Automobile World Championship 1953

Automobile World Championship 1953

World Champion
Driver:	Alberto Ascari
Season dates
Number of races:	9
<1952 season	1954 season>

Ferrari 500

Gordini Type 16 (rear)

Maserati A6GCM

The 1953 Automobile World Championship was the 4th season of the Automobile World Championship, which is now known as the Formula 1 World Championship . The drivers' world championship was held within nine races from January 18 to September 13, 1953.

As in the 1952 season, the 1953 season was contested according to the rules of the earlier Formula 2 . The strongest team was once again Ferrari with world champion Alberto Ascari , while Farina , Villoresi and the newly signed Briton Hawthorn also drove for the Italians. Maserati was the only team able to keep up, whose strongest drivers came mainly from Argentina: the recovered Fangio , plus José Froilán González and Onofre Marimón .

The other teams played no role, only Maurice Trintignant could score points with his Gordini . However, the performance of Stirling Moss on Cooper was much noticed . The Briton has not yet scored any points.

Race results

Argentina Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1953 Argentine Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	3: 01: 04.6
2	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	+ 1 lap
3	José Froilán González	Maserati	+ 1 lap
4th	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	+ 1 lap
5	Oscar Gálvez	Maserati	+ 1 lap

On January 18, 1953, the Argentine Grand Prix was held in Buenos Aires for the first time . The race went over a distance of 379.464 km in 97 laps.

Half a million spectators crowded the edge of the track, the safety precautions failed completely, and a catastrophe broke out: Giuseppe Farina's car got into the crowd, leaving nine dead and forty injured. From now on, chaos reigned: Alan Brown ran over a child, an ambulance rushing to the scene of the accident killed two bystanders, and a mounted policeman trying to push the crowd back was torn from his horse and trampled to death. Nevertheless, the race continued. Alberto Ascari won; it was his seventh win in a row.

500 miles from Indianapolis

→ Main article : Indianapolis 500 1953

space	driver	team	time
1	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis - Offenhauser	3: 53: 01.69
2	Art Cross	Kurtis - Offenhauser	+ 3: 30.87
3	Sam Hanks / Duane Carter	Kurtis - Offenhauser	+ 4: 11.50
4th	Fred Agabashian / Paul Russo	Kurtis - Offenhauser	+ 4: 39.24
5	Jack McGrath	Kurtis - Offenhauser	+ 7: 49.64

During the 500 mile race from Indianapolis on May 30, 1953, very high temperatures determined the racing. Many drivers took turns. Carl Scarborough died of heat stroke after getting out of the car.

Bill Vukovich dominated the race, he led 195 of 200 laps and won overwhelmingly.

Dutch Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1953 Dutch Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2: 53: 35.8
2	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	+ 10.4
3	F.Bonetto / JFGonzález	Maserati	+ 1 lap
4th	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	+ 1 lap
5	Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati	+ 2 rounds

The Dutch Grand Prix was held on June 7, 1953 at Circuit Park Zandvoort over 90 laps over a distance of 377.37 km.

In the five months between the Argentine Grand Prix and the Dutch Grand Prix, Maserati was able to stand up to the Ferrari in a number of races that were not part of the World Cup and even clinch victories. The race was therefore eagerly awaited.

González and Fangio were eliminated with suspension damage and so Ascari was once again at the top of the podium.

Belgian Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1953 Belgian Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2: 48: 30.3
2	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	+ 2: 48.2
3	Onofre Marimón	Maserati	+ 1 lap
4th	Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati	+ 1 lap
5	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	+ 1 lap

On June 21, 1953, the Belgian Grand Prix was held in Spa-Francorchamps . The race led over 36 laps over a total distance of 508.32 km.

Ascari's victory this time was not as superior as usual. After the start, two Maseratis were leading : González ahead of Fangio . Only with the failures of the two, González's gas pedal broke and Fangio suffered an engine failure, Ascari came out on top.

French Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1953 French Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	2: 44: 18.6
2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	+ 1.0
3	José Froilán González	Maserati	+ 1.4
4th	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	+ 4.6
5	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	+1: 07.6

The French Grand Prix on July 5, 1953 in Reims was one of the most exciting of the season: González , who was in the lead, lost a lot of time due to a refueling stop, and Hawthorn's Ferrari and Fangio's Maserati fought a tough duel for the lead.

González and Ascari caught up with this duo towards the end of the race . In the end, after 60 laps over 500.82 km, the surprise winner was Hawthorn, not even five seconds ahead of fourth-placed Ascari.

Great Britain Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1953 British Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2: 50: 00.0
2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	+ 1: 00.0
3	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	+ 2 rounds
4th	José Froilán González	Maserati	+ 2 rounds
5	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	+ 3 rounds

The Grand Prix of Great Britain was held on July 18, 1953 at the Silverstone Circuit in 90 laps over 423.990 km.

The British hoped for a British victory again after Hawthorn's success in France, but he turned in the early stages and fell far behind. The duel between Ferrari and Maserati continued at Silverstone, and in the end the series winner Ascari prevailed again.

Grand Prix of Germany

→ Main article : 1953 German Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	3: 02: 25.0
2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	+1: 04.0
3	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	+1: 43.6
4th	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	+ 8: 48.6
5	Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati	+ 1 lap

At the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring on August 2, 1953, many German brands again filled the field: Veritas , AFM and various BMW self-made products. In addition, launched Edgar Barth from the GDR at EMW . The race went over 410.58 km in 18 laps.

The man of the race was Ascari , who lost up to ten seconds per lap. Then he lost a wheel and brought the lurching three-wheeled Ferrari back to the pits, where he took over Villoresi's car. Again he fought his way to the top, but retired with engine failure. The victory went to Farina , who at 47 years old is the oldest individual winner of a World Championship run to this day. (Only Luigi Fagioli was older at the 1951 French GP , but had to share the victory with Fangio).

The 1953 German Grand Prix was the only world championship race with the participation of teams from the GDR . In addition to Barth on EMW (Eisenacher Motorenwerke, later Wartburg), a BMW car was also part of Dora Greifzu's team. The driver was 46-year-old Rudolf Krause . Both drove with identical L6 engines from BMW. EMW started under its own name. At this point in time, EMW and BMW were still being produced in parallel at the EMW plant, which changed when the company was converted into VEB Automobilwerk Eisenach . However, the automobile world championship was not a successful one for the GDR State Council: EMW retired after 11 laps due to a defective exhaust , Krause achieved 14th place with the BMW Greifzu and was third from bottom. In the years that followed, Formula 1 was decried as capitalist nonsense in the GDR.

Swiss Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1953 Swiss Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	3: 01: 34.40
2	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	+1: 12.93
3	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	+1: 35.96
4th	JMFangio / F.Bonetto	Maserati	+ 1 lap
5	Hermann Lang	Maserati	+ 3 rounds

The Swiss Grand Prix took place on August 23, 1953 in Bremgarten in 65 rounds over a total distance of 473.200 km.

After the retirement of Fangios and González ' Maseratis , the race was clear for Ferrari . Farina led before Hawthorn and Ascari . Enzo Ferrari signaled his pilots to hold onto positions , but Ascari didn't care and passed the unsuspecting two drivers in front of him. So he secured his second world title - much to the annoyance of his team-mate Farina.

Italian Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1953 Italian Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	2: 49: 45.9
2	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	+ 1.4
3	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	+ 1 lap
4th	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	+ 1 lap
5	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	+ 1 lap

On September 13, 1953, the Italian Grand Prix was held in Monza. The race went over 504 km in 80 laps.

Two Ferraris ( Ascari and Farina ) and two Maseratis ( Fangio and Marimón ) fought a slipstream duel with constant leadership changes on the fast track. In the last corner, the then Curva Sud (now called Parabolica), the last lap, Ascari spun, Fangio and Farina dodged over the grass, but Marimón could no longer dodge and crashed into Ascari. Fangio celebrated his first World Cup victory in two years and the first ever for Maserati.

