Grand Prix season 1933

The most successful driver of the 1933 season: Tazio Nuvolari .

In the 1933 Grand Prix season , in contrast to the two previous years , the AIACR did not announce a European Grand Prix Championship .

In season five were Grandes Épreuves organized, which include the Grand Prix of France in Linas-Montlhéry , Belgium in Spa-Francorchamps , Italy in Monza and Spain in Lasarte for the first time the Monaco Grand Prix was one. For the first time since 1927 , more than three and for the first time five such events took place. The most important change in the regulations was the requirement of a minimum distance of 500 km for the races (instead of a minimum duration of five hours). For the racing cars, on the other hand, there was practically complete freedom of design.

Looking at the results of the official International Grand Prix alone , the season was relatively even, with two wins each for Alfa Romeo and Maserati and one for Bugatti , with no driver winning more than one of these five races. Alfa Romeo and Tazio Nuvolari clearly dominated the ten other internationally important events of the season as well as the 21 races held at national or regional level . In addition to his seven victories of the season, the Italian won the Mille Miglia together with his co-driver Decimo Compagnoni and the 24 Hours of Le Mans together with Raymond Sommer .

On September 10, 1933, there were two serious accidents in the race for the Monza Grand Prix , in which the two top Italian drivers Giuseppe Campari and Mario Umberto Borzacchini and Pole Stanisław Czaykowski were killed. The event then went down in Grand Prix history as the “Black Sunday of Monza”.

Regulations

The provisions laid down in the International Grand Prix racing formula for hosting the official Grand Prix races had hardly changed since 1932 . Instead of the minimum duration of five hours, a minimum race distance of 500 km was set, which on average led to a further shortening of the races. There were still only minor technical restrictions for the racing cars. The minimum size of the engines was 1100 cm³. The permitted fuel had to be commercially available; a maximum of 30% benzene could be added to it. The chassis of two-seater vehicles had to be at least 100 cm wide, single-seater racing cars ( “monopostos” ) could also be made narrower. Only the driver without a co-pilot or mechanic was allowed on board the car during the race; driver changes were only allowed in the pits . During the pit stops, apart from the driver, only two mechanics were allowed to work on the vehicle; the engine had to be switched off. The driver was not allowed to accept outside help on the route.

At the Monaco Grand Prix, for the first time in Europe, the starting positions were assigned based on the training times. The Grand Prix de la Marne in Reims-Gueux followed suit.

Season report

Rarely did so many dramatic events occur in one season on and next to the Grand Prix circuits as in the 1933 season. It began at the beginning of the year with the integration of the Alfa Romeo factories, which were already completely dependent on public arms contracts, into the state IRI -Group, whereupon the dissolution of the official racing team was announced immediately. With Tazio Nuvolari and Mario Umberto Borzacchini , two of the previous factory drivers were then accepted at Scuderia Ferrari , where, as a long-term partner of Alfa Romeo in racing, they hoped in vain for the release of the current monopostos Alfa Romeo Tipo B , which had absolutely dominated the 1932 racing season . So the team had to fall back on their own two-year-old two-seater Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 "Monza" . In order to get at least a little more engine power, the engines were bored up to a displacement of 2.7 liters on their own, which, however, overburdened the already relatively weak power transmission of the model more often than before. Giuseppe Campari , the third Alfa Romeo driver from 1932, switched to the Maserati warehouse , where the first Maserati 8CM monopostos with a 3-liter engine and - for the first time in a European Grand Prix racing car - hydraulic brakes were being built were. After the death of Alfieri Maserati in 1933, the small, notoriously underfunded racing car manufacturer changed its company policy and concentrated primarily on the sale of its racing cars to private customers - such as Campari, for example, Goffredo Zehender  - who were given the status of one for the corresponding money Factory driver was offered with comprehensive support on the racetrack, while at the same time the work of Luigi Fagioli as the long-time leader of his own official racing team was severely neglected.

Finally, Rudolf Caracciola , who had also been under contract with Alfa Romeo the previous year, signed up with his friend Louis Chiron as a partner, who no longer saw any great prospects for himself at Bugatti , under the name Scuderia CC (for “ C aracciola- C hiron ") To form a racing community for which, in addition to Chiron's own Bugatti Type 51, they ordered two Alfa Romeo Type" Monza " and an Alfa Romeo 8C-2300 racing sports car on the same technical platform. However, the existence of the team came to an abrupt end after a short time when Caracciola had a serious accident while training in Monaco for the first time and was out of action for more than a year due to his injuries.

Chiron's previous employer, Bugatti, also went through difficult times. Due to the ongoing global economic crisis and following disappointing Grand Prix results, sales of racing and luxury cars increasingly declined and despite the largely unsuccessful attempts to teach the heavy Bugatti Type 54 with 5-liter engine less adventurous driving behavior, the team was continued to rely on the use of the weaker Bugatti Type 51 , the design of which dates back to 1931 . In order to utilize the stock of car engines produced on stockpile, the plant was also fully occupied with an order for the production of railcars, while the development of the new 750 kg formula , which was already applicable from the 1934 Grand Prix season, was designed Grand Prix model Bugatti Type 59 had to stand back. Because of this, the team even missed its home race at the French Grand Prix. Despite these unfavorable omens, however, Bugatti succeeded in retaining one of the top stars of Grand Prix racing for another year in Achille Varzi , René Dreyfus , who had left Maserati in mid-1932, and long-time Bugatti after Chiron's departure -Customer and successful private driver William Grover-Williams ( pseudonym "W. Williams") were put to the side.

