1951 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1951 Belgian Grand Prix was the third race of the 1951 Formula One World Championship and was held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 17th 1951. B. Bira won the race, his first Formula One victory, ahead of André Pilette and defending champion Giuseppe Farina.

The race was notable for the fatal accident of veteran driver Luigi Fagioli at the age of 53. Frenchman Yves Giraud-Cabantous would also die later in the season, at Silverstone.

Background

Between the outstanding Indianapolis 500 that saw the unexpected victory of 21-year-old Troy Ruttman and the 24 Hours of le Mans, held less than a week later, we had the Belgian Grand Prix. As usual, the race was already a success. The organizers received nearly 40 entries, but some were refused, including the entire Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing Team, due to the entry cap regulations, leaving a field of 33 cars for this race.

Due to the entry cap, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari had cut down on entries, entering three each. Alfa had taken a gamble, as since Rose returned to the USA and Trintignant was loaned to ENB, they lacked a third driver, and hired the unknown Englishman Stirling Moss, who performed surprisingly well in Monaco. It remained to be seen whether he could keep up his performance at this tough circuit.

The surprise of the season so far was Alexander Racing Team. Despite the entry cap, they had decided to field four cars for their four usual drivers. They would once again be looking to score big points to keep their lead in all championships. Scuderia Maremmana didn't have the best Monaco GP, with von Brauchitsch failing to qualify, and Biondetti heartbreakinlgy retiring while in a good top-10 position. Indy didn't go much better, with Cross retiring before the halfway mark. However, they were still seen as a decent team, and if they finished, they were likely to get a decent top 10 result.

Phoenix were pretty much in the exact same boat. Should they finish the race, they'd be in the hunt for a possible points finish. Reliability issues plagued their Monaco weekend, with only Gonzalez making it to the race, retiring while in a good position. A first top 10 beckoned. Hampshire Racing Alliance were like the loveable backmarkers. Theoretically, they would have no chance at qualifying, with a general lack of experience. The large amount of cars starting the race meant that HRA would start the race no matter what. This would be their chance at making a mark on the F1 scene. To finish would be a great achievement for them.

Scuderia Platé-Varzi, though embarrassingly outpaced by the customer Redman Racing Team at Monaco, was getting quicker and quicker, especially since acquiring de facto works team status. Look for them hunting down a good top-10 finish, especially with experienced racer Luigi Fagioli joining the team for the rest of the season.

Ecurie Albertini surprised the paddock by shunning their home race to delay their début to Indianapolis. It turned out to be a good decision, as they would probably have failed to qualify at Monaco. The acquisition of a Kurtis Kraft for Indy, with a short entry list meant they finished tenth, and immediately climbed up the Entrant's Championship standings. With Talbot-Lago-Talbots, they'd be looking for a decent midfield result.

Ferrari America were now reduced to one car, for Luigi Villoresi, after the latter's Monaco qualifying blunder. The team had the pace to get a good result. Without the danger of a DNQ, the team would have to concentrate on finishing the race and getting out of that one-entry-per-race zone. ENB would be carried by their wonderful result at Indy, entering four cars for their home race, therefore sacrificing future entries at the British Grand Prix. With the certainty of qualifying, they'd be looking to finish in a really good position to get more entries.

Metcalf were persisting with their home-made chassis and engine, but it now looked like the team were just there, like they weren't managed by anyone. Piero Taruffi must have been wondering why he had signed for them. His miraculous finish in Monaco meant that the team was allowed a second entry and, sure enough, they hired local driver Paul Frère, who was to be loaned out by JAMR for this weekend. Another finish would be a good achievement.

Claes Racing Developments were still capable of scoring big points, case in point: their two podiums the previous year. They came close in Monaco, with Claes finishing just outside the points and Simon in the top 10 on début. For the team's home race, they'd be hoping for points, mainly Claes, as he needed to get that load off his back.

Redman Racing Team were in a good position thanks to Franco Rol's fifth place in Monaco, and were now the leading Maserati team. More points were a possibility with some attrition. Scuderia Commesso finally made the decision to drop their woefully uncompetitive chassis for a Maserati, leading to the awkward Maserati-Ferrari combination. With a hopefully competitive car, Landi was an unknown quantity, and the team was still inexperienced. A finish would be a good start.

On paper, Motorsport Bleu were still a competitive team. However, with Bira seemingly in a slump, the team had to resort to a single car for Bira. The car was still reasonably competitive, and a climb in the entrant's championship was definitely possible. Scuderia Ambrosiana had kept Giovanni Bracco for this race, hoping that the absence of DNQs would help them up the standings. Bracco's future in Formula 1 would be decided in this race.

Finally, two privateers had made their way to Spa for this race. With all local drivers already hired, foreign drivers decided to try their luck. While Geoff Richardson's entry was turned down, Aldo Gordini would once again try his luck in Formula 1, while Peter Whitehead's half-brother Graham made his début in an ERA.

Race weekend

Qualifying

André Pilette stunned the home crowd by setting a blistering lap to take a surprising pole position, signalling the start of Ecurie Nationale Belge's brief period at the very front of the Formula One pecking order. On top of this, Jacques Swaters qualified fifth , Trintignant seventh and Charles Van Acker 13th. Manfred von Brauchitsch also impressed, taking second place for Scuderia Maremmana and compensating for Clemente Biondetti's 22nd position. Behind the top two, Alfa Romeo was the fastest factory team, with Farina third and Fangio fourth. Championship leader Robert Manzon qualified sixth, with teammates Bettenhausen, Sanesi and Cabantous 12th, 17th and 19th. Ferrari and Talbot-Lago were also fairly well placed, with de Graffenried eighth, Parnell tenth and Bira eleventh. Metcalf and Phoenix confirmed their slide up the grid, with Taruffi 16th, and Ascari 15th.

Race

At the start, everyone got away cleanly. Nobody was involved in any kind of contact, and every driver made it to the end of lap 1. Pilette kept his lead at the start, but at the end of lap 1, he was behind von Brauchitsch and virtually on a dead heat with Giuseppe Farina. Apart from that, the top five stayed the same. At the very bottom, Graham Whitehead passed Hampshire for second last. On lap 2, Hans von Stuck's gearbox failed, and he stopped his car at Stavelot. At the end of the lap, the top two stayed the same, while Fangio passed Farina for third position, while at the back, Whitehead also passed Aldo Gordini for 30th place.

Farina showed that he wasn't world champion for nothing by storming up to take the lead from von Brauchitsch, also passing Fangio and Pilette, the three of them locked in epic battle at the start of lap 4. Manzon also passed Swaters for fifth, and entered the points zone. Von Brauchitsch wasn't giving up without a fight and got a bit closer to Farina, leaving Pilette and Fangio a short way behind him. De Graffenried also passed Swaters for sixth. Two more drivers also retired, both with mechanical failures, as Gonzalez's engine failed while he was 25th and Bettenhausen's brakes failed from 14th place, though he was able to stop the car on one of the circuit's long straights. Adding to the unusual streak of mechanical retirements, Johnny Claes retired from 23rd place and Robert Manzon's car stopped, losing a potential points finish. Manzon was fifth.

At the end of lap five, Farina still led from Pilette, Fangio and von Brauchitsch in no particular order, as they were pretty much three-wide down the pit straight. De Graffenried was fifth and rounded out the points. The top ten is completed by Trintignant, Swaters, Bira, Simon and Van Acker.

Lap 6 saw some good things, like fast laps by Pilette, confirming his second place, Biondetti moving up to 13th place, and especially Farina setting the fastest lap of the race to open his points tally for the season. However, we also saw the most horrifying moment in Formula 1 up to this point, when Luigi Fagioli slid on oil left behind by another car in the middle of Burnenville corner. The car span around and slid off a 90cm-tall banking at full speed, rolling twice before landing on its wheels. Racing fans extracted Fagioli from the wreckage and attempted to treat any injuries while the ambulance arrived. Fagioli was taken to Heusy hospital, with critical head and chest injuries, as well as severely broken legs. He was conscious when the ambulance arrived, but fell into a comatose state on his way to the hospital. Fagioli was diagnosed with a fractured skull and cerebral haemorrhaging and was taken into surgery, but to no avail. Fagioli was pronounced dead on Monday morning at 3:51 a.m., leaving the entire Formula 1 paddock in shock. Fagioli had just turned 53.

But the race continued, and by now, the battle at the front was heating up. Farina still had a decent lead, but Pilette managed to stabilize the gap. Von Brauchitsch was still third ahead of Fangio, but the battle for fourth was hard-fought between Fangio, de Graffenried, Bira, Swaters and Van Acker. Maurice Trintignant also retired from the race with a flat tyre after running over debris from Fagioli's accident.

Farina made a mistake on lap 7 and was caught by Pilette, but still kept the lead of the race. de Graffenried and von Brauchtisch were in the same situation, only both were passed by the flying Bira, who was now in third with von Brauchitsch and de Graffenried rounding out the points. But where was Fangio? He was in the paddock, his car stalled in the escape road at La Source. A promising race for Alfa Romeo ended by a driver error made trying to defend from de Graffenried.

The battle didn't stop, however. Farina recovered nicely and started to rebuild a gap, while von Brauchitsch was now breathing down Pilette's neck with Bira dropping back and fighting with de Graffenried for fourth place. Bira was eventually passed by de Graffenried. Swaters was still sixth and just waiting for a retirement to enter the points. Graham Whitehead also retired from the race. Starting last, he had made it up to 21st place, and could have finished in a good position had he finished. The way he retired, however, was less disappointing than it was scary, as he ran wide at Blanchimont at high speed, spun and collided with the rock face on the circuit's left side. He got out of the car by himself, but was also taken to Heusy hospital for checks. After lap 10, Farina still led from Pilette and von Brauchitsch scrapping over second place.

Von Brauchitsch ended up winning the battle with Pilette on lap 11, and also made up ground on Farina in the process. Bira was losing ground, and was passed by Swaters, who was launching his attack and was now fighting with de Graffenried for fourth position. Bira was now between this group and the fierce battle for seventh place, between Van Acker, Serafini and Parnell. Biondetti also retired, suffering from an oil leak, out of 12th position.

Pilette got back at von Brauchitsch and again the two started to fight, with de Graffenried now a bit further ahead of Swaters but by no means safe. Indeed, Swaters was soon breathing down de Graffenried's neck again, and actually pushed the experienced Swiss into pushing his machinery too far. Indeed, de Graffenried's Ferrari broke down on lap 14, leaving Swaters in clean air and in fourth place. Or so he thought, as Reg Parnell broke away from the group behind and passed Swaters on the same lap. At the end of lap 15, Farina still led, but Pilette was starting to catch up. Von Brauchitsch was still a cleat third, followed by Parnell, Swaters and Bira, all in a big fight.

Pilette was now very close to Farina, with von Brauchitsch equally close to Pilette, with Parnell now in a relatively safe fourth place, Swaters in an equally safe fifth, but with Bira still in striking distance. Von Brauchitsch fell a bit further behind the front two, while Swaters pulled out a quick lap to overtake Parnell for fourth position. Stirling Moss retired from the race on lap 17, by spinning at Eau Rouge and stalling on the side of the track on the slope, unable to start the engine again. After starting 26th, he had made his way back up to 15th place, and was aspiring for a top ten finish, but those hopes are now over.

Pilette finally retook the lead away from Farina on lap 18 and looked like he had the pace to win the race, while von Brauchitsch was falling back into the clutches of Swaters, who was now eyeing a spot on the podium with Parnell a short way behind. Parnell was quickly passed by Bira, who was now on fire, and also overtook Swaters for fourth, who was then passed by Parnell! Von Brauchitsch took the opportunity to pull away from them and consolidate his third position while Pilette increased his lead over Farina. Luigi Villoresi's race came to an end, as he slid wide at Blanchimont, damaging his suspension, forcing him to retire out of 17th position.

On lap 20, Pilette had a sizeable lead over Farina, who himself had a decent gap back to von Brauchitsch. Behind them came Bira and Parnell, rounding out the points. The 20 drivers were then reduced to 19, when Aldo Gordini span on the pit straight, colliding with the concrete wall opposite the pits at relatively low speed. He got out of the car visibly in shock. A doctor was brought to evaluate any possible injuries, but he looked unharmed.

Van Acker was now the man in form, and was now virtually side-by-side with Parnell for fifth place, with Swaters just behind in seventh place. Pilette made a small mistake and Farina made up some of the gap, but not enough to make a large impact on the course of the race. Bira was still incredibly fast, and was now very close to passing von Brauchitsch for third position. Van Acker was now in fifth place, having passed Parnell, as did Swaters, who was now in sixth position. At that point, Bira was at his peak and not only passed von Brauchitsch for third place, but also made up the whole gap between him and Farina. Yves Giraud-Cabantous also had to retire, when he returned to the pits with a faulty transmission. The damage was done, and he had to retire from ninth position.

Pilette then made a mistake and let Farina and Bira catch up, the three were now in epic battle with just five laps to go. Von Brauchitsch was still fourth ahead of Van Acker, closely followed by Parnell, Serafini and Swaters. Farina then dropped back a bit, and Pilette and Bira took the opportunity to leave him in their dust, fighting over the win like no one had ever seen. Farina was now in the clutches of von Brauchitsch. Almost simultaneously, Frère and Landi retired from the race with mechanical failures, leaving 16 cars on the track.

On lap 26, Bira passed Pilette and took the race lead, while Farina was passed by von Brauchitsch for third place. However, both groups were basically running at the same pace, making for a very exciting end to the race. The battle for fifth was also raging on between Serafini, Van Acker and Parnell. Bira was now pulling away from Pilette, but at the end of lap 27, with just two to go, he began to slow down a bit, leaving Pilette a great chance to catch up. Farina, meanwhile, had made his way back up into third, and looked like staying there permanently. A bit further back, Parnell won the battle for fifth, and had a big enough gap to not have to worry about it until the end.

