1952 Swiss Grand Prix

 1952 Swiss Grand Prix

Racing data
1st of 8 races of the 1952 World Automobile Championship
Surname:	XII. Swiss Grand Prize
Date:	May 18, 1952
Place:	Bern
Course:	Bremgarten
Length:	451.36 km in 62 laps of 7.28 km
Weather:	dry, warm
Spectator:	~ 70000
Pole position
Driver:	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari
Time:	2: 47.5 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari
Time:	2: 49.1 min
Podium
First:	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari
Second:	Rudolf Fischer	Ferrari
Third:	Jean Behra	Gordini

The 1952 Swiss Grand Prix took place on May 18 at the Bremgarten race track near Bern and was the first of eight races in the 1952 World Cup .

background

The 1952 Swiss Grand Prix was the first race to be held according to the new Formula 2 mode, as there were not enough competitors in Formula 1. The development possibilities of the Alfa Romeo 159 were largely exhausted and there was no money for the new design. Therefore, the team withdrew from Formula 1. Talbot and Gordini did the same , leaving Ferrari the only competitive team behind. BRM's vehicle was not yet fully developed. The staging of the drivers' world championship according to the rules of Formula 2 meant slower lap times, but also significantly larger starting fields. The race distance was increased from 42 to 62 laps compared to the previous year, and the prize money for the winner was CHF 7,000.

Ferrari was still the favorite. In Bern, however, the team competed without their number 1 Alberto Ascari , who tried his hand at Indianapolis , one of the few attempts to somehow integrate the race into the drivers' world championship. Due to the long period of training in the USA, it was not possible for Ascari to participate in both events. Ferrari competed with Farina , Taruffi and André Simon as a replacement for Villoresi, who was injured in a traffic accident. The Swiss Rudolf Fischer drove a fourth car. Maserati originally intended to register two vehicles for the reigning world champion Fangio and José Froilán González , but the vehicles were not yet ready.

training

As expected, the training was dominated by Ferrari. Farina secured the pole position with a lead of 2.6 seconds on his team-mate Taruffi. His time was over 11 seconds slower than Fangio's last year. Robert Manzon in the Gordini completed the front row.

run

The pre-war star Rudolf Caracciola had a serious accident in a sports car race , which put an end to his career. Farina converted his pole position into the lead and pulled away from the field by lap 17 before ending up on the track with ignition problems. Previously, Rosier was thrown out of his car on lap 3 in lap, but without sustaining major injuries. Collins and Abecassis had retired with their HWMs with broken rear axles, which prompted the team to also withdraw the remaining drivers Moss and Macklin for safety reasons. Farina's failure meant that Taruffi was in the lead ahead of Simon. As soon as Farina returned to the pits on foot, Simon was called into the pits and handed over his Ferrari to Farina. On the 51st lap, however, he was stuck with Simon's car again with the same problem. Thrown back to third place by the driver change, he was able to overtake Behra again on lap 35 . Behra had a problem with a broken exhaust. This meant that, on the one hand, he drove more slowly and, on the other hand, he had to stop a few pitches in order to make makeshift repairs and keep cooling the driver down with water because it was getting unbearably hot in the cockpit. Taruffi drove towards an undisputed victory. It should be his only victory in a world championship run.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
AFM	2	Hans Stuck	AFM-50	Cake 2.0 V8	E.
Team Toni Ulmen	4th	Toni Ulmen	Veritas Meteor	Veritas 2.0 L6	D.
Gordini	6th	Jean Behra	Gordini T16 (1952)	Gordini 2.0 L6	E.
	8th	Robert Manzon
	10	Birabongse Bira	Simca-Gordini T15 GC
Ecurie Rosier	12	Louis Rosier	Ferrari 500	Ferrari 2.0 L4	D.
	14th	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari 166	Ferrari	P
HWM	16	George Abecassis	HWM 52	Alta 1.5	D.
	18th	Peter Collins
	20th	Lance Macklin
	46	Stirling Moss
Scuderia Franera	22nd	Ken Wharton	Frazer-Nash FN 48	Bristol 2.0 L6	D.
Ecurie Richmond	24	Eric Brandon	Cooper T20	Bristol 2.0 L6	D.
	26th	Alan Brown
Scuderia Ferrari	28	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari 500	Ferrari 2.0 L4	P
	30th	Piero Taruffi
	32	André Simon
	32	Giuseppe Farina
Enrico Platé	38	Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati 4CLT	Plate 2.0 L4	P
	40	Harry Schell
Ecurie espadon	42	Rudolf Fischer	Ferrari 500	Ferrari 2.0 L4	P
	44	Peter Hirt	Ferrari 212	Ferrari
Team Alfred Dattner	50	Max de Terra	Simca-Gordini T11 GC	Simca	E.

