1952 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1952 Belgian Grand Prix was the third race of the 1952 Formula One World Championship and was held in Spa-Francorchamps on June 22nd 1952. Dorino Serafini won the race, his third race victory, ahead of Giuseppe Farina, who kept the championship lead, and Monaco Grand Prix winner André Simon.

Background

Despite not winning a single race yet, Giuseppe Farina led the world championship. Again. And he still didn't yet seem to have any decent competition that was consistent enough to outscore him. The Gordinis and Talbots were too inconsistent, his Alfa Romeo teammates couldn't touch him in the long run and the Ferrari drivers were too far back, due to bad luck regarding reliability. But 8 races still remained. Would the championship change hands that season?

Harry Schell made his first of five races at Motorsport Bleu. Ferrari America were reduced to a single car for Troy Ruttman.

Dries van der Lof appeared for the first time that season with Scuderia Commesso, for whom he had competed the previous year at Indy and Zandvoort, where he would also race later that season.

Following Toulo de Graffenried's neck injury at Donington, he was replaced by Reg Parnell at Ferrari.

Mike Hawthorn would attempt to make his first start (excluding Indianapolis) in the Bentley, the first of his planned three appearances in 1952.

David Hampshire returned to a single car for Belgium after John Riseley-Prichard's failure to make the grid. The Englishman's top-ten finish at Donington would no doubt be a boost in Spa.

Leader returned for the Belgian Grand Prix, the mysterious Chinese consortium obviously looking to get Luigi Villoresi on the grid for once.

Meanwhile, Birmingham Motorsport would not take part, preferring to stick to circuits closer to home.

The Fighting Mongooses made their first appearance in Formula 1, also the first appearance of both the Cooper chassis and the Bristol engine. Jean Behra hoped to be quick enough to scrape onto the grid.

Erne Racing Development also made their début, with rookie Roberto Mières. The Maserati would probably be quick, but would the driver live up to the car?

Group Ultimate had finally wheeled out their own car, but would the unproven Ultiamte-BMW combination work as planned in the hands of East German F2 ace Edgar Barth?

The works Maserati team was reduced to one car this weekend due to Paul Frère's agreement with ENB to compete with them for one race alongside Trintignant, Pilette and team boss Swaters.

Despite Eric Brandon's splendid podium finish in Donington, Scuderia Maremmana skipped the Belgian Grand Prix and were to come back only in Germany, leaving the promising British F3 champion out of a drive.

O.S.C.A. finally kicked off their first part-time season in Formula 1 in order to gather experience for a full-season tilt in 1953. Felice Bonetto hoped to qualify the car.

Maria Teresa de Filippis took part in her first race of the season, also hoping to impress by making the grid.

Rudi Fischer would also try to make the grid in the Maserati-Porsche after failing to do so in Monaco.

Race weekend

Qualifying

Due to the large size of the starting grid, plenty of small-time teams and drivers would finally get their shot at proving their worth over a race distance. And there were loads of them at Spa that weekend.

Fangio confirmed his outright pace, but still needed to translate this into concrete results. Ascari and Simon continued to impress. Taruffi finally showed pace in the Aston-Jaguar. Both Ambrosianas were in the top twenty, with Rubirosa bewilderingly reaching 16th place. David Hampshire scored the best qualifying result for an Alta with 21st place. Mières started his first race from a promising 22nd. De Filippis became the first woman to start a race and left 12 macho men wondering how she could be faster than them.

Mike Hawthorn would start his first race in his third entry, getting the Bentley onto the grid. The Porsche engine made its first start, as did Dries van der Lof. Edgar Barth would make the grid on his, his car's and his engine's début. Joe Kelly finally started his first race after five unsuccessful attempts. O.S.C.A. scraped onto the grid to make their first start as well.

Of course, three drivers would have their names in red, and while Behra's failure was much expected due to the complete lack of experience from his team, chassis and engine, as was Villoresi's after a dismal and mistake-riddled lap, Marimon's absence from the grid was inexcusable, and a fourth consecutive failure to start the race would not do wonders for his job security.

Race

The race started out cleanly, with Serafini getting the edge over Fangio. Ascari had the best start, moving up to third place by the end of the first lap, and Rubirosa also had a surprisingly good start, moving up to fourteenth position. The overall loser on the first lap though was Reg Parnell, who, after a decent start, failed to show up, with the clutch letting go halfway around the track, leaving the Briton with a long walk back to the paddock. He was joined on the next lap by Piero Taruffi and David Hampshire, also struck down by car problems on the tough Belgian circuit.

With everyone settled down at the end of lap two, Serafini and Fangio were still going at it for the lead ahead of Farina and Bira, Ascari having dropped back to fifth place. Then, Simon, Ruttman, Pagani, with Chiron, Sanesi and Moss fighting for ninth position.