When the Alfa Romeo Tipo B withdrew from the racetracks, Bugatti's two-year-old Bugatti Type 51 was suddenly competitive again for a short time at the beginning of the season. Right at the start in February in Pau in the south of France , the two Algerians Marcel Lehoux and Guy Moll won a curious race in the thick snowstorm . This event was a purely French race. Although Nuvolari and Borzacchini with their two Alfa Romeo "Monza" went on the fast track in Carthago (Tunisia) after the failure of the Bugattis, they still crossed the line as sovereign winners in a staged pair race, but that turned around at the Monaco Grand Prix Sheet again. This year, the race was officially promoted to the rank of Grande Épreuve for the first time and another groundbreaking innovation was the allocation of starting positions based on the lap times driven during training, which quickly became established throughout the motorsport world. The event will be remembered mainly because of the ongoing wheel-to-wheel battle between Alfa Romeo driver Nuvolari and his eternal adversary Achille Varzi in the light and agile Bugatti; The lead switched between these two 21 times. The decision of this cinematic race was made on the last lap, in which Nuvolaris Alfa Romeo could no longer withstand the load and broke down with engine failure.

In the subsequent race in Alessandria there was again an undisputed triple victory for the Alfa Romeos with Nuvolari, Carlo Felice Trossi and Antonio Brivio . However, the only serious opponent, Achille Varzi, was excluded immediately before the race because of his late arrival, although even Enzo Ferrari had pleaded for his participation. At this point, however, all eyes had long been on the race of the millions on the brand new Mellaha racetrack in the North African colony of Tripoli , combined with a big new lottery , in which Varzi won as a result of rumors about the victory allegedly previously agreed between him and Nuvolari The focus of another scandal was. The race was initially led by the new 3-liter Maserati of Tim Birkin and Campari, but towards the end there was yet another big duel between the two Italian rivals, which - previously agreed or not - Varzi in a spectacular finish with a Car length advantage decided for itself.

Also in the Avus race there was not much to win for the Alfa Romeo drivers against the two superior Bugatti Type 54s from Varzi and the Polish private driver Czaykowski, who had no problems with the road holding on the rather undemanding course. This weekend, Grand Prix racing had another three deaths. Here at the AVUS , Mercedes-Benz works driver Otto Merz was killed in a training accident on a wet track. Bugatti driver Louis Trintignant had a similar accident during training in Péronne, France, and long-time Bugatti works driver Guy Bouriat was killed there in the subsequent race when his car got off the track after touching a participant to be lapped and crashed into a tree was thrown.

In the meantime, the racing calendar had become so full that clashes between events - with the exception of the Grandes Épreuves  , which had to be treated with priority - were, so to speak, the order of the day. Just one week after the Avus race, the Eifel race at the Nürburgring and the Targa Florio were again two internationally advertised events on the schedule, which inevitably led to a mutual weakening of both fields of participants. In particular, the traditional race in Sicily was only a shadow of earlier days and this year could not attract a single representative from abroad. Above all, the Bugatti team, which could look back on a long series of successes at this event, took a temporary break because the plant, in addition to developing the new Grand Prix model, was actually going to the home Grand Prix should be finished, even with the construction of the rail car was fully used. In the absence of serious challengers, Ferrari could even afford to share its forces to contest both races - and to win completely unchallenged - with Nuvolari giving preference to the Nürburgring.

There was further upset at the French Grand Prix in Montlhéry. It all started with Bugatti canceling its home race at the last minute, to the disappointment of the public and to the annoyance of the Automobile Club de France as the organizer, because the new Bugatti Type 59 was not ready in time. The car actually appeared less than a month later at the Belgian Grand Prix , where it was put aside again after a brief appearance in training. Until the last race of the season at the Spanish Grand Prix , the Bugatti team had to limit itself to a few sporadic appearances, most of which were not crowned with success.

But in Montlhéry there was also some potential for conflict in the other teams. At Maserati, Fagioli, as a long-time regular driver, had to sit by and watch as the new monoposto was not made available to him but to the paying customer Goffredo "Freddy" Zehender. In addition, the participation of Scuderia Ferrari was not certain for a long time, where the increasingly frustrated Nuvolari initially "worn out" his own in training and also the two "Monzas" of his teammates Borzacchini and Piero Taruffi in the race . Further defects in the two privately used cars by Chiron and Philippe Étancelin made the debacle in the Alfa Romeo camp complete and so only Maserati driver Campari remained among the promising candidates. Nevertheless, there was still great excitement about Maserati's first Grand Prix victory afterwards, because the car had been pushed by two instead of only one authorized mechanic during the pit stop. Unlike Nuvolari in Monaco or shortly afterwards Guy Moll in the race in Reims , which were taken out of the classification due to similar incidents, Campari got away with a comparatively manageable fine.

The quarrels continued at the Belgian Grand Prix as well. After the failure in Monaco, Nuvolari, who had unsuccessfully asked Enzo Ferrari to have a say in the team, publicly expressed thoughts of emigration on several occasions. But although in the Tripoli lottery affair it had become known that he had secured an extra bonus for himself by his agreements with Varzi and Borzacchini in this way bypassing the team, Ferrari had to continue to fulfill this until the end of the season ongoing contract. However, when Nuvolari was stopped by a differential damage for the third time in a short time during the race in Reims, he immediately contacted Maserati about the availability of one of the new 3-liter monopostos for the Belgian Grand Prix. The compromise was that the car would be officially registered by Ferrari but looked after by Maserati mechanics and that Nuvolari could choose which car to race in after practice. To everyone's surprise, he actually opted for the Maserati, which until then had been said to be more adventurous in driving behavior on street circuits. Nuvolari, however, recognized the weak point in the torsion-prone chassis and personally worked a night shift together with his mechanic in a workshop at the nearby Imperia automobile plant to stiffen the extremely narrow chassis. Equipped in this way, he was able to immediately put his stamp on the race, which was already relatively weak with twelve participants, although after an unscheduled tire stop he required the failures of his team - but not brand colleague - Borzacchini as well as Chirons with his private "Monza" to celebrate the second big Maserati victory in a row. The remaining Bugatti phalanx with Varzi, Dreyfus and the independent driver Marcel Lehoux followed their obsolete Bugatti Type 51 , after the first available new Bugatti Type 59 in the hands of Varzi in training, did not run well and was immediately set aside again.

