1952 Formula One season

The 1952 Formula One season was the third season of FIA Formula One motor racing. In comparison to previous seasons, the 1952 season consisted of a relatively small number of Formula One races, following the FIA's decision to run all the Grand Prix events counting towards the World Championship of Drivers to Formula Two regulations rather than Formula One.

The 3rd FIA World Championship of Drivers, which commenced on 18 May and ended on 7 September after eight races, was won by Alberto Ascari, driving for Scuderia Ferrari.

In addition to the Formula One races and the World Championship Formula Two races, numerous other Formula Two races, which did not count towards the Championship, were also held during the year.

World Championship season summary

Alfa Romeo, unable to fund a new car, withdrew from racing, while BRM had been preparing two V16-powered cars for the season but withdrew them before an April race at Valentino Park, Turin, whilst attempting to enlist Juan Manuel Fangio as teammate to Stirling Moss, leaving Ferrari as the only serious Formula One contender. This led World Championship organizers to run their races for Formula Two,^[1] utilising 2-litre naturally aspirated engines, which meant larger fields and a greater variety of cars, even if the victories all went to Ferrari. Ascari won the six Grands Prix he entered, missing the Swiss race because he was at Indianapolis qualifying for the Indianapolis 500 – the first European to do so in the World Championship era. Maserati and Gordini offered little challenge, but Mike Hawthorn's drives in his Cooper would earn him a works Ferrari drive in 1953. Reigning champion Fangio, badly injured in an early season crash at Monza, took no part in the championship, but was to go on to drive for BRM.

World Championship season review

The 1952 World Championship of Drivers was contested over an eight race series.

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Constructor	Tyre	Report
1	Swiss Grand Prix	Bremgarten	18 May	Giuseppe Farina	Piero Taruffi	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	P	Report
2	Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis	30 May	Fred Agabashian	Bill Vukovich	Troy Ruttman	Kuzma-Offenhauser	F	Report
3	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	22 June	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report
4	French Grand Prix	Rouen-Les-Essarts	6 July	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report
5	British Grand Prix	Silverstone	19 July	Giuseppe Farina	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report
6	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	3 August	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report
7	Dutch Grand Prix	Zandvoort	17 August	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report
8	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	7 September	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari José Froilán González	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report

All 1952 World Championship Grand Prix events were restricted to Formula Two cars and the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race was contested by AAA National Championship cars. There was originally supposed to be a Spanish Grand Prix at the Pedralbes Circuit in Barcelona on October 26, but there was no money for the race to be held, so the race was cancelled.^[2]

Teams and drivers

Italian Alberto Ascari won the 1952 World Championship of Drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1952 FIA World Championship of Drivers. The list does not include those that contested only the Indianapolis 500 event.

