1955 Italian Grand Prix

 1955 Italian Grand Prix

Racing data
7th of 7 races of the 1955 World Automobile Championship
Surname:	XXVI Gran Premio d'Italia
Date:	September 11, 1955
Place:	Monza
Course:	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
Length:	500 km in 50 laps of 10 km
Weather:	dry and warm
Pole position
Driver:	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes
Time:	2: 46.3 min
Fastest lap
Driver:	Stirling Moss	Mercedes
Time:	2: 46.9 min
Podium
First:	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes
Second:	Piero Taruffi	Mercedes
Third:	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari

The 1955 Italian Grand Prix took place in Monza on September 11, 1955 and was the seventh and final race of the 1955 Automobile World Championship after the German, French, Spanish and Swiss Grand Prix had been canceled. The reason for the cancellation was the accident at the Le Mans 24-hour race , the worst accident in motorsport history with over 80 deaths.

Reports

background

Monza, 09/11/1955 Fangio wins the Italian Grand Prix. Taruffi finished second in the W 196 R Monoposto.
NN , 1955
Photography (black and white)
Mercedes Benz Link to the picture (please note copyrights )

After finishing second at the British Grand Prix , Juan Manuel Fangio was already established as world champion early on. The Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrows had won four of the six races of the season to date . The only exceptions were the Monaco Grand Prix , where they retired with defects, and the Indianapolis 500 , in which they did not participate. Ferrari, on the other hand, had only been able to win in Monaco and otherwise had to be content with the following places, just like the other teams.

With Juan Manuel Fangio, the winner of the two previous years entered the race. Giuseppe Farina , the 1950 winner , also qualified, but did not take part in the race due to tire problems. For a total of seven drivers it was the last Formula 1 Grand Prix of their careers, including Farina, the 1950 world champion .

The 1955 Italian Grand Prix took place on a modified course that was largely based on the original course from 1922. Compared to the previous season, the route was expanded to include a high-speed oval with two steep curves made of concrete slabs for speeds of up to 285 km / h. As a result of these modifications, the Grand Prix course was extended to 10 km (previously 6.3 km). At 500 km, the total distance was only slightly shorter than in previous years (504 km). The number of laps was reduced from 80 to 50. The 10 km variant was the longest circuit ever driven in Formula 1 races in Monza, only four times (1955, 1956, 1960 and 1961). Even at the Italian and Monza Grand Prix of the time before 1950, the longest variant driven in Monza was 10,000 km (a total of nine times: 1922-28, 1932 and 1933).

training

Mercedes, Ferrari and Maserati carried out their first test drives on August 22nd, 24th and 25th. Difficulties were revealed that were less in the vehicles than in the route. There were inaccuracies between the concrete slabs of the steep turns, which at the high speeds looked like small ski jumps. The Lancia D 50 from Ferrari in particular had problems with the tires, which could not withstand the acceleration of 3  g in the banked turns. Farina also suddenly lost the protector of his left rear wheel at 250 km / h and slid across the slope. However, he managed to intercept his vehicle.

Farina's mishap was repeated in Saturday training. His participation was withdrawn. It was Farina's last Grand Prix in his career. Shortly afterwards, Castellotti burst a front tire. His Lancia was also withdrawn. In order to still be able to start, a Ferrari 555 Supersqualo was hastily prepared for him. Villoresi also had to cancel the race due to tire problems. Mercedes, on the other hand, competed with tires that had been specially reinforced for this race. They signaled their willingness to help Ferrari out with these tires, but this failed because there were not enough available. After all, Castellotti was still able to qualify in fourth. The first three places, and thus the entire front row, were occupied by Mercedes drivers: Fangio, Moss and Kling. In addition to Mercedes, Maserati also used a special streamlined version of its racing car this weekend.

run

Of the 23 registered drivers, 20 drove the race. Both Farina and Villoresi and Piotti did not take part because of the defects in their vehicles. John Fitch, who started for Mercedes in the test drives in August, drove a private Maserati in the race.

On lap 19, Moss had to pit because of a damaged windshield. A blown stone had caused the damage. Moss fell back ten places. On lap 21 he drove the fastest lap of the race. The race ended prematurely for Moss. On lap 29 he had to give up because of a defective drive shaft. On lap 33, Kling also retired, who at this point was safely in second place. The reason was a locking pin forgotten by the pit crew, which led to a broken cardan shaft.

Only nine drivers made it to the finish. The rest failed prematurely with defects. Fangio won 0.7 seconds ahead of Taruffi and Castellotti, who as the best Ferrari driver was 46.2 seconds behind. As the best Maserati driver, Behra was almost four minutes behind and was the last to be on a lap with the top three. His car only ran with five cylinders and had been smoking for a number of laps. No vehicle from the other teams was included in the ranking.