At the end of the year, the contract negotiations between Ascari and Ferrari failed, the Italian insisted on the commitment of his friend Luigi Villoresi , which Enzo Ferrari refused. So the two went to the new Lancia racing team in the 1954 season .

Driver ranking

The following rules for the distribution of points applied to the 1953 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 nine races were counted.
• 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	1		1	( 1 )	( 4 )	1	( DNF )	1	DNF	34.5 (46.5)
02.	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	DNF		DNF	DNF	2	2	2	( DNF / 4 )	1	28 (29.5)
03.	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	DNF		2	DNF	(5)	(3)	1	2	2	26 (32)
04th	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	4th		(4)	(6)	1	(5)	3	3	(4)	19 (24)
05.	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	2		DNF	2	6th	DNF	8th	6th	3	17th
06th	José Froilán González	Maserati	3		3	( DNF )	3	4th	DNS			13.5 (14.5)
07th	Bill Vukovich	Kurti's power		1								9
08th.	Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati			5	4th	7th	DNF	5	DNF	DNF	7th
09.	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	DNF		DNF		DNF	6th	4th	4th	DNF	6.5
10.	Art Cross	Kurti's power		2								6th
11.	Onofre Marimón	Maserati				3	9	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	4th
12.	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	DNF		6th	5	DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF	5	4th
13.	Oscar Gálvez	Maserati	5									2
14th	Jack McGrath	Kurti's power		5								2
15th	Duane Carter	Kurti's power		3								2
16.	Sam Hanks	Kurti's power		3								2
17th	Hermann Lang	Maserati								5		2
18th	Fred Agabashian	Kurti's power		4th								1.5
19th	Paul Russo	Kurti's power		4th								1.5
-	Jean Behra	Gordini	6th			DNF	10	DNF	DNF	DNF		0
-	Jimmy Daywalt	Kurti's power		6th								0
-	Stirling Moss	Connaught					DNF		6th		13	0
-		cooper			9							0
-	Roberto Mieres	Gordini			DNF		DNF				6th	0
-	Harry Schell	Gordini	7th		DNF	7th	DNF	DNF	DNF		9	0
-	Richard Rathmann	Kurti's power		7th								0
-	Eddie Johnson	Kurti's power		7th								0
-	Louis Rosier	Ferrari			7th	8th	8th	10	10	DNF	16	0
-	Birabongse Bira	Connaught					DNF	7th	DNF			0
-		Maserati									11	0
-	Jacques Swaters	Ferrari				DNS			7th	DNF		0
-	Ken Wharton	cooper			DNF		DNF	8th		7th	NC	0
-	Luigi Musso	Maserati									7th	0
-	John Barber	cooper	8th									0
-	Wolfgang Seidel	Veritas							16			0
-	Ernie McCoy	Chapman		8th								0
-	Peter Collins	HWM			8th	DNF	13	DNF				0
-	Max de Terra	Ferrari								8th		0
-	Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari									8th	0
-	Alan Brown	cooper	9					DNF	DNF		12	0
-	Gene Hartley	Kuzma		9								0
-	Tony Bettenhausen	Kuzma		9								0
-	Chuck Stevenson	Kuzma		9								0
-	Fred Wacker	Gordini			DNS	9				DNS		0
-	Peter Whitehead	cooper						9				0
-	Hans Herrmann	Veritas							9			0
-	Albert Scherrer	HWM								9		0
-	Jim Davies	Kurti's power		10								0
-	Paul Brother	HWM				10				DNF		0
-	Louis Chiron	Osca					NC	DNS		DNS	10	0
-	André Pilette	Connaught				11						0
-	Frederic Roberts-Gerard	cooper					11	DNF				0
-	Rodney Nuckey	cooper							11			0
-	Bob Scott	Bromme		12								0
-	Johnny Claes	Connaught			NC		12		DNF		DNF	0
-		Maserati				DNF						0
-	Theo Helfrich	Veritas							12			0
-	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught			DNF			DNF	13		NC	0