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Driver	Rounds
AFM	AFM-Küchen	AFM	Küchen 2.0 V8	E	Hans Stuck	1
Toni Ulmen	Veritas	Meteor	Veritas 2.0 L6	D	Toni Ulmen	1, 6
Equipe Gordini	Gordini	16 16S 15	Gordini 20 2.0 L6 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4	E	Jean Behra	1, 3–4, 6–8
					Robert Manzon	1, 3–8
					B. Bira	1, 3–5
					Johnny Claes	3
					Maurice Trintignant	4–8
Ecurie Rosier	Ferrari	500	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4	D	Louis Rosier	1, 3–4, 8
HW Motors	HWM-Alta	52 51/52	Alta F2 2.0 L4	D	George Abecassis	1
					Peter Collins	1, 3–6, 8
					Lance Macklin	1, 3–5, 7–8
					Stirling Moss	1
					Paul Frère	3, 6
					Roger Laurent	3
					Yves Giraud-Cabantous	4
					Duncan Hamilton	5, 7
					Johnny Claes	6
					Dries van der Lof	7
Scuderia Franera	Frazer-Nash-Bristol	FN48	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Ken Wharton	1, 3, 7–8
Ecurie Richmond	Cooper-Bristol	T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Eric Brandon	1, 3, 5, 8
					Alan Brown	1, 3, 5, 8
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	500 375S*	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 Ferrari 375 4.5 V12*	P F	Giuseppe Farina	1, 3–8
					Piero Taruffi	1, 3–6, 8
					Andre Simon	1, 8
					Alberto Ascari	2–8
					Luigi Villoresi	7–8
Enrico Platé	Maserati-Platé	4CLT/48	Maserati Platé 2.0 L4	P	Toulo de Graffenried	1, 4–5, 8
					Harry Schell	1, 4–5
					Alberto Crespo	8
Ecurie Espadon	Ferrari	500 212	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 Ferrari 125 1.5 V12	P	Rudi Fischer	1, 4–6, 8
					Peter Hirt	1, 4–5
					Rudolf Schoeller	6
					Hans Stuck	8
Alfred Dattner	Simca-Gordini	11	Gordini 1500 1.5 L4	E	Max de Terra	1
Leslie D. Hawthorn	Cooper-Bristol	T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Mike Hawthorn	3, 5, 7–8
English Racing Automobiles Ltd	ERA-Bristol	G	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Stirling Moss	3, 5, 7
Ecurie Francorchamps	Ferrari	500	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4	E	Charles de Tornaco	3, 7–8
					Roger Laurent	6
Arthur Legat	Veritas	Meteor	Veritas 2.0 L6	E	Arthur Legat	3
Robin Montgomerie-Charrington	Aston-Butterworth	NB42	Butterworth 2.0 F4	D	Robin Montgomerie-Charrington	3
Tony Gaze	HWM-Alta	52	Alta F2 2.0 L4	D	Tony Gaze	3, 5–6, 8
Robert O' Brien	Simca-Gordini	15	Gordini 1500 1.5 L4	E	Robert O' Brien	3
Peter Whitehead	Alta Ferrari	F2 125/F2	Alta F2 2.0 L4 Ferrari 125 1.5 V12	D	Peter Whitehead	4–5, 8
					Graham Whitehead	5
Escuderia Bandeirantes	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6	P	Philippe Étancelin	4
					Gino Bianco	5–8
					Eitel Cantoni	5–6, 8
					Chico Landi	7–8
					Jan Flinterman	7
Ecurie Belge	Simca-Gordini	15	Gordini 1500 1.5 L4	E	Johnny Claes	4–5
					Paul Frère	7
Scuderia Marzotto	Ferrari	166/F2	Ferrari 125 1.5 V12	P	Franco Comotti	4
					Piero Carini	4, 6
Archie Bryde AHM Bryde	Cooper-Bristol	T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Mike Hawthorn	4
					Reg Parnell	5
W.S. Aston	Aston-Butterworth	NB41	Butterworth 2.0 F4	D	Bill Aston	5–6, 8
Connaught Engineering	Connaught-Lea Francis	A	Lea Francis 2.0 L4	D	Kenneth McAlpine	5, 8
					Ken Downing	5
					Eric Thompson	5
					Dennis Poore	5, 8
					Stirling Moss	8
Ecurie Ecosse	Cooper-Bristol	T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	David Murray	5
G. Caprara	Ferrari	500	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4	D	Roy Salvadori	5
Tony Crook	Frazer-Nash-BMW	421	BMW 328 2.0 L6	D	Tony Crook	5
Marcel Balsa	Balsa-BMW	Eigenbau	BMW 328 2.0 L6	?	Marcel Balsa	6
Fritz Riess	Veritas	RS	Veritas 2.0 L6	?	Fritz Riess	6
Theo Helfrich	Veritas	RS	Veritas 2.0 L6	?	Theo Helfrich	6
Willi Heeks	AFM-BMW	8	BMW 328 2.0 L6	?	Willi Heeks	6
Helmut Niedermayr	AFM-BMW	6	BMW 328 2.0 L6	?	Helmut Niedermayr	6
Adolf Brudes	Veritas	RS	Veritas 2.0 L6	?	Adolf Brudes	6
Motor Presse Verlag	Veritas	Meteor	Veritas 2.0 L6	?	Paul Pietsch	6
Hans Klenk	Veritas	Meteor	Veritas 2.0 L6	?	Hans Klenk	6
Josef Peters	Veritas	RS	Veritas 2.0 L6	?	Josef Peters	6
Bernhard Nacke	Nacke-BMW	Eigenbau	BMW 328 2.0 L6	?	Günther Bechem	6
Ludwig Fischer	AFM-BMW	8	BMW 328 2.0 L6	?	Ludwig Fischer	6
Willi Krakau	AFM-BMW	6	BMW 328 2.0 L6	?	Willi Krakau	6
	Krakau-BMW	Eigenbau			Harry Merkel	6
Ernst Klodwig	Heck-BMW	Eigenbau	BMW 328 2.0 L6	?	Ernst Klodwig	6
Rudolf Krause	Greifzu-BMW	Eigenbau	BMW 328 2.0 L6	?	Rudolf Krause	6
Ken Downing	Connaught-Lea Francis	A	Lea Francis 2.0 L4	D	Ken Downing	7
Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6	P	Felice Bonetto	6, 8
					Franco Rol	8
					José Froilán González	8
Élie Bayol	OSCA	20	OSCA 2000 2.0 L6	P	Élie Bayol	8
Piero Dusio	Cisitalia-BPM	D46	BPM 2.0 L4	P	Piero Dusio	8
Vicomtesse de Walckiers	Simca-Gordini	15	Gordini 1500 1.5 L4	E	Johnny Claes	8

* Car entered only in the Indianapolis 500 race

1952 Drivers' Championship final standings

Points were awarded to top five finishers in each race on an 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 basis. One point was awarded for fastest lap. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of who had driven more laps. Only the best four of eight scores counted towards the World Championship.