classification

Starting grid

Item	driver	constructor	time	km / h	Starting row
1.	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	2: 47,500	156.47	1 row
2.	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	2: 50.100	154.07	1 M.
3.	Robert Manzon	Gordini	2: 52.100	152.28	1 L
4th	André Simon	Ferrari	2: 52.400	152.02	2 rows
5.	Rudolf Fischer	Ferrari	2: 53,300	151.23	2 L
6th	Peter Collins	HWM	2: 55.900	148.99	3 rows
7th	Jean Behra	Gordini	2: 55.900	148.99	3 M.
8th.	Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati	2: 56,400	148.57	3 L
9.	Stirling Moss	HWM	2: 56,400	148.57	4 rows
10.	George Abecassis	HWM	2: 56.900	148.15	4 L
11.	Birabongse Bira	Simca-Gordini	2: 59,300	146.17	5 R
12.	Lance Macklin	HWM	3: 00,200	145.44	5 M
13.	Ken Wharton	Frazer Nash	3: 00,900	144.88	5 L
14th	Hans Stuck	AFM	3: 01.700	144.24	6 R
15th	Alan Brown	cooper	3: 02,500	143.61	6 L
16.	Toni Ulmen	Veritas	3: 05.600	141.21	7 R
17th	Eric Brandon	cooper	3: 05.800	141.05	7 M.
18th	Harry Schell	Maserati	3: 07.600	139.70	7 L
19th	Peter Hirt	Ferrari	3: 10.200	137.79	8 R
20th	Louis Rosier	Ferrari			8 L
21st	Max de Terra	Simca-Gordini	without time		9 M.
DNS	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	without time

Race result

Item	driver	constructor	Round	time	km / h	s. Rd.	guide
1.	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	62	3: 01: 46,100	148.99	2: 49.100	46
2.	Rudolf Fischer	Ferrari	62	3: 04: 23,300	146.87
3.	Jean Behra	Gordini	61	3: 03: 31,800	145.18
4th	Ken Wharton	Frazer Nash	60	3: 04: 09,300	142.31
5.	Alan Brown	cooper	59	3: 02: 39,900	141.08
6th	Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati	58	3: 03: 45,300	137.87
7th	Peter Hirt	Ferrari	56	3: 04: 34,200	132.53
8th.	Eric Brandon	cooper	55	3: 03: 36,200	130.85
DNF	Birabongse Bira	Simca-Gordini	52	engine
DNF	Harry Schell	Maserati	31	engine
DNF	André Simon	Ferrari	21st	handing over
	Giuseppe Farina		30th	ignition			16
DNF	Stirling Moss	HWM	24	task
DNF	Lance Macklin	HWM	24	task
DNF	Robert Manzon	Gordini	20th	cooling
DNF	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	16	ignition
DNF	Peter Collins	HWM	12	Power transmission
DNF	George Abecassis	HWM	12	Power transmission
DNF	Hans Stuck	AFM	5	engine
DNF	Toni Ulmen	Veritas	4th	Fuel system
DNF	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	2	accident
DNF	Max de Terra	Simca-Gordini	0	engine

World Cup stand after the race

The first five got 8, 6, 4, 3 and 2 points respectively; there was a point for the fastest lap. Only the four best results from eight races count. * includes the point for the fastest lap, numbers in brackets are discarded results.

Item	driver	constructor									Points
1.	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	9 *								9
2.	Rudolf Fischer	Ferrari	6th								6th
3.	Jean Behra	Gordini	4th								4th
4th	Ken Wharton	Frazer Nash	3								3
5.	Alan Brown	Cooper-Bristol	2								2

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Report ( Memento of October 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Unless otherwise stated: Lang, Mike; Grand Prix 1950-1965; Haynes Publishing Group, Sparkford Sommerset 1981 p36. ( ISBN 0-85429-276-4 ) (English)
3. ^ Molter, Günther, Rudolf Caracciola - Titan am Volant, Motorbuchverlag Stuttgart 1995 p. 186ff ( ISBN 3-613-01716-4 )
4. ↑ Report  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )