Automobile World Championship 1952

Automobile World Championship 1952

World Champion
Driver:	Alberto Ascari
Season dates
Number of races:	8th
<1951 season	1953 season>

Ferrari, the dominant brand in the 1952 season.

The 1952 Automobile World Championship was the 3rd season of the Automobile World Championship, which is now known as the Formula 1 World Championship . The drivers' world championship was held within eight races from May 18 to September 7, 1952.

The FIA title of honor Grand Prix of Europe was awarded to the Grand Prix of Belgium in 1952 .

Season summary

The withdrawal of Alfa Romeo surprised the officials of Formula 1. To fill the starting field, they wrote the competition in 1952 after the former Formula 2 - Rules of: This was only vehicles with normally aspirated engines to 2000 allows cc, the weight was released . The use of compressors was allowed, but with only 500 cm³ no racing team decided on this alternative.

There were significant losses in engine performance. The 1951 world championship vehicle, the Alfa Romeo 159, still had 425 hp. The Ferrari from 1952, on the other hand, only had 180 hp. Nevertheless, this expansion of the rules allowed small brands such as Gordini to position themselves better again. With Cooper , Connaught and Frazer-Nash , three new British teams, which had previously only started in the lower class, competed relatively well. A total of 132 pilots (including Indianapolis ) registered for the season, but apart from Hawthorn, Behra, Manzon and Fischer had no chance against the superior Ferraris. The young Mike Hawthorn finished the season in an excellent fourth place, only to be signed by Enzo Ferrari for the coming season.

The so-called "Formula 2" years of Formula 1 were a pure domain of the Ferrari racing team. Ferrari won 14 of 17 races in the two years and achieved ten one-two victories. It was not until this season that helmets were compulsory for car races.

The superior driver in 1952 was Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari. He lacked an equal opponent both within his own team and outside. Only Giuseppe Farina brought him into trouble at the Grand Prix at the Nürburgring and José Froilán González in Monza . If Ferrari hadn't been interested in starting in Indianapolis for marketing reasons, Ascari might also have won in Switzerland , where he therefore had to forego the start.

Defending champion Juan Manuel Fangio was without competitive material because Maserati's new car for the Swiss Grand Prix was not yet ready. Fangio therefore took part in two Grand Prix ( Grand Prix d'Albi on the Circuit des Planques in Albi and Ulster Trophy on the Dundrod Circuit near Belfast ) with a BRM outside of the world championship competition and was eliminated every time. To a free Grand Prix in Monza, where a Maserati was available to him, he drove from Le Bourget in a car owned by his colleague Louis Rosier because a flight would have been too late. He arrived two hours before the start of the race and then started from the back row. On the second lap, he lost control of the car and had a serious accident, possibly due to fatigue. He then had to cure a spinal injury for five months without being able to intervene in the World Cup.

Race results

Swiss Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1952 Swiss Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	3: 01: 46.1
2	Rudolf Fischer	Ecurie espadon	+ 2: 37.2
3	Jean Behra	Gordini	+ 1 lap
4th	Ken Wharton	Frazer-Nash - Bristol	+ 2 rounds
5	Alan Brown	Cooper - Bristol	+ 3 rounds

The Swiss Grand Prix was held on May 18, 1952 in Bremgarten near Bern in 62 rounds over a distance of 451.36 km.

Since Ascari did not start here in favor of the race in the USA , the way to victory was clear for Taruffi . The local hero Fischer took second place with a privately used Ferrari. Rudolf Caracciola had a serious accident in a race in the supporting program and had to end his career as a racing driver.

500 miles from Indianapolis

→ Main article : Indianapolis 500 1952

space	driver	team	time
1	Troy Ruttman	Kuzma - Offenhauser	3: 52: 41.88
2	Jim Rathmann	Kurtis - Offenhauser	+ 4: 02.33
3	Sam Hanks	Kurtis - Offenhauser	+ 6: 11.61
4th	Duane Carter	Lesovsky - Offenhauser	+ 6: 48.34
5	Art Cross	Kurtis - Offenhauser	+ 8: 40.15

The 500 miles from Indianapolis were again part of the Formula 1 World Cup on May 30, 1952. The race went over 804.6 km in 200 laps.