But with so much time for overtaking, positions were changing constantly. Only Fangio and Serafini escaped, each of them pulling the other further ahead by setting consecutive fastest laps. With five laps down, the two were miles ahead, with Farina, Bira, Ascari and Simon fighting for the remaining podium place. Then, the teamperature rose.

Louis Chiron was the first to fall victim of the intense heat, retiring from eleventh place. He was soon followed by the valiant Felice Bonetto, who was doing a decent job of keeping Joe Kelly behind. At that point, the front was getting more spread out. Fangio and Serafini were still in a league of their own, with the Italian marginally ahead, with Farina and Bira in a similar fight for third. Simon was in an isolated fifth position, while Sanesi, Moss, Ruttman, Pagani and Ascari were all in an intense battle for sixth position. De Filippis ended her maiden race early as well, driving in an anonymous 25th position.

Then, while Bira began to slow, Farina gained speed and soon caught up to Fangio and Serafini! At that moment, Ascari's Phoenix stopped by the side of the road, engine blown. He was fighting for seventh with Sanesi. He was joined in retirement by Paul Frère, who had been driving a decent race in 18th position in his Maserati.

At the halfway point, 26 cars were still in the race. Serafini had pulled away into a now large lead, with Fangio now having to defend from the defending double world champion and team mate Giuseppe Farina and André Simon, who had found a considerable amount of speed. Bira was keeping a lonely and stable fifth position. Pagani and Ruttman were fighting for sixth place. Then came Manzon, Sanesi, Whitehead, Gonzalez, Rubirosa (!!!), Moss and Pilette, all closely grouped. The field was rounded out by Schell, Claes, Bracco, Macklin, van der Lof, Fischer, Swaters, Trintignant, Mières, Hawthorn, Barth and Kelly.

The next to retire was Nello Pagani, who was in seventh place, immediately followed by Lance Macklin, who was in 18th place, and Joe Kelly, who was pretty much put out of his misery, since he was miles behind Edgar Barth and lapped multiple times. At this point, Simon was flying and now well past Fangio and Farina and in second place!

But the Talbot-Lago was still a slower car than the Alfa, and unlike in Monaco, the track was wide and fast. Simon was no match for Farina, who slipstreamed past on lap 22. But while doing so, he made a mistake and Simon managed to take second place again! Four laps later, however, Farina breezed past once more, never to be caught. The last retirement of the race occurred on the penultimate lap, when Sanesi, who was sportingly jockeying for seventh with Manzon, put two wheels on the grass at La Source and went spinning, stalling the car on the exit of the corner.

And so, while Serafini and Farina were well settled in their positions, Fangio was catching up to Simon, and both entered the final lap locked in battle. After a lap full of slipstreaming, both entered La Source side by side. Simon purposefully exited the corner behind Fangio, but getting more exit speed to jump the Argentine on the line to score his second podium of the season. After a tough fight, Bira managed to hold off Troy Ruttman for the final points, but both will be happy, as this was the 22-year-old's best result so far.

There were some pleasant surprises, such as Ruttman's sixth place, confirming that the American had undeniable talent, but also Robert Manzon, Jacques Swaters and Peter Whitehead, each gaining ten places, Dries van der Lof gaining 13 and Trintignant gaining 16 to salvage 15th place, Porfirio Rubirosa scoring a top-ten depsite low attrition as well as Mières, Hawthorn, Fischer and Barth all making it to the end, gaining precious money and experience to develop the cars. The final point for fastest lap was shared between Giuseppe Farina and Manzon.

Serafini scored Ferrari's first points of the season in style with a crushing victory, Farina kept the championship lead despite scoring no wins thus far, André Simon was now the second driver to score multiple podiums that season, Fangio finally scored his first points from race position since France the previous year and Bira scored points again, perhaps crucially preventing Ruttman scoring points for Group Ultimate in the entrants' championship.