Pos. Driver SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA Pts. 1 Alberto Ascari Ret 1 1 1 1 (1) (1) 36 (53.5) 2 Giuseppe Farina Ret† 2 2 6 2 2 (4) 24 (27) 3 Piero Taruffi 1 Ret 3 2 4 7 22 4 Rudi Fischer 2 11† 13 3 Ret 10 = Mike Hawthorn 4 Ret 3 4 Ret 10 6 Robert Manzon Ret 3 4 Ret Ret 5 14 9 7 Troy Ruttman 1 8 = Luigi Villoresi 3 3 8 9 José Froilán González 2 6.5 10 Jim Rathmann 2 6 = Jean Behra 3 Ret 7 5 Ret Ret 6 12 Sam Hanks 3 4 13 Ken Wharton 4 Ret Ret 9 3 = Dennis Poore 4 12 3 = Duane Carter 4 3 16 Alan Brown 5 6 22 15 2 = Maurice Trintignant 5 Ret Ret 6 Ret 2 = Paul Frère 5 Ret Ret 2 = Felice Bonetto DSQ 5 2 = Art Cross 5 2 = Eric Thompson 5 2 22 Bill Vukovich 17 1 — Roger Laurent 12 6 0 — Toulo de Graffenried 6 Ret† 19 DNQ 0 — Peter Collins Ret Ret 6 Ret DNQ 0 — André Simon Ret† 6 0 — Jimmy Bryan 6 0 — Peter Hirt 7 11† Ret 0 — Charles de Tornaco 7 Ret DNQ 0 — Duncan Hamilton Ret 7 0 — Jimmy Reece 7 0 — Reg Parnell 7 0 — Fritz Riess 7 0 — Lance Macklin Ret 11 9 15 8 DNQ 0 — Eric Brandon 8 9 20 13 0 — Chico Landi 9† 8 0 — Johnny Claes 8 Ret 14 10 DNQ 0 — Toni Ulmen Ret 8 0 — George Connor 8 0 — Philippe Étancelin 8 0 — Roy Salvadori 8 0 — Ken Downing 9 Ret 0 — Cliff Griffith 9 0 — Helmut Niedermayr 9 0 — Jan Flinterman 9† 0 — Prince Bira Ret 10 Ret 11 0 — Louis Rosier Ret Ret Ret 10 0 — Peter Whitehead Ret 10 DNQ 0 — Johnnie Parsons 10 0 — Yves Giraud Cabantous 10 0 — Eitel Cantoni Ret Ret 11 0 — Jack McGrath 11 0 — Hans Klenk 11 0 — Jim Rigsby 12 0 — Franco Comotti 12 0 — Graham Whitehead 12 0 — Ernst Klodwig 12 0 — Joe James 13 0 — Bill Schindler 14 0 — Robert O'Brien 14 0 — Tony Gaze 15 Ret Ret DNQ 0 — George Fonder 15 0 — Kenneth McAlpine 16 Ret 0 — Eddie Johnson 16 0 — Harry Schell Ret Ret† 17 0 — Gino Bianco 18 Ret Ret Ret 0 — Chuck Stevenson 18 0 — Henry Banks 19 0 — Manny Ayulo 20 0 — Johnny McDowell 21 0 — Tony Crook 21 0 — Dries van der Lof NC 0 — Stirling Moss Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 — Piero Carini Ret Ret 0 — Bill Aston DNS Ret DNQ 0 — Hans Stuck Ret DNQ 0 — George Abecassis Ret 0 — Max de Terra Ret 0 — Spider Webb Ret 0 — Rodger Ward Ret 0 — Tony Bettenhausen Ret 0 — Duke Nalon Ret 0 — Fred Agabashian Ret 0 — Bob Sweikert Ret 0 — Gene Hartley Ret 0 — Bob Scott Ret 0 — Chet Miller Ret 0 — Bobby Ball Ret 0 — Andy Linden Ret 0 — Robin Montgomerie-Charrington Ret 0 — David Murray Ret 0 — Willi Heeks Ret 0 — Adolf Brudes Ret 0 — Marcel Balsa Ret 0 — Günther Bechem Ret 0 — Rudolf Krause Ret 0 — Rudolf Schoeller Ret 0 — Paul Pietsch Ret 0 — Theo Helfrich Ret 0 — Josef Peters Ret 0 — Franco Rol Ret 0 — Élie Bayol Ret 0 — Alberto Crespo DNQ 0 — Piero Dusio DNQ 0 Pos. Driver SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA Pts.