For reasons of public relations , Ferrari wanted to start with the old 4.5-liter car from the previous year. But the company turned into a fiasco: Ascari was only able to qualify with difficulty, although it was eighth at the start, he gave up after 41 laps after one of his rear wheels broke.

The race itself was dominated by Bill Vukovich , who only retired with eight laps to go. Troy Ruttman was the youngest winner of a world championship run until Fernando Alonso's victory in Hungary in 2003. Enzo Ferrari took the defeat personally and, shortly before his death, regretted never having won the race.

Belgian / European Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1952 Belgian Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	3: 03: 46.3
2	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	+1: 55.2
3	Robert Manzon	Gordini	+ 4: 28.4
4th	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper - Bristol	+ 1 lap
5	Paul Brother	HWM - Alta	+ 2 rounds

The rainy Belgian Grand Prix on June 22, 1952 in Spa-Francorchamps ran over 36 laps over a distance of 508.32 km.

The race brought a foretaste of the next two years with a clear Ascari triumph on Ferrari. The special thing about this race was that Mike Hawthorn managed to get into the points with his Cooper - Bristol . It was not only the first scoring points for the eventual world champion, but also the first place for the Cooper racing team.

French Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1952 French Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	3: 02: 42.6
2	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	+ 1 lap
3	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	+ 2 rounds
4th	Robert Manzon	Gordini	+ 3 rounds
5	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	+ 5 rounds

For the first time, the French Grand Prix took place on the Rouen-les-Essarts circuit. The race was driven in the rain over a total distance of 387.6 km or 76 laps.

Ferrari dominated the Grand Prix; Ascari celebrated a start-to-finish victory.

Great Britain Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1952 British Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2: 44: 11.0
2	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	+ 1 lap
3	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper - Bristol	+ 2 rounds
4th	Dennis Poore	Connaught	+ 2 rounds
5	Eric Thompson	Connaught	+ 3 rounds

The Grand Prix of Great Britain on July 19, 1952 was held at the Silverstone Circuit in 85 laps over a total of 400.435 km.

Again Ascari managed a superior victory. He lapped the entire field of drivers. British pilots finished third to fifth in their home Grand Prix behind the second Taruffi .

Grand Prix of Germany

→ Main article : 1952 German Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	3: 06: 13.3
2	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	+ 14.1
3	Rudolf Fischer	Ferrari	+ 7: 10.1
4th	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	+ 1 lap
5	Jean Behra	Gordini	+ 1 lap

On August 3, 1952, the German Grand Prix was held at the Nürburgring . The race lasted 18 laps over a distance of 410.580 km.

Twelve of the 30 starters came from Germany and followed behind with BMW or Veritas . Fritz Rieß , the Le Mans winner of the same year, was classified in seventh place with his Veritas as the best-placed German.

With his victory, which an additional pit stop had only temporarily jeopardized due to a lack of oil, Ascari won the drivers' championship of the year early.

Dutch Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1952 Dutch Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2: 53: 28.5
2	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	+ 40.1
3	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	+1: 34.4
4th	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper - Bristol	+ 2 rounds
5	Robert Manzon	Gordini	+ 3 rounds

For the first time, the Dutch Grand Prix was part of the World Cup. The new runway at Zandvoort used, among other things, blown up German bunkers from the Second World War as a foundation. The race took place on August 17, 1952 and went over 90 laps with a total distance of 377.370 km.

Nothing new, however, in the course of the race: Ascari won in a Ferrari ; only Mike Hawthorn was able to keep up with the Italians at first.

Italian Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1952 Italian Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2: 50: 45.6
2	José Froilán González	Maserati	+1: 01.8
3	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	+ 2: 04.2
4th	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	+ 2: 11.4
5	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	+ 1 lap

The Italian Grand Prix was held on September 7, 1952 in Monza over 80 laps over a distance of 504 km.

Finally the Maserati was finished, the debut of which had been delayed again and again. And he could keep up with the Ferraris, González fell behind Ascari only because of his higher fuel consumption and the associated refueling stops .