Classification

Entry list

No	Driver	Entrant	Chassis	Engine
2	Joe Kelly	All-Ireland Motorsport	ERA G-Type	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s
4	B. Bira	Motorsport Bleu	Talbot-Lago T26C	Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6
6	Harry Schell	Motorsport Bleu	Talbot-Lago T26C	Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6
8	André Simon	Motorsport Bleu	Talbot-Lago T26C	Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6
10	Louis Chiron	Scuderia Commesso	Maserati 4CLT/48	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
12	Dries van der Lof	Scuderia Commesso	Maserati 4CLT/48	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
14	Reg Parnell	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 375B	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
16	Dorino Serafini	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 375B	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
18	Peter Whitehead	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 375B	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
20	Mike Hawthorn	Team Bentley	Bentley Speed 2	Bentley 3.0 V16
22	David Hampshire	Hampshire Racing Alliance	Alta GP	Alta 1.5 L4s
24	Robert Manzon	/ Alexander Racing Team	Gordini T16	Gordini 1.5 L4s
26	Consalvo Sanesi	/ Alexander Racing Team	Gordini T16	Gordini 1.5 L4s
28	Johnny Claes	Claes Racing Developments	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s
30	Lance Macklin	Claes Racing Developments	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s
32	Troy Ruttman	Ferrari America	Ferrari 375	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
34	Luigi Villoresi	Leader	Leader LF152	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
36	José Froilan Gonzalez	Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing	Aston Martin AM-03	Jaguar XK 3.4 L6
38	Piero Taruffi	Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing	Aston Martin AM-03	Jaguar XK 3.4 L6
40	Jean Behra	The Fighting Mongooses	Cooper T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6
42	Roberto Mières	Erne Racing Development	Ferrari 375	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
44	Edgar Barth	Team Ultimate	Ultimate 001	BMW 328 2.0 L6
46	Onofre Marimon	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6
48	Maurice Trintignant	Bugatti Grand Prix	Bugatti Type Alfa	Bugatti 15C 1.5 L4s
50	André Pilette	Bugatti Grand Prix	Bugatti Type Alfa	Bugatti 15C 1.5 L4s
52	Paul Frère	Ecurie Nationale Belge	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6
54	Jacques Swaters	Ecurie Nationale Belge	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6
56	Nello Pagani	Redman Racing Team	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6
58	Giovanni Bracco	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Ambrosiana A-001	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s
60	Porfirio Rubirosa	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Ambrosiana A-001	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s
62	Felice Bonetto	O.S.C.A. Automobili	O.S.C.A. 4500G	O.S.C.A. 4.5 V12
64	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s
66	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo SpA	Alfa Romeo 159/52	Alfa Romeo 159 1.5 L8s
68	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo SpA	Alfa Romeo 159/52	Alfa Romeo 159 1.5 L8s
70	Stirling Moss	Alfa Romeo SpA	Alfa Romeo 159/52	Alfa Romeo 159 1.5 L8s
72	Alberto Ascari	Phoenix Racing Organisation	Phoenix P-03	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
74	Rudi Fischer	International Racing Group	Maserati 4CLT/48	Porsche 356 1.6 L4

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	68	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	4:24.3	-
2	16	Dorino Serafini	Ferrari	4:26.9	+ 2.6
3	66	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	4:27.2	+ 2.9
4	4	B. Bira	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	4:27.5	+ 3.2
5	72	Alberto Ascari	Phoenix-Ferrari	4:27.7	+ 3.4
6	8	André Simon	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	4:28.3	+ 4.0
7	32	Troy Ruttman	Ferrari	4:28.5	+ 4.2
8	38	Piero Taruffi	Aston Martin-Jaguar	4:28.6	+ 4.3
9	56	Nello Pagani	Maserati	4:28.8	+ 4.5
10	70	Stirling Moss	Alfa Romeo	4:29.0	+ 4.7
11	10	Louis Chiron	Maserati-Ferrari	4:29.1	+ 4.8
12	26	Consalvo Sanesi	Gordini	4:29.3	+ 5.0
13	50	André Pilette	Bugatti	4:29.8	+ 5.5
14	6	Harry Schell	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	4:29.9	+ 5.6
15	36	José Froilan Gonzalez	Aston Martin-Jaguar	4:30.1	+ 5.8
16	60	Porfirio Rubirosa	Ambrosiana-Maserati	4:30.6	+ 6.3
17	24	Robert Manzon	Gordini	4:30.9	+ 6.6
18	18	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	4:31.2	+ 6.9
19	58	Giovanni Bracco	Ambrosiana-Maserati	4:31.3	+ 7.0
20	28	Johnny Claes	Maserati	4:31.4	+ 7.1
21	22	David Hampshire	Alta	4:31.5	+ 7.2
22	42	Roberto Mières	Ferrari	4:31.7	+ 7.4
23	14	Reg Parnell	Ferrari	4:31.9	+ 7.6
24	40	Paul Frère	Maserati	4:32.0	+ 7.7
25	64	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Maserati	4:32.2	+ 7.9
26	54	Jacques Swaters	Maserati	4:33.3	+ 9.0
27	28	Lance Macklin	Maserati	4:33.3	+ 9.0
28	20	Mike Hawthorn	Bentley	4:33.6	+ 9.3
29	74	Rudi Fischer	Maserati-Porsche	4:33.6	+ 9.3
30	12	Dries van der Lof	Maserati-Ferrari	4:33.8	+ 9.5
31	48	Maurice Trintignant	Bugatti	4:33.8	+ 9.5
32	44	Edgar Barth	Ultimate-BMW	4:34.3	+ 10.0
33	2	Joe Kelly	ERA-Maserati	4:34.6	+ 10.3
34	62	Felice Bonetto	O.S.C.A.	4:35.9	+ 11.6
35	40	Jean Behra	Cooper-Bristol	4:36.4	+ 12.1
36	46	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	4:36.5	+ 12.2
37	34	Luigi Villoresi	Leader-Ferrari	4:37.5	+ 13.2