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrawn (WD)

• Italics indicate fastest lap (1 point awarded – point shared equally between drivers sharing fastest lap)
• Bold indicates pole position
• † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
• Only the best four results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Non-Championship race results

Other Formula One/Formula Two races, which did not count towards the World Championship of Drivers, were also held in 1952.

Race Name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
XI Grande Prêmio Cidade do Rio de Janeiro	Gávea	20 January	José Froilán González	Ferrari	Report
II Gran Premio di Siracusa	Syracuse	16 March	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
VI Gran Premio del Valentino	Valentino Park	6 April	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Report
IV Richmond Trophy	Goodwood	14 April	José Froilán González	Ferrari	Report
IV Lavant Cup	Goodwood	14 April	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper-Bristol	Report
XIII Pau Grand Prix	Pau	14 April	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
I Ibsley Grand Prix	Ringwood	19 April	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper-Bristol	Report
X Grand Prix de Marseille	Marseille	27 April	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
I Aston Martin Owners Club Grand Prix	Snetterton	3 May	Dickie Stoop	Frazer Nash	Report
IV BRDC International Trophy	Silverstone	10 May	Lance Macklin	HWM-Alta	Report
XIV Eläintarhanajot	Eläintarharata	11 May	Roger Laurent	Talbot-Lago	Report
V Gran Premio di Napoli	Posillipo	11 May	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	Report
XVI Internationales ADAC Eifelrennen	Nürburgring	25 May	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	Report
VI Grand Prix de Paris	Montlhéry	25 May	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	Report
XIV Grand Prix de l'Albigeois	Albi	1 June	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	Report
XXII Grand Prix des Frontières	Chimay	1 June	Paul Frère	HWM-Alta	Report
VI Ulster Trophy	Dundrod	7 June	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	Report
V Gran Premio dell'Autodromo di Monza	Monza	8 June	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	Report
IV Aix les Bains Circuit du Lac	Aix-les-Bains	8 June	Jean Behra	Gordini	Report
I West Essex CC Race	Boreham	21 June	Reg Parnell	Cooper-Bristol	Report
XVI Grand Prix de la Marne	Reims	29 June	Jean Behra	Gordini	Report
II Grand Prix de Sables d'Olonne	Sables	13 July	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Report
I Grand Prix de Caen	Caen	27 July	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	Report
II Daily Mail Trophy	Boreham	2 August	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Report
XVI Grand Prix de Comminges	Comminges	10 August	André Simon	Ferrari	Report
I National Trophy	Turnberry	23 August	Mike Hawthorn	Connaught	Report
XI Grand Prix de la Baule	La Baule	24 August	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
III Gran Premio di Modena	Modena	14 September	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Report
IV Circuit de Cadours	Cadours	14 September	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	Report
II Skarpnäcksloppet	Skarpnäck	14 September	Gunnar Carlsson	Mercury	Report
V Madgwick Cup	Goodwood	27 September	Ken Downing	Connaught	Report
VIII Internationales Avusrennen	AVUS	28 September	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	Report
I Joe Fry Memorial Trophy	Castle Combe	4 October	Roy Salvadori	Ferrari	Report
I Newcastle Journal Trophy	Charterhall	11 October	Dennis Poore	Connaught	Report
XII Grande Prêmio Cidade do Rio de Janeiro	Gávea	14 December	Henrique Casini	Ferrari	Report

East German Championship

Race Name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
I Rostock Osthafenkurs	Rostock	20 April	Paul Greifzu	BMW-Eigenbau	Report
I Bernau Autobahnschleife	Bernau	4 May	Rudolf Krause	BMW-Reif	Report
I Dessau Autobahnspinne	Dessau	11 May	Fritz Riess	Veritas-Meteor	Report
III Leipzig Stadtparkrennen	Leipzig	2 June	Edgar Barth	IFA-Kollektiv	Report
III Strassen-Rennen Halle-Saale-Schleife	Halle-Saale-Schleife	8 June	Edgar Barth	IFA-Kollektiv	Report
I Strassen-rennen Leipzig	Leipzig	17 August	Hans Stuck	AFM-BMW	Report
V DMV Grenzlandringrennen	Grenzlandring	31 August	Toni Ulmen	Veritas	Report
IV Sachsenringrennen	Sachsenring	7 September	Edgar Barth	EMW-BMW	Report

References