Afterwards, the action shifted back to Italy, where the dispute between Ferrari and Nuvolari finally reached its climax at the Coppa Ciano near Livorno . As a practically unofficial factory team for Alfa Romeo, the Scuderia no longer wanted to know anything about the use of third-party makes and therefore only reported the veteran Alfa Romeo type "Monza" for their top star . Nuvolari, meanwhile in possession of his own Maserati 8CM , had already taken precautions and secretly reached an agreement with the organizer that he would be able to use both cars again during training, as in Spa. His decision in favor of the Maserati also meant the final end of his contractual relationship with Ferrari, which even led to a legal dispute after the race. At first, however, the decision for Nuvolari turned out to be absolutely right, because he immediately took command in the race, and even on such a demanding circuit, the Scuderia Ferrari's Alfa Romeo could no longer keep up with Nuvolari's Monoposto, which was not only due to the considerable deficit of the second placed Antonio Brivio of over eight minutes in the final classification of the race, but was then clearly underlined again by another clear success in Nice .

In the meantime, however, the cards have been completely reshuffled behind the scenes. Borzacchini had followed his friend Nuvolari and left Ferrari to join his old team at Maserati. A little later they were also followed by Piero Taruffi , who had annoyed Enzo Ferrari by defeating his contract driver with a privately registered machine in a motorcycle race. But things were getting tight in the Maserati warehouse. This particularly affected Fagioli, the actual regular driver of the plant, who, with Campari, Nuvolari and Borzacchini, had only seen three newcomers, especially since his relationship with Nuvolari was not the best anyway. On the other hand, Ferrari was now practically without a driver, so that Fagioli's move to Scuderia was almost a logical consequence. When Campari changed camp again shortly afterwards, the ring swap between the two rival Italian teams was complete. On top of that, there was another spectacular turnaround, because after the most recent accumulated defeats, Ferrari had now, with massive pressure, obtained the approval of the Alfa Romeo Tipo B from Alfa Romeo , so that the season could now practically start all over again.

Accordingly, the Coppa Acerbo in Pescara received a lot of attention , where the two teams met for the first time in the new formation. At the same time, this was also the first race in Grand Prix history in which monopostos from two different manufacturers battled for victory. After an initially close duel with Campari, Nuvolari was able to break away from halfway through the race and already looked like the sure winner, but after a break in the pit on the last lap, it was Fagioli who got the tide for himself and Alfa Romeo in the end could turn again. The course and outcome of the Grand Prix de Marseille on the oval course at Miramas were very similar , the only difference being that another Ferrari newcomer, Louis Chiron, with the Alfa Romeo monoposto was the one who left Nuvolaris late benefited and in the end was successful in front of his teammate Fagioli. Nuvolari had previously benefited from the numerous defects of his opponents, but now the Alfa Romeo Tipo B again proved to be much more stable. The race was also overshadowed by the fatal accident of Swiss private driver Baron Horst von Waldthausen .

With the two races in Pescara and Marseille, the Grand Prix sport got a completely new face within a short time. With their new monopostos, the top drivers from the two Italian factories were now in a completely different league than the rest of the field, and with the events of the season so far, public attention has reached entirely new heights. So it went towards the eagerly awaited racing weekend in Monza. In contrast to the previous two years, the Italian Grand Prix had returned to its traditional date in September, when the Monza Grand Prix with its special format of comparatively short qualification and final runs had already established itself in the calendar in the meantime . So in 1933 both events were merged to turn them into a very special, great racing day.

In the morning, the Italian Grand Prix first took place on the classic Grand Prix circuit, in which the top Alfa Romeo and Maserati drivers soon found themselves again in a typical Monza slipstream on their spectacular monopostos. Due to numerous tire stops, the Maserati from Nuvolari and Taruffi, sometimes the Alfa Romeo from Chiron and Fagioli had an advantage, so that the lead changed no less than 16 times until Nuvolari was able to gain a certain lead in the last quarter of the race. As in the two previous races, however, victory was to be torn from his hands one more time when he had to come in with a puncture two laps before the end. Once again, Fagioli was able to overtake the stopped Maserati in the Alfa Romeo and thus achieve his first Grand Prix victory against his old team.

As great as the day began, the more tragic it was to end. The Monza Grand Prix followed in the afternoon, but the four protagonists of the race had decided not to take part in the morning after the exertions for themselves and their cars. The two top teams were still well enough to be able to send two top drivers into the race with Campari in the Alfa Romeo and Borzacchini in the Alfa Romeo. Ferrari also used a US-American Duesenberg with a displacement of 4.4 liters, specially designed for the European high-speed slopes, for Carlo Felice Trossi , because in this race only the oval course with its two banked curves was used. However, the car failed spectacularly in the first run, with the engine's oil allegedly being distributed over large parts of the route. For the second run, the draw had resulted in a first clash between Campari and Borzacchini and there are still several speculations about whether the oil stain or other reasons were the cause of the subsequent events, at least it did. At the entrance of the second banked curve to the collision, which ended fatally for both opponents. In the final run, the Polish private driver Count Stanisław Czaykowski, who was in the lead at the time, was thrown from the track with his beefy Bugatti Type 54 at practically the same point and buried under his burning vehicle. After this third fatality, the race was finally stopped and Lehoux on his Bugatti was classified as the winner.