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	16	Dorino Serafini	Ferrari	29	2:50:11.7	2	8
2	66	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	28	+ 2:50.5	3	6.5
3	8	André Simon	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	29	+ 3:13.7	6	4
4	68	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	29	+ 3:13.8	1	3
5	4	B. Bira	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	28	+ 1 lap	4	2
6	32	Troy Ruttman	Ferrari	28	+ 1 lap	7
7	24	Robert Manzon	Gordini	28	+ 1 lap	17	0.5
8	18	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	28	+ 1 lap	18
9	50	André Pilette	Bugatti	28	+ 1 lap	13
10	60	Porfirio Rubirosa	Ambrosiana-Maserati	28	+ 1 lap	16
11	36	José Froilan Gonzalez	Aston Martin-Jaguar	28	+1 lap	15
12	70	Stirling Moss	Alfa Romeo	27	+2 laps	10
13	6	Harry Schell	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	27	+2 laps	14
14	28	Johnny Claes	Maserati	27	+2 laps	20
15	48	Maurice Trintignant	Bugatti	27	+2 laps	31
16	54	Jacques Swaters	Maserati	27	+2 laps	26
17	12	Dries van der Lof	Maserati-Ferrari	27	+2 laps	30
18	26	Consalvo Sanesi	Gordini	26	Spin	12
19	58	Giovanni Bracco	Ambrosiana-Maserati	26	+3 laps	19
20	42	Roberto Mières	Ferrari	26	+3 laps	22
21	74	Rudi Fischer	Maserati-Porsche	26	+3 laps	29
22	20	Mike Hawthorn	Bentley	26	+3 laps	28
23	44	Edgar Barth	Ultimate-BMW	26	+3 laps	32
Ret	2	Joe Kelly	ERA-Maserati	18	Overheating	33
Ret	28	Lance Macklin	Maserati	17	Transmission	27
Ret	56	Nello Pagani	Maserati	16	Steering	9
Ret	40	Paul Frère	Maserati	12	Engine	24
Ret	72	Alberto Ascari	Phoenix-Ferrari	11	Engine	5
Ret	64	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Maserati	8	Gearbox	25
Ret	62	Felice Bonetto	O.S.C.A.	6	Engine	34
Ret	10	Louis Chiron	Maserati-Ferrari	5	Exhaustion	11
Ret	38	Piero Taruffi	Aston Martin-Jaguar	1	Gearbox	8
Ret	22	David Hampshire	Alta	1	Transmission	21
Ret	14	Reg Parnell	Ferrari	0	Clutch	23
DNQ	40	Jean Behra	Cooper-Bristol
DNQ	46	Onofre Marimon	Maserati
DNQ	34	Luigi Villoresi	Leader-Ferrari

Notes

Drivers

• Final podium and points for André Simon.
• Final pole position for Juan Manuel Fangio.
• First start for Edgar Barth, Joe Kelly, Roberto Mières and Maria Teresa de Filippis.
• First entry for Edgar Barth and Roberto Mières.

Constructors

• First start for Ultimate, O.S.C.A. and the BMW and Porsche engines.
• First entry for Ultimate, Cooper and the BMW and Bristol engines.

Entrants

• First start for International Racing Group, O.S.C.A. Automobili, All-Ireland Motorsport, Erne Racing Development, Maria Teresa de Filippis and British Bentley Racing Motors (as a single entry).
• First entry for Erne Racing Development and the Fighting Mongooses.

Lap leaders

• Dorino Serafini: 29 laps (1-29)

Records broken

Drivers

• Most career starts: Giuseppe Farina, Dorino Serafini and Juan Manuel Fangio (16)
• Most career entries: 7 drivers (17)

Constructors

• Most total entries: Maserati (126)

Races

• Most finishers (23)

Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Giuseppe Farina	18.5
2	André Simon	12
3	Robert Manzon	11.5
4	Dorino Serafini	8
=5	Alberto Ascari	4
=5	Eric Brandon	4

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Alfa Romeo	18.5
2	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	12
3	Gordini	11.5
4	Ferrari	9
=5	Ferrari-Jaguar	4
=5	Phoenix-Ferrari	4

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Alfa Romeo SpA	18.5
2	Motorsport Bleu	12
3	/ Alexander Racing Team	11.5
4	Scuderia Ferrari	9
=5	Scuderia Maremmana	4
=5	Phoenix Racing Organisation	4

• Only the top five positions are listed.

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