-	Jimmy Bryan	Schroeder		14th								0
-	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	HWM					14th				15th	0
-	Rudolf Krause	BMW							14th			0
-	Hans Stuck	AFM							DNF		14th	0
-	Ernst Klodwig	BMW							15th			0
-	Duke Dinsmore	Kurti's power		16								0
-	Johnny Mantz	Kurti's power		17th								0
-	Jackie Holmes	Kurti's power		19th								0
-	Jack Fairman	Connaught									NC	0
-		HWM						DNF				0
-	Lance Macklin	HWM			DNF	DNF	DNF	DNF		DNF	DNF	0
-	Roy Salvadori	Connaught			DNF		DNF	DNF	DNF		DNF	0
-	Elie Bayol	Osca					DNF				DNF	0
-	Francisco Landi	Maserati								DNF	DNF	0
-	Adolfo Schwelm-Cruz	cooper	DNF									0
-	Carlos Menditeguy	Gordini	DNF									0
-	Pablo Birger	Simca-Gordini	DNF									0
-	Robert Manzon	Gordini	DNF									0
-	Andy Linden	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Bill Holland	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Bob Sweikert	Kuzma		DNF								0
-	Cal Niday	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Carl Scarborough	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Don Freeland	Watson		DNF								0
-	Duke Nalon	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Jerry Hoyt	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Johnnie Parsons	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Johnny Thomson	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Manuel Ayulo	Kuzma		DNF								0
-	Marshall Teague	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Mike Nazaruk	Gymnast		DNF								0
-	Pat Flaherty	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Rodger Ward	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Travis Webb	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Walt Faulkner	Kurti's power		DNF								0
-	Arthur Legate	Veritas				DNF						0
-	Georges Berger	Simca-Gordini				DNF						0
-	Anthony Crook	cooper						DNF				0
-	Duncan Hamilton	HWM						DNF				0
-	Ian Stewart	Connaught						DNF				0
-	Jimmy Stewart	cooper						DNF				0
-	Tony Rolt	Connaught						DNF				0
-	Edgar Barth	EMW							DNF			0
-	Ernst Loof	Veritas							DNF			0
-	Theo Fitzau	AFM							DNF			0
-	Willi Heeks	Veritas							DNF			0
-	Erwin Bauer	Veritas							DNF			0
-	Karl-Günther Bechem	AFM							DNF			0
-	Kurt Adolff	Ferrari							DNF			0
-	Oswald Karch	Veritas							DNF			0
-	Peter Hirt	Ferrari								DNF		0
-	John Fitch	HWM									DNF	0
-	Piero Carini	Ferrari									DNF	0
-	Sergio Mantovani	Maserati									DNF	0
-	Charles de Tornaco	Ferrari				DNS						0
-	Glöckler helmet	cooper							DNS			0
-	Al Herman	Kurti's power		DNQ								0
-	Allen Heath	Ewing		DNQ								0
-	Bill Boyd	Kurti's power		DNQ								0
-	Bill Cantrell	Pan scratch		DNQ								0
-	Bill Homeier	Kurti's power		DNQ								0
-	Bill Taylor	Lesovsky		DNQ								0
-	Buzz Barton	Pawl		DNQ								0
-	Chet Miller	Kurti's power		DNQ								0
-	Cliff Griffith	Kurti's power		DNQ								0
-	Danny Oakes	Moors		DNQ								0
-	Eddie Sachs	Kurti's power		DNQ								0
-	Frank Armi	Kurti's power		DNQ								0
-	George Connor	Kurti's power		DNQ								0
-	George Fonder	Silnes		DNQ								0
-	Hal Robson	People		DNQ								0
-	Henry Banks	Lesovsky		DNQ								0
-	Joe Barzda	Maserati		DNQ								0
-	Joe Sostilio	Kurti's power		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 : 1953 Automobile World Championship  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

• Official Formula 1 website Results Season 1953 (English)