At the end of this eventful season - as the last Grand Prix of the formulaless years - a Spanish Grand Prix was held again after a long break . Two weeks after the "Black Sunday of Monza", the entire Grand Prix elite gathered again for the finale on the classic Lasarte circuit near Barcelona, ​​on which not a single race had previously taken place for three years. Even Bugatti finally brought the long-awaited Type 59 to the start, but like Varzi, just before the end of the race, Lehoux on his privately entered, three-year-old Type 51 was almost symptomatic of the team’s condition and was still in fourth place was referred in the final ranking. At the top, after one of the last rolling starts at a Grand Prix race, the usual three-way battle between Nuvolari, Chiron and Fagioli started again, from which the Maserati driver against the two Alfa Romeo drivers again when the winner seemed to emerge When it started to rain, Nuvolari lost the car from his hands and was only lucky enough to get away with only minor injuries in the subsequent accident. Alfa Romeo was once again able to benefit from Nuvolari's bad luck and with Chiron ahead of Fagioli, the seventh victory in a row.

The race of the millions

In order to upgrade the stagnant Italian colony a little and to improve its financial resources, the race in Tripoli, North Africa, was combined with a lottery in 1933 , in which a week before the start, the starting numbers of the race participants were raffled off among the senders. The three drivers, who then took the first three places, brought in “their” tickets 3, 2 and 1 million lire respectively. However, due to the enormous sums at the time and the one week period between the actual drawing and the race, speculations about possible manipulations of the outcome of the race immediately arose. The portrayal of long-time Mercedes-Benz racing director Alfred Neubauer in his book Men, Women and Motors (1958), according to which Nuvolari had deliberately left the victory to Varzi, is now considered to be refuted, especially since Neubauer himself was not there for the occasion . It seems certain, however, that an agreement has been reached between these two drivers and Nuvolari's friend and team-mate Borzacchini with the lucky holders of their three tickets on the distribution of the prize money.

Grandes Épreuves

	date	run	route	winner	statistics
1	04/23	Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco	Achille Varzi ( Bugatti )	statistics
2	06/11	ACF Grand Prix	Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry	Giuseppe Campari ( Maserati )	statistics
3	09.07.	Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps	Tazio Nuvolari ( Maserati )	statistics
4th	10.09.	Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo di Monza	Luigi Fagioli ( Alfa Romeo )	statistics
5	24.09.	Spanish Grand Prix	Circuito Lasarte	Louis Chiron ( Alfa Romeo )	statistics

Race results

Grandes Épreuves

Monaco Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1933 Monaco Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Achille Varzi	Bugatti	3: 27: 49.4
2	Baconin Borzacchini	Alfa Romeo	+ 2: 00.0
3	René Dreyfus	Bugatti	+ 2: 22.6

Distance: 100 × 3.145 km = 314.480 km

Pole position: Achille Varzi , Bugatti

Fastest lap: Achille Varzi , Bugatti (1: 59.0)

The V Grand Prix de Monaco took place on April 3rd on the 3.145 km long Circuit de Monaco . He was the first of the Grandes Épreuves of the 1933 season.

The German Alfa Romeo driver Rudolf Caracciola had a serious accident during training . It was not until July 1934 that he was able to take part in races again.

On the last lap, Tazio Nuvolari's Alfa Romeo suffered a defect. His mechanic was able to push Nuvolari over the finish line in third place, but the race management disqualified Nuvolari because of this maneuver.

ACF Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1933 French Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Giuseppe Campari	Maserati	3: 48: 45.4
2	Philippe Étancelin	Alfa Romeo	+ 0: 52.0
3	George Eyston	Alfa Romeo	+ 1 lap

Distance: 80 × 2.617 km = 209.360 km

Pole position: Earl Howe , Bugatti

Fastest lap: Giuseppe Campari , Maserati (5: 23.0)

The XIX Grand Prix de l'ACF took place on June 11th at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry between Linas and Montlhéry .

Belgian Grand Prix

→ Main article : Belgian Grand Prix 1933

space	driver	team	time
1	Tazio Nuvolari	Maserati	4:09:11
2	Achille Varzi	Bugatti	+ 0:03:45
3	René Dreyfus	Bugatti	+ 0:03:48

Distance: 40 × 14.915 km = 596.600 km

Pole position: Louis Chiron , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari , Maserati (6:01)

The IV Grand Prix de Belgique was held on July 9th at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps .

Italian Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1933 Italian Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo	2: 51: 41.0
2	Tazio Nuvolari	Maserati	0: 40.2
3	Goffredo Zehender	PBM	3: 03.2

Distance: 50 × 10,000 km = 500,000 km

Pole position: Eugenio Siena , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Luigi Fagioli , Alfa Romeo (3: 13.2)

The XI Gran Premio d'Italia took place on September 10th at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza . The Gran Premio di Monza also took place here on the same day .