Several records were set in this race. For Fangio it was the third victory in a row at the Grand Prix of Italy. No other driver before him had done it, and no other driver after him ever did it again. With an average speed of 206.792 km / h, Fangio also set a new record for a Grand Prix of Italy. It was the first time since this Grand Prix was introduced in 1921 that an average speed of more than 200 km / h was achieved. At the same time, it was the highest average speed in a Formula 1 World Championship race outside of North America. For the first time in a World Cup season, the Indianapolis 500 was not the race with the highest average speed.

Registration list

team	No.	driver	chassis	engine	tires
Scuderia Ferrari	2	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari D50	Ferrari 2.5 V8	E.
	4th	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari 555 Super Qualo	Ferrari 2.5 L4
	6th	Mike Hawthorn
	6th	Mike Hawthorn	Lancia D50	Lancia 2.5 V8
	8th	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari 555 Super Qualo	Ferrari 2.5 L4
	10	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari D50	Ferrari 2.5 V8	P
	12	Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari 555 Super Qualo	Ferrari 2.5 L4	E.
Mercedes Benz	14th	Piero Taruffi	Mercedes-Benz W 196	Mercedes-Benz 2.5 L8	C.
	16	Stirling Moss	Mercedes-Benz W 196
	18th	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes-Benz W 196
	20th	Karl Kling
Equipe Gordini	22nd	Hernando da Silva Ramos	Gordini T16 (1954)	Gordini 2.5 L6	E.
		Jean Lucas
	24	Jean Lucas	Gordini T32	Gordini 2.5 L8
		Hernando da Silva Ramos
	26th	Jacques Pollet	Gordini T16 (1954)	Gordini 2.5 L6
Maserati	28	Roberto Mieres	Maserati 250F	Maserati 2.5 L6	P
	30th	Luigi Musso
	32	Peter Collins
	34	Carlos Menditeguy
	36	Jean Behra	Maserati 250F		E.
	38	Horace Gould	Maserati 250F		D.
Equipe Moss	40	John Fitch	Maserati 250F	Maserati 2.5 L6	D.
Vanwall	42	Harry Schell	Vanwall VW2	Vanwall 2.5 L4	P
	44	Ken Wharton	Vanwall VW4
Luigi Piotti	46	Luigi Piotti	Arzani	Volpini 2.5 L4	P

1. ↑ ^{a b} streamlined version
2. ↑ ^{a b} Hernando da Silva Ramos was a dual citizen, he had both Brazilian and French citizenship.

Classifications

Starting grid

Pole position was on the right.

Item	driver	constructor	time	Starting row
1.	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	2: 46,500	1
2.	Stirling Moss	Mercedes	2: 46.800	1
3.	Karl Kling	Mercedes	2: 48,300	1
4th	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari	2: 49.600	2
5.	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	2: 49.900	DNS
6th	Jean Behra	Maserati	2: 50.100	3
7th	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	2: 51.100	3
8th.	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	2: 51.600	DNS
9.	Piero Taruffi	Mercedes	2: 51.800	4th
10.	Luigi Musso	Maserati	2: 52.100	4th
11.	Peter Collins	Maserati	2: 55,300	5
12.	Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari	2: 55,400	5
13.	Harry Schell	Vanwall	2: 55,500	5
14th	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	2: 56.200	6th
15th	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	2: 56.300	6th
16.	Carlos Menditeguy	Maserati	2: 58,400	7th
17th	Ken Wharton	Vanwall	2: 59,500	7th
18th	Hernando da Silva Ramos	Gordini	2: 59.800	7th
19th	Jacques Pollet	Gordini	2: 59.900	8th
20th	John Fitch	Equipe Moss	3: 03,100	8th
21st	Horace Gould	Maserati	3: 05.200	9
22nd	Jean Lucas	Gordini	3: 15.900	9
	Luigi Piotti	Luigi Piotti		DNS

1. ↑ Achieved with the Ferrari 555
2. ↑ Achieved with the Gordini T16
3. ↑ Achieved with the Gordini T32

