom Reg Parnell AHM Bryde Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
9 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Leslie D. Hawthorn Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
10 United Kingdom Eric Brandon Ecurie Richmond Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
11 United Kingdom Alan Brown Cooper-Bristol Cooper T20 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
12 United Kingdom Stirling Moss English Racing Automobiles Ltd. ERA-Bristol ERA G Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
14 United Kingdom Roy Salvadori1 G. Caprara Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 D
15 Italy Alberto Ascari Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
16 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
17 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
18 France Louis Rosier2 Ecurie Rosier Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 D
19 Switzerland Rudi Fischer Ecurie Espadon Ferrari Ferrari 500 Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 P
20 Switzerland Peter Hirt Ferrari Ferrari 212 Ferrari 166 2.0 V12 P
21 United Kingdom Peter Whitehead Peter Whitehead Ferrari Ferrari 125 Ferrari 166 2.0 V12 D
22 United Kingdom Ken Wharton2 Scuderia Franera Frazer Nash-Bristol Frazer Nash FN48 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 D
23 United Kingdom Tony Crook Tony Crook Frazer Nash-BMW Frazer Nash 421 BMW 328 2.0 L6 D
24 France Robert Manzon Equipe Gordini Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
25 France Maurice Trintignant Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
26 Thailand Prince Bira Gordini Gordini T16 Gordini 20 2.0 L6 E
27 Belgium Johnny Claes Ecurie Belge Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 E
28 Australia Tony Gaze Tony Gaze HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
29 United Kingdom Peter Collins HW Motors HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
30 United Kingdom Duncan Hamilton HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
31 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta HWM 52 Alta F2 2.0 L4 D
32 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried Enrico Platé Maserati-Platé Maserati 4CLT-48 Platé 2.0 L4 P
33 United States Harry Schell Maserati-Platé Maserati 4CLT-48 Platé 2.0 L4 P
34 Brazil Gino Bianco Escuderia Bandeirantes Maserati Maserati A6GCM Maserati A6G 2.0 L6 P
35 Uruguay Eitel Cantoni Maserati Maserati A6GCM Maserati A6G 2.0 L6 P
Sources:
^1 — Roy Salvadori qualified and drove the entire race in the #14 Ferrari. Bobbie Baird, named substitute driver for the car, was not used during the Grand Prix.
^2 — Louis Rosier and Ken Wharton both withdrew from the event prior to practice.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 16 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari 1:50
2 15 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari 1:50 + 0
3 17 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari 1:53 + 3
4 24 France Robert Manzon Gordini 1:55 + 5
5 4 United Kingdom Ken Downing Connaught-Lea Francis 1:56 + 6
6 8 United Kingdom Reg Parnell Cooper-Bristol 1:56 + 6
7 9 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Cooper-Bristol 1:56 + 6
8 6 United Kingdom Dennis Poore Connaught-Lea Francis 1:56 + 6
9 5 United Kingdom Eric Thompson Connaught-Lea Francis 1:57 + 7
10 26 Thailand Prince Bira Gordini 1:57 + 7
11 30 United Kingdom Duncan Hamilton HWM-Alta 1:57 + 7
12 1 United Kingdom Graham Whitehead Alta 1:58 + 8
13 11 United Kingdom Alan Brown Cooper-Bristol 1:58 + 8
14 29 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta 1:58 + 8
15 19 Switzerland Rudi Fischer Ferrari 1:58 + 8
16 12 United Kingdom Stirling Moss ERA-Bristol 1:59 + 9
17 3 United Kingdom Kenneth McAlpine Connaught-Lea Francis 2:00 + 10
18 10 United Kingdom Eric Brandon Cooper-Bristol 2:00 + 10
19 14 United Kingdom Roy Salvadori Ferrari 2:00 + 10
20 21 United Kingdom Peter Whitehead Ferrari 2:00 + 10
21 25 France Maurice Trintignant Gordini 2:00 + 10
22 7 United Kingdom David Murray Cooper-Bristol 2:02 + 12
23 27 Belgium Johnny Claes Simca-Gordini-Gordini 2:02 + 12
24 20 Switzerland Peter Hirt Ferrari 2:03 + 13
25 23 United Kingdom Tony Crook Frazer Nash-BMW 2:03 + 13
26 28 Australia Tony Gaze HWM-Alta 2:05 + 15
27 35 Uruguay Eitel Cantoni Maserati 2:06 + 16
28 34 Brazil Gino Bianco Maserati 2:07 + 17
29 31 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 2:08 + 18
30 2 United Kingdom Bill Aston Aston Butterworth 3:28 + 1:38
31 32 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried Maserati-Platé No time
32 33 United States Harry Schell Maserati-Platé No time