Spanish Grand Prix

→ Main article : 1933 Spanish Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Louis Chiron	Alfa Romeo	3: 50: 57.4
2	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo	+ 4: 58.4
3	Marcel Lehoux	Bugatti	+ 22: 52.4

Distance: 30 × 17.315 km = 519.500 km

Pole position: Juan Zanelli , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari , Maserati (6: 41.2)

The VIII Gran Premio de España took place on September 24th on the Circuito Lasarte near San Sebastián .

More races

Grand Prix de Pau

→ Main article : Grand Prix de Pau 1933

space	driver	team	time
1	Marcel Lehoux	Bugatti	2: 54: 06.8
2	Guy minor	Bugatti	+ 0: 59.8
3	Philippe Étancelin	Alfa Romeo	+1: 17.4

Distance: 75 × 2.834 km = 212.550 km

Pole position: Guy Moll , Bugatti

Fastest lap: Philippe Étancelin , Alfa Romeo (2: 04.0)

The II Grand Prix de Pau was the first race of the season in 1933 and took place on February 19 on the 2.834 km road circuit in the French city of Pau . While the training was still taking place in clear weather, it snowed on race day.

Grand Prix of Tunisia

→ Main article : 1933 Grand Prix of Tunisia

space	driver	team	time
1	Tazio Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo	3: 29: 15.4
2	Baconin Borzacchini	Alfa Romeo	+ 0: 00.2
3	Goffredo Zehender	Maserati	+ 12: 02.0

Distance: 37 × 12.715 km = 470.455 km

Pole position: Frédéric Toselli , Bugatti

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari , Alfa Romeo (5: 07.2)

The V Grand Prix de Tunisie took place on March 29th at the 12.715 km long Carthage Grand Prix Circuit .

After almost three and a half hours of racing time, just 0.2 seconds separated the first two drivers.

Circuito di Alessandria

→ Main article : Circuito di Alessandria 1933

space	driver	team	time
1	Tazio Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo	1: 02: 21.4
2	Carlo Felice Trossi	Alfa Romeo	+ 0: 04.0
3	Antonio Brivio	Alfa Romeo	+ 3: 19.8

Distance: 8 × 8,000 km = 64,000 km (qualification); 15 × 8,000 km = 120,000 km (final)

Pole position: n / a

Fastest lap: Achille Varzi , Bugatti (1: 59.0)

On April 30 kilometers took place on the eight Circuito Pietro Bordino in Italy Alessandria the IX Circuito di Alessandria instead.

The race consisted of two qualifying races of eight laps and a final run of 15 laps. Tazio Nuvolari won the first qualification , the second went to Giovanni Minozzi . In the final Tazio Nuvolari was able to prevail again.

Grand Prix of Finland

→ Main article : 1933 Finnish Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Karl Ebb	Mercedes Benz	1: 03: 18.7
2	Carl-Gustaf Johansson	ford	+ 0: 48.0
3	Sven Olof Bennström	ford	+1: 26.0

Distance: 50 × 2,000 km = 100,000 km

Pole position: Karl Ebb , Mercedes-Benz

Fastest lap: Per-Viktor Widengren , Alfa Romeo (1: 09.0)

The II Eläintarhan ajot ( Eläintarhan ajot ) took place on May 7th on a route in Eläintarha Park in Helsinki . The Gran Premio di Tripoli was held on the same day .

Gran Premio di Tripoli

→ Main article : Gran Premio di Tripoli 1933

space	driver	team	time
1	Achille Varzi	Bugatti	2: 19: 51.4
2	Tazio Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo	+ 0: 00.2
3	Tim Birkin	Maserati	+ 20: 32.4

Distance: 30 × 13,100 = 393,000 km

Pole position: Luigi Premoli , Maserati

Fastest lap: Achille Varzi , Bugatti (4: 26.8)

The VII Gran Premio di Tripoli took place on May 7th at the Autodromo della Mellaha . Henry "Tim" Birkin burned his arm badly on an exhaust pipe during a pit stop. Nevertheless, he finished the race and finished third. His burn became infected, presumably due to inadequate medical care, and Birkin died of blood poisoning on June 22, 1933 .

AVUS race

→ Main article : International AVUS race 1933

space	driver	team	time
1	Achille Varzi	Bugatti	1: 25: 24.4
2	Stanislaw Czaykowski	Bugatti	+ 0: 00.2
3	Baconin Borzacchini Tazio Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo	+ 5: 31.4

Distance: 15 × 19.573 km + 831 m starting straight = 294.430 km

Pole position: Charly Jellen , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Stanisław Czaykowski , Bugatti (5: 17.8)

On May 21st the III AVUS race took place at the Berlin AVUS .

A tragic incident occurred during training. Mercedes-Benz driver Otto Merz had an accident on the straight, about two kilometers from the finish line. His car lifted off the lane when the road surface was changing and hit the road after about 36 meters, slipped further and hit a cement road marking. The car shattered, rolled over and lay upside down. Merz was thrown out of the car and later died in the Hildegard Hospital, Charlottenburg .

Grand Prix de Picardie

space	driver	team	time
1	Philippe Étancelin	Alfa Romeo	1: 25: 36.2
2	Raymond Summers	Alfa Romeo	+ 3: 11.8
3	Marcel Lehoux	Bugatti	+ 3: 15.8

Distance: 20 × 9.765 km = 195.300 km

Pole position: Philippe Étancelin , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Philippe Étancelin , Alfa Romeo (4: 10.8)

The IX Grand Prix de Picardie took place south of Péronne on May 21st .

Louis Trintignant , the brother of the future Formula 1 Grand Prix winner Maurice Trintignant , had a fatal accident during training . Guy Bouriat then died in the race as a result of an accident.