Race result

Item	driver	constructor	Round	time	km / h	s. Rd.	guide
1.	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	50	2: 25: 04.4	206.79		49
2.	Piero Taruffi	Mercedes	50	2: 25: 05.1
3.	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari	50	2: 25: 50.6
4th	Jean Behra	Maserati	50	2: 29: 01.9
5.	Carlos Menditeguy	Maserati	49	2: 26: 24.9
6th	Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari	49	2: 27: 32.5
7th	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	48	2: 27: 14.9
8th.	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	47	2: 25: 50.1
9.	John Fitch	Maserati	46	2: 25: 25.7
DNF	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	38	Gearbox damage
DNF	Karl Kling	Mercedes	32	Gearbox damage
DNF	Luigi Musso	Maserati	31	Gearbox damage
DNF	Horace Gould	Maserati	31	Suspension damage
DNF	Stirling Moss	Mercedes	27	Engine failure		2: 46.9	1
DNF	Jacques Pollet	Gordini	26th	Engine failure
DNF	Hernando da Silva Ramos	Gordini	23	Defective fuel pump
DNF	Peter Collins	Maserati	22nd	Suspension damage
DNF	Harry Schell	Vanwall	7th	Suspension damage
DNF	Jean Lucas	Gordini	7th	Engine failure
DNF	Ken Wharton	Vanwall	0	Injection pump defective
DNS	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	0	tires
DNS	Luigi Piotti	Luigi Piotti	0	Engine failure
DNS	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	0	tires

World Cup stand after the race

In 1955, points were awarded according to the following scheme:

1st place	place 2	place 3	4th place	5th place	Fastest lap
8th	6th	4th	3	2	1

• Only the five best results from seven races counted. Deleted results are shown in brackets.
• The numbers marked with * include the point for the fastest lap.
• Fields marked in the same color indicate shared vehicles.

Item	driver	constructor								Points
1.	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	9 *	(1*)		9 *	8th	6th	8th	40
2.	Stirling Moss	Mercedes	1			6th	6th	9 *	1*	23
3.	Eugenio Castellotti	Lancia		6th			2		4th	12
4th	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	3.3	8th						11.3
5.	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	3.3	3		4th				10.3
6th	Piero Taruffi	Mercedes						3	6th	9
7th	Bob Sweikert	Kurtis power			8th					8th
8th.	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	2			1	4 *			7th
9.	Luigi Musso	Maserati					4th	2		6th
	Jean Behra	Maserati		2		1			3	6th
11.	Karl Kling	Mercedes	1					4th		5
12.	Jimmy Davies	Kurtis power			4th					4th
13.	Johnny Thomson	Kuzma			3					3
	Tony Bettenhausen	Kurtis power			3					3
	Paul Russo	Kurtis power			3					3
	Paul Brother	Ferrari				3				3
17th	José Froilán González	Ferrari	2							2
	Cesare Perdisa	Maserati		2						2
	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari Lancia		2						2
	Carlos Menditeguy	Maserati							2	2
21st	Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari	1.3							1.3
22nd	Hans Herrmann	Mercedes	1							1
	Walt Faulkner	Kurtis power			1					1
	Bill Homeier	Kurtis power			1					1
	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis power			1*					1

particularities

The end of the silver arrows

Despite all the successes, after nine wins, eight poles and two drivers' world championships, it was the last Grand Prix for Mercedes for several decades. The withdrawal was planned at the beginning of the season. The Le Mans disaster, where the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR of Pierre Levegh was thrown into the crowd and killed more than 80 people who made this decision final.

Mercedes was only to return in 1993, initially indirectly at Sauber , from 1994 as an engine supplier and then, after 55 years, in 2010 again with its own works team .

Mercedes celebrated its first victory after re-entering the market as an engine builder on March 9, 1997 at the Australian Grand Prix by David Coulthard with McLaren , 51 years 5 months and 26 days after Monza 1955. On April 15, 2012, Nico Rosberg won the Grand Prix China is finally celebrating a victory as a works team for the first time in 56 years, 7 months and 4 days.

On November 23, 2014, Lewis Hamilton won the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix . After 59 years, 2 months and 12 days, Mercedes was again a world driver champion. With Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg's double victory at the Russian Grand Prix on October 12, 2014, Mercedes also secured the Constructors' World Championship for the first time. In 1955 there was no such thing.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 1955-1971 THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE HIGH SPEED TRACK ( Memento of the original from December 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (English) on: Monazanet , accessed April 29, 2012, 10:54 p.m.  
2. ^ Riedner, Michael: Mercedes-Benz W 196 - The last Silver Arrow. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart. 1st edition, 1986. ISBN 3-613-01157-3 . Pages 272-275.
3. ↑ dto., Pages 275-276.
4. ↑ dto., Pages 276-279.

Web links

• Official Formula 1 website Results Italian Grand Prix 1955 (English)
• motorsport-total.com, Grand Prix of Italy 1955
• Motorsportarchiv.de, Grand Prix of Italy 1955