Race

Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 15 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari 85 2:46:11 2 91
2 17 Italy Piero Taruffi Ferrari 84 +1 lap 3 6
3 9 United Kingdom Mike Hawthorn Cooper-Bristol 83 +2 laps 7 4
4 6 United Kingdom Dennis Poore Connaught-Lea Francis 83 +2 laps 8 3
5 5 United Kingdom Eric Thompson Connaught-Lea Francis 82 +3 laps 9 2
6 16 Italy Nino Farina Ferrari 82 +3 laps 1
7 8 United Kingdom Reg Parnell Cooper-Bristol 82 +3 laps 6
8 14 United Kingdom Roy Salvadori Ferrari 82 +3 laps 19
9 4 United Kingdom Ken Downing Connaught-Lea Francis 82 +3 laps 5
10 21 United Kingdom Peter Whitehead Ferrari 81 +4 laps 20
11 26 Thailand Prince Bira Gordini 81 +4 laps 10
12 1 United Kingdom Graham Whitehead Alta 80 +5 laps 12
13 19 Switzerland Rudi Fischer Ferrari 80 +5 laps 15
14 27 Belgium Johnny Claes Simca-Gordini-Gordini 79 +6 laps 23
15 31 United Kingdom Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 79 +6 laps 29
16 3 United Kingdom Kenneth McAlpine Connaught-Lea Francis 79 +6 laps 17
17 33 United States Harry Schell Maserati-Platé 78 +7 laps 32
18 34 Brazil Gino Bianco Maserati 77 +8 laps 28
19 32 Switzerland Toulo de Graffenried Maserati-Platé 76 +9 laps 31
20 10 United Kingdom Eric Brandon Cooper-Bristol 76 +9 laps 18
21 23 United Kingdom Tony Crook Frazer Nash-BMW 75 +10 laps 25
22 11 United Kingdom Alan Brown Cooper-Bristol 69 +16 laps 13
Ret 29 United Kingdom Peter Collins HWM-Alta 73 Ignition 14
Ret 30 United Kingdom Duncan Hamilton HWM-Alta 44 Engine 11
Ret 12 United Kingdom Stirling Moss ERA-Bristol 36 Engine 16
Ret 25 France Maurice Trintignant Gordini 21 Gearbox 21
Ret 28 Australia Tony Gaze HWM-Alta 19 Engine 26
Ret 7 United Kingdom David Murray Cooper-Bristol 14 Engine 22
Ret 24 France Robert Manzon Gordini 9 Clutch 4
Ret 20 Switzerland Peter Hirt Ferrari 3 Brakes 24
Ret 35 Uruguay Eitel Cantoni Maserati 0 Brakes 27
DNS 2 United Kingdom Bill Aston Aston Butterworth 0 Non Starter
Source:
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Italy Alberto Ascari 27
2 Italy Piero Taruffi 19
3 Italy Nino Farina 12
4 United States Troy Ruttman 8
5 France Robert Manzon 7
Source:
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.

This page was last updated at 2023-10-29 17:09 UTC. Update now. View original page.

All our content comes from Wikipedia and under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.


Top

If mathematical, chemical, physical and other formulas are not displayed correctly on this page, please useFirefox or Safari