Eifel race

→ Main article : Eifel race 1933

space	driver	team	time
1	Tazio Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo	3:00:59
2	Manfred von Brauchitsch	Mercedes Benz	+ 5:55
3	Piero Taruffi	Alfa Romeo	+ 8:10

Distance: 15 × 22.810 = 342.150 km

Pole position: Tazio Nuvolari , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari , Alfa Romeo (n / a)

The VI Eifel race in 1933 took place on the Nordschleife of the Nürburgring .

The fastest race lap, officially driven by Tazio Nuvolari , could not be precisely documented. An exact time does not exist.

Targa Florio

→ Main article : Targa Florio 1933

space	driver	team	time
1	Antonio Brivio	Alfa Romeo	6: 35: 06.2
2	Renato Balestrero	Alfa Romeo	20: 46.4
3	Guglielmo Carraroli	Alfa Romeo	32: 40.8

Distance: 7 × 71.850 km = 503,000 km

Pole position: interval start

Fastest lap: Baconin Borzacchini , Alfa Romeo (54: 11.0)

The XXIV Targa Florio took place on May 28th on the Piccolo circuito delle Madonie , Sicily .

Of the 14 cars at the start, eleven were from Alfa Romeo and three from Bugatti .

Grand Prix des Frontières

space	driver	team	time
1	Willy Longueville	Bugatti	1:20:32
2	Clifton Penn-Hughes	Alfa Romeo	+ 2:17
3	Arthur Legate	Bugatti	+ 3:27

Distance: 15 × 10.870 km = 163.100 km

Pole position: n / a

Fastest lap: Willy Longueville , Bugatti (5: 01.0)

On June 4, the found VIII Grand Prix des Frontières at the Circuit de Chimay in Belgium Chimay instead.

Trophée de Provence

space	driver	team	time
1	Marcel Jacob	Bugatti	1: 02: 56.4
2	Ricardo Bernasconi	Bugatti	+1: 29.6
3	André Vagniez	Maserati	+ 3 rounds

Distance: 40 × 2.610 km = 104.400 km

Pole position: n / a

Fastest lap: n / a

On June 4, took place on the Avenue Jean Jaures Circuit in French Nîmes the II Trophée de Provence instead. On the same day the Grand Prix de Nîmes was held on the same track.

Grand Prix de Nîmes

space	driver	team	time
1	Tazio Nuvolari	Alfa Romeo	1: 52: 20.6
2	Philippe Étancelin	Alfa Romeo	+ 0: 58.8
3	Guy minor	Alfa Romeo	+ 1 lap

Distance: 80 × 2.617 km = 209.360 km

Pole position: Philippe Étancelin , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari and Philippe Étancelin , both Alfa Romeo (1: 22.0)

On June 4th, the II Grand Prix de Nîmes took place on the Avenue Jean Jaures Circuit in Nîmes . It was the last Nîmes Grand Prix before the Second World War and also the last race on the avenue Jean Jaures variant of the track .

Lviv Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Eugen Bjørnstad	Alfa Romeo	3: 40: 28.0
2	Per-Viktor Widengren	Alfa Romeo	+ 3: 56.8

Distance: 100 × 3,041 km = 304,100 km

Pole position: Jan Kubiček , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Eugen Bjørnstad , Alfa Romeo (2: 06.2)

The Międzynarodowe Okrężne Wyścigi Automobilowe, Grand Prix Lwowa ( Lviv Grand Prix ) took place on June 11 in Lviv, then Poland (now Ukraine ).

In addition to Bjørnstad and Widengren , only one other driver, Renato Balestrero , crossed the finish line. Although he was able to cross the finish line in second place, he was disqualified after the race because he illegally allowed the engine to run while refueling. Since five of the eight riders who started did not finish and Balestrero was disqualified, only two riders were counted.

Gran Premio de Penya Rhin

space	driver	team	time
1	Juan Zanelli	Alfa Romeo	1: 35: 38.3
2	Vasco do Sameiro	Alfa Romeo	+1: 46.7
3	Marcel Lehoux	Bugatti	+ 2: 56.1

Distance: 40 × 3.790 km = 151.600 km

Pole position: Esteban Tort , Nacional Pescara

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari , Alfa Romeo (2: 13.1)

The IV Gran Premio de Penya Rhin was held on June 25th at the Circuit de Montjuïc in Barcelona .

British Empire Trophy

space	driver	team	time
1	Stanislaw Czaykowski	Bugatti	1: 00: 28.0
2	Kaye Don	Bugatti	+1: 08.4
3	Gerard Manby-Colegrave	MG	+ 9: 24.2

Distance: 40 × 3.790 km = 151.600 km

Pole position: -

Fastest lap: n / a

The II British Empire Trophy took place on July 1st at the Brooklands Circuit .

Grand Prix de la Marne

space	driver	team	time
1	Philippe Étancelin	Alfa Romeo	2: 45: 12.4
2	Jean-Pierre Wimille	Alfa Romeo	+ 0: 00.2
3	Raymond Summers	Alfa Romeo	+ 3 rounds

Distance: 51 × 7.826 km = 399.100 km

Pole position: Marcel Lehoux , Bugatti

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari , Alfa Romeo (3: 05.0)

The VIII Grand Prix de la Marne was held on July 2nd at the Circuit de Reims-Gueux . Guy Moll was disqualified because changes were made to his vehicle outside the pit lane.