Driver ranking

Ferrari 375, Ascaris car in the Indy 500

HWM from 1952

The following rules for the distribution of points applied to the 1952 Drivers' World Championship:

1st place	8 points
place 2	6 points
place 3	4 points
4th place	3 points
5th place	2 points
fastest lap	1 point

• Only the best four results from the eight races were considered.
• It was allowed to change drivers. If this was done, each driver received half the number of points for the place achieved with the vehicle, regardless of how large his share of the total distance was.

Item	driver	constructor									Points
01.	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari		DNF	1	1	1	1	( 1 )	( 1 )	36 (47.5)
02.	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	DNF		2	2	( 6 )	2	2	(4)	24 (27)
03.	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	1		DNF	3	2	4th		(7)	22nd
04th	Mike Hawthorn	cooper			4th	DNF	3		4th	NC	10
	Rudolf Fischer	Ferrari	2			DNF	13	3		DNF	10
06th	Robert Manzon	Gordini	DNF		3	4th	DNF	DNF	5	14th	9
07th	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari							3	3	8th
	Troy Ruttman	Kuzma		1							8th
09.	José Froilán González	Maserati								2	6.5
10.	Jean Behra	Gordini	3		DNF	7th		5	DNF	DNF	6th
	Richard Rathmann	Kurtis power		2							6th
12.	Sam Hanks	Kurtis power		3							4th
13.	Dennis Poore	Connaught					4th			12	3
	Duane Carter	Lesovsky		4th							3
	Ken Wharton	Frazer-Nash / Cooper	4th		DNF				DNF		3
16.	Alan Brown	cooper	5		6th		22nd			15th	2
	Art Cross	Kurtis power		5							2
	Eric Thompson	Connaught					5				2
	Felice Bonetto	Maserati						DNF		5	2
	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari / Gordini	DNS								2
	Paul Brother	HWM / Gordini			5			DNF			2
22nd	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis power		DNF							1
-	Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati	6th			DNF	19th			DNQ	0
-	Jimmy Bryan	Kurtis power		6th							0
-	Peter Collins	HWM	DNF		DNF	6th	DNF	DNS		DNQ	0
-	Roger Laurent	Ferrari / HWM						6th			0
-	André Simon	Ferrari	DNF							6th	0
-	Peter Hirt	Ferrari	7th			11	DNF				0
-	Jimmy Reece	Kurtis power		7th							0
-	Charles de Tornaco	Ferrari			7th				DNF	DNQ	0
-	Reg Parnell	cooper					7th				0
-	Fritz Riess	Veritas						7th			0
-	Duncan Hamilton	HWM					DNF		7th		0
-	Eric Brandon	cooper	8th		9		20th			13	0
-	George Connor	Kurtis power		8th							0
-	Johnny Claes	Simca-Gordini / HWM			8th	DNF	14th			DNQ	0
-	Philippe Étancelin	Maserati				8th					0
-	Roy Salvadori	Ferrari					8th				0
-	Toni Ulmen	Veritas	DNF					8th			0
-	Lance Macklin	HWM	DNF		11	9	15th		8th	DNQ	0
-	Francisco Landi	Maserati							DNF	8th	0
-	Cliff Griffith	Kurtis power		9							0
-	Ken Downing	Connaught					9		DNF		0
-	Jan Flinterman	Maserati							9		0
-	Johnnie Parsons	Kurtis power		10							0
-	Birabongse Bira	Gordini	DNF		10	DNF	11				0
-	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	HWM				10					0
-	Peter Whitehead	Alta / Ferrari				DNF	10				0
-	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	DNF		DNF	DNF				10	0
-	Jack McGrath	Kurtis power		11							0
-	Vain Cantoni	Maserati					DNF	DNF		11	0
-	Jim Rigsby	Watson		12							0
-	Gianfranco Comotti	Ferrari				12					0
-	Graham Whitehead	Alta					12				0
-	Joe James	Kurtis power		13							0
-	Arthur Legate	Veritas			13						0
-	Bill Schindler	Chapman		14th							0