Mannin Moar

space	driver	team	time
1	Brian E. Lewis	Alfa Romeo	3:34:52
2	Tim Rose-Richards	Bugatti	+ 2:05
3	George Eyston	Alfa Romeo	+ 4:05

Distance: 50 × 7,400 km = 370,000 km

Pole position: Brian E. Lewis , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Brian E. Lewis , Alfa Romeo (4: 10.0)

The I Mannin Moar was held on July 14th on the Douglas Circuit in Douglas on the Isle of Man .

Grand Prix de Dieppe

space	driver	team	time
1	Marcel Lehoux	Bugatti	n / A
2	René Dreyfus	Bugatti	n / A
3	Stanislaw Czaykowski	Bugatti	n / A

Distance: 48 × 8.050 km = 387.700 km (3 hours)

Pole position: W. Williams , Bugatti

Fastest lap: Marcel Lehoux , Bugatti (3: 42.0)

The V Grand Prix de Dieppe was held on July 15th on the Circuit de Dieppe near the French city ​​of Dieppe .

Coppa Ciano

space	driver	team	time
1	Tazio Nuvolari	Maserati	2: 45: 08.4
2	Antonio Brivio	Alfa Romeo	+ 8: 11.4
3	Giuseppe Campari	Maserati	+ 9: 00.0

Distance: 12 × 20,000 km = 240,000 km (<1100 cm³), 8 × 20,000 km = 160,000 km (> 1100 cm³)

Pole position: Secondo Corsi , Maserati

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari , Maserati (13: 27.8)

The VII Coppa Ciano took place on July 30th on the 20 km long Circuito di Montenero in the Italian city of Livorno .

The race was rated in two categories with cars over 1100 cm³ and under 1100 cm³. Nando Barbieri won under 1100 cm³ in front of Guido Landi and Giuseppe Furmanik (all Maserati ).

Swedish Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Antonio Brivio	Alfa Romeo	2:51:55
2	Whitney Straight	Alfa Romeo	+ 02:48
3	Eugen Bjørnstad	Alfa Romeo	+ 11:30

Sven Olof Bennström's overturned car

Distance: 12 × 29,700 km = 356,400 km

Pole position: Börje Dahlin , Mercedes-Benz

Fastest lap: Antonio Brivio , Alfa Romeo (~ 13: 51)

The I Sveriges Sommar Grand Prix took place on August 6th at the Norra Vram circuit in southern Sweden . The race was overshadowed by a serious accident on the first lap, in which seven vehicles were eliminated. Two drivers were seriously injured in this accident and one mechanic was fatal.

The exact course of the accident can no longer be perfectly reconstructed. It is assumed that about four kilometers after the start, the vehicles of the two leading drivers, Börje Dahlin and Sven Olof Bennström , turned too quickly into the curve there. The vehicles lost their grip and spun off the track. According to witness statements, Dahlin's mechanic, Erik Lafrenz, wanted to get to Dahlin's Mercedes-Benz SSK quickly , was run over by Bennström's Ford and was fatally injured in the middle of the street. Bennström himself overturned during the evasive maneuver, was thrown out of the car and sustained serious head injuries. The Ford stayed upside down by the road near a house there. Dahlin's Mercedes-Benz itself shot over the track and sped into that very house. Leaking gasoline from the crashed Ford ignited and the fire spread to the house a short time later. The Finn Asser Wallenius tried to avoid the collision, got off the track and rolled over. Wallenius was thrown from the vehicle and broke his hand and seriously injured his back.

After just under three hours, Antonio Brivio won the tragic race.

Grand Prix de Nice

space	driver	team	time
1	Tazio Nuvolari	Maserati	2: 56: 17.6
2	René Dreyfus	Bugatti	+1: 29.6
3	Guy minor	Alfa Romeo	+ 1 lap

Distance: 95 × 3.214 km = 305.300 km

Pole position: Tazio Nuvolari , Maserati

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari , Maserati (1: 47.0)

The II Grand Prix de Nice was held on August 6th on the Circuit de la Promenade des Anglais in Nice , France .

Grand Prix de La Baule

space	driver	team	time
1	W. Williams	Bugatti	1: 25: 14.2
2	Marcel Lehoux	Bugatti	+ 0: 31.8
3	Benoît Falchetto	Bugatti	+ 3: 52.8

Distance: 68 × 3,000 km = 204,000 km

Pole position: n / a

Fastest lap: W. Williams , Bugatti (n / a)

The IX Grand Prix de La Baule was held on August 13th at the Aerodrome Escoublac La Boule in La Baule-Escoublac , France .

At the start there were both cars with 2000 cc as well as cars that were designed for Formula Libre .

Coppa Acerbo

space	driver	team	time
1	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo	2: 09: 09.6
2	Tazio Nuvolari	Maserati	+ 2: 26.0
3	Piero Taruffi	Maserati	+ 2: 29.2

Distance: 12 × 25.554 km = 306.648 km

Pole position: Giuseppe Campari , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari , Maserati (10: 31.8)

On August 15, the Circuito di Pescara was the venue for the IX Coppa Acerbo .

In the tenth lap, a bird hit the head of French Bugatti pilot René Dreyfus . Dazed, he was still able to bring his car to a stop.

Grand Prix du Comminges

space	driver	team	time
1	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo	2: 41: 01.4
2	Jean-Pierre Wimille	Alfa Romeo	+1: 52.6
3	Guy minor	Alfa Romeo	+ 4: 36.6

Distance: 35 × 11.005 km = 385.175 km

Pole position: Jean-Pierre Wimille , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Luigi Fagioli , Alfa Romeo (4: 29.0)

The IX Grand Prix du Comminges was held on August 20th at the Circuit du Comminges .