-	Robert O'Brien	Simca-Gordini			14th						0
-	George Fonder	Sherman		15th							0
-	Tony Gaze	HWM			15th		DNF	DNF		DNQ	0
-	Eddie Johnson	Trevis		16							0
-	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught					16			DNF	0
-	Harry Schell	Maserati	DNF			DNQ	17th				0
-	Chuck Stevenson	Kurtis power		18th							0
-	Gino Bianco	Maserati					18th	DNF	DNF	DNF	0
-	Henry Banks	Lesovsky		19th							0
-	Manuel Ayulo	Lesovsky		20th							0
-	Johnny McDowell	Kurtis power		21st							0
-	Anthony Crook	Frazer-Nash					21st				0
-	Ernst Klodwig	BMW						NC			0
-	Hans Klenk	Veritas						NC			0
-	Helmut Niedermayr	AFM						NC			0
-	Dries van der Lof	HWM							NC		0
-	Stirling Moss	ERA / Connaught / HWM			DNF		DNF		DNF		0
-	Piero Carini	Ferrari				DNF		DNF			0
-	George Abecassis	HWM	DNF								0
-	Hans Stuck	AFM / Ferrari	DNF								0
-	Max de Terra	Simca-Gordini	DNF								0
-	Andy Linden	Kurtis power		DNF							0
-	Bob Scott	Kurtis power		DNF							0
-	Bob Sweikert	Kurtis power		DNF							0
-	Bobby Ball	Stevens		DNF							0
-	Chet Miller	Kurtis power		DNF							0
-	Duke Nalon	Kurtis power		DNF							0
-	Fred Agabashian	Kurtis power		DNF							0
-	Gene Hartley	Kurtis power		DNF							0
-	Rodger Ward	Kurtis power		DNF							0
-	Travis Webb	Bromme		DNF							0
-	Tony Bettenhausen	Deidt		DNF							0
-	Robin Montgomerie-Charrington	Aston			DNF						0
-	David Murray	cooper					DNF				0
-	Adolf Brudes	Veritas						DNF			0
-	Günther Bechem	BMW						DNF			0
-	Josef Peters	Veritas						DNF			0
-	Marcel Balsa	BMW						DNF			0
-	Paul Pietsch	Veritas						DNF			0
-	Rudolf Krause	BMW						DNF			0
-	Rudolf Schoeller	Ferrari						DNF			0
-	Theo Helfrich	Veritas						DNF			0
-	Willi Heeks	AFM						DNF			0
-	William Aston	Aston					DNS	DNF		DNQ	0
-	Elie Bayol	Osca								DNF	0
-	Franco Rol	Maserati								DNF	0
-	Harry Merkel	BMW						DNS			0
-	Ludwig Fischer	AFM						DNS			0
-	Willi Krakow	AFM						DNS			0
-	Piero Dusio	Cisitalia								DNS	0
-	Allen Heath	Kurtis power		DNQ							0
-	Bayliss Levrett	Kurtis power		DNQ							0
-	Bill Cantrell	Ewing		DNQ							0
-	Bill Taylor	Lesovsky		DNQ							0
-	Buzz Barton	Rae		DNQ							0
-	Carl Forberg	Maserati		DNQ							0
-	Danny Kladis	Deidt		DNQ							0
-	Dick Frazier	Stevens		DNQ							0
-	Doc Shanebrook	Pawl		DNQ							0
-	Duke Dinsmore	Miller		DNQ							0
-	Frank Luptow	Ewing		DNQ							0
-	Gene Force	Schroeder		DNQ							0
-	George Tichenor	Kurtis power		DNQ							0
-	Jackie Holmes	Maserati		DNQ							0
-	Jimmy Daywalt	Meyer		DNQ							0
-	Jimmy Jackson	Kurtis power		DNQ							0
-	Joe Barzda	Maserati		DNQ							0
-	Johnny Mauro	Ferrari		DNQ							0
-	Jud Larson	Meyer		DNQ							0
-	Mike Nazaruk	Kurtis power		DNQ							0
-	Neal Carter	Kurtis power		DNQ							0
-	Paul Russo	Kurtis power		DNQ							0
-	Peter Hahn	Snowberger		DNQ							0
-	Walt Faulkner	Pan scratch		DNQ							0
-	Alberto Crespo	Maserati								DNQ	0

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

Web links

Commons : Automobile World Cup 1952  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Official Formula 1 website Results Season 1952 (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Werner J. Haller, Christian Eichenberger, Leopold Wieland: Major rule changes and their consequences, Motorsport aktuell , issue MSA 4/2014, page 4.