Marseille Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Louis Chiron	Alfa Romeo	2: 49: 15.2
2	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo	+1: 10.8
3	Guy minor	Alfa Romeo	+ 2 rounds

Distance: 100 × 5.049 km = 504.900 km

Pole position: Tazio Nuvolari , Maserati

Fastest lap: Tazio Nuvolari and Goffredo Zehender , both Maserati (1:32)

The II Grand Prix de Marseille took place on August 27th at the Circuit de Miramas not far from Marseille .

The Grand Prix was overshadowed by the serious accident of the 26-year-old Swiss Baron Horst von Waldthausen . A tire of his Alfa Romeo burst in a fast corner . The car overturned, von Waldthausen was thrown out of the cockpit and sustained serious injuries to the legs and shoulders. Horst von Waldthausen later died in hospital from internal injuries.

Grand Prix d'Albi

space	driver	team	time
1	Louis Braillard	Bugatti	1: 25: 19.6
2	Whitney Straight	Maserati	0: 05.4
3	Benoît Falchetto	Bugatti	0: 48.4

Distance: 22 × 9.335 km = 205.370 km

Pole position: Whitney Straight , Maserati

Fastest lap: Whitney Straight , Maserati (3:44)

The I Grand Prix d'Albi took place on August 27th on the Circuit des Planques .

Gran Premio di Monza

space	driver	team	time
1	Marcel Lehoux	Bugatti	21: 17.0
2	Guy minor	Alfa Romeo	+ 0: 03.2
3	Felice Bonetto	Alfa Romeo	+ 0: 11.2

Distance: 14 × 4,500 km = 63,000 km (qualification); 14 × 4,500 km = 63,000 km (race, planned: 22 laps)

Pole position: Whitney Straight , Maserati

Fastest lap: Pietro Ghersi , Alfa Romeo (1: 26.2)

The VI Gran Premio di Monza took place on September 10th at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza . This race went down in history as the "Black Day of Monza" with three fatal accidents.

In the third qualifying race there was an accident between Giuseppe Campari and Baconin Borzacchini . Campari skid on an oil spill and hit the lane. The following Borzacchini could no longer avoid the wreck. Both drivers died at the scene of the accident. The race was canceled and restarted after the cleanup. There was another fatal accident in which the Polish racing driver Stanisław Czaykowski fell victim.

Masaryk Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Louis Chiron	Alfa Romeo	4: 50: 22.8
2	Luigi Fagioli	Alfa Romeo	+ 4: 38.0
3	Jean-Pierre Wimille	Alfa Romeo	+ 9: 36.2

Distance: 17 × 29.142 km = 495.400 km

Pole position: Louis Chiron , Alfa Romeo

Fastest lap: Luigi Fagioli , Alfa Romeo (15:21)

The IV Masarykuv Okruh took place on September 17th on the Masaryk Ring near Brno . Louis Chiron won this race for the third time in a row.

Donington Park Trophy

space	driver	team	time
1	Earl Howe	Bugatti	43: 06.0
2	Lindsay Eccles	Bugatti	+ 0: 45.0

Distance: 20 × 3.518 km = 70.350 km

Pole position: "TASO" Mathieson , Bugatti

Fastest lap: Earl Howe , Bugatti (2: 06.6)

The I Donington Park Trophy took place in Donington Park on October 7th .

Of only eight registered drivers, only three were at the start, of which only two made it to the finish.

Mountain Championship

space	driver	team	time
1	Whitney Straight	Maserati	9: 31.2
2	Piero Taruffi	Bugatti	+ 0: 02.8
3	Brian E. Lewis	Alfa Romeo	+ 0: 12.2

Distance: 10 × 1.883 km = 18.830 km

Pole position: -

Fastest lap: Whitney Straight , Maserati and Piero Taruffi , Bugatti (2: 06.6)

The III Mountain Championship took place in Brooklands on October 21st .

Winter Grands Prix

Swedish Grand Prix

space	driver	team	time
1	Per-Viktor Widengren	Alfa Romeo	4: 27: 32.0
2	Carl-Gustaf Johansson	Alfa Romeo	+ 4: 15.2
3	Sven Olof Bennström	ford	+ 12: 52.9

Distance: 8 × 46.250 km + 1.050 km starting straight = 371.950 km

Pole position: Karl-Gustav Sundstedt , Bugatti

Fastest lap: Per-Viktor Widengren , Alfa Romeo (30: 49.3)

The III Sveriges Vinter Grand Prix was held on 26 February at the Swedish Rämen instead.

Svenska Isloppet

space	driver	team	time
1	Paul Pietsch	Alfa Romeo	28: 49.2
2	Herbert Wimmer	Bugatti	+1: 03.2
3	Eugen Bjørnstad	Alfa Romeo	+ 2: 21.6

Distance: 10 × 5,200 km = 52,000 km (2 runs in addition)

Pole position: Tore Wistedt , MG (1st run); Axel Karlsson , Buick (2nd run)

Fastest lap: Paul Pietsch , Alfa Romeo (2: 48.0)

The III Svenska Isloppet took place on 5 March at the Swedish Hemfjärden instead.

References

literature

• GN Georgano: The Encyclopaedia of Motor Sport . Ebury Press and Michael Joseph, London 1971. ISBN 0-7181-0955-4

Web links

Commons : Automobilsport 1933  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Leif Snellman, Felix Muelas: Detailed history of the 1933 European Grand Prix Championship. Www.kolumbus.fi, accessed on July 28, 2014 (English). 
• Detailed results of the 1933 Grand Prix season ( Memento from February 12, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) (English)