This meant that the last battle within the points was for the lead. Farina attempted to make up the gap, but it was too little too late, and he had to settle for third. Pilette was making up the lost ground and was now only eight seconds behind Bira entering the final lap. He had already made up six seconds on lap 28, and Bira was gradually getting slower, making for a very exciting finish. At Eau Rouge, Pilette won back a second. Another at Kemmel, and two more at Burnenville, to be four seconds behind Bira at Masta. He continued to claw back up to Bira, gaining a second at Stavelot, one more at Carrière and another at Blanchimont, to be just a second behind at La Source. Pilette left the brakes until the last possible moment and was right behind Bira at the exit of the hairpin.

Pilette could use Bira's slipstream to take the win, and he tried to use it to his advantage. Sadly, the pit straight was too short, and Bira kept the lead, winning the race by just two tenths of a second. Farina finished in a safe third, with von Brauchitsch fourth and Parnell fifth.

Classification

Entry list

No	Driver	Entrant	Chassis	Engine
2	Clemente Biondetti	Scuderia Maremmana	Ferrari 166S	Jaguar XK 3.4 L6
4	Manfred von Brauchitsch		Ferrari 166S	Jaguar XK 3.4 L6
6	Aldo Gordini	Aldo Gordini	Simca Gordini T11	Gordini 1.5 L4s
8	Graham Whitehead	Graham Whitehead	ERA B-Type	ERA L6s
10	Alberto Ascari	Phoenix Racing Organisation	Phoenix P-02	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
12	José Froilan Gonzalez		Phoenix P-02	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
14	David Hampshire	Hampshire Racing Alliance	Alta GP	Alta 1.5 L4s
16	Hans Stuck	Scuderia Platé-Varzi	Maserati 4CL	Maserati 4CL 1.5 L4s
18	Georges Grignard	Ecurie Albertini	Talbot-Lago T26C	Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6
20	Dorino Serafini	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 375	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
22	Toulo de Graffenried		Ferrari 375	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
24	Reg Parnell		Ferrari 375	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
26	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari America	Ferrari 375	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
28	Maurice Trintignant	Scuderia Belgio	Alfa Romeo 158/50	Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s
30	Charles Van Acker		Alfa Romeo 158/50	Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s
32	Jacques Swaters	Garage Francorchamps	Ferrari 375	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
34	Tony Bettenhausen	/ Alexander Racing Team	Gordini T15	Gordini 1.5 L4s
36	Robert Manzon		Gordini T15	Gordini 1.5 L4s
38	Yves Giraud-Cabantous		Gordini T15	Gordini 1.5 L4s
40	Consalvo Sanesi		Gordini T15	Gordini 1.5 L4s
42	Piero Taruffi	Team Metcalf GP	Metcalf MET1	Metcalf
44	Johnny Claes	Claes Racing Developments	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s
46	André Simon		Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s
48	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo SpA	Alfa Romeo 158/50	Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s
50	Juan Manuel Fangio		Alfa Romeo 158/50	Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s
52	Stirling Moss		Alfa Romeo 158/50	Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s
54	Franco Rol	Redman Racing Team	Maserati 4CLT/48	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s
56	Luigi Fagioli	Scuderia Platé-Varzi	Maserati 4CL	Maserati 4CL 1.5 L4s
58	Chico Landi	Scuderia Commesso	Maserati 4CLT/48	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
60	Paul Frère	Team Metcalf GP	Metcalf MET1	Metcalf
62	B. Bira	Motorsport Bleu	Talbot-Lago T26C	Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6
64	Giovanni Bracco	Scuderia Ambrosiana	Ambrosiana A-001	Maserati 4CLT 1.5 L4s
66	André Pilette	Garage Francorchamps	Ferrari 375	Ferrari 375 4.5 V12
n/a*	Tony Gaze*	Tony Gaze	Alfa Romeo 158/50	Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s
n/a*	Mike Hawthorn*	Mike Hawthorn	Alfa Romeo 158/50	Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8s
n/a*	Geoff Richardson*	Geoff Richardson	RRA Type 1	ERA 158 1.5 L6s

• Tony Gaze, Mike Hawthorn and Geoff Richardson's entries were turned down due to a lack of experience.

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	66	André Pilette	Ferrari	4:24.2	-
2	4	Manfred von Brauchitsch	Ferrari-Jaguar	4:25.8	+ 1.6
3	48	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	4:25.9	+ 1.7
4	50	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	4:26.0	+ 1.8
5	32	Jacques Swaters	Ferrari	4:26.1	+ 1.9
6	36	Robert Manzon	Gordini	4:26.6	+ 2.4
7	28	Maurice Trintignant	Alfa Romeo	4:26.7	+ 2.5
8	22	Toulo de Graffenried	Ferrari	4:26.8	+ 2.6
9	46	André Simon	Maserati	4:27.6	+ 3.4
10	24	Reg Parnell	Ferrari	4:27.7	+ 3.5
11	62	B. Bira	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	4:27.9	+ 3.7
12	34	Tony Bettenhausen	Gordini	4:28.7	+ 4.5
13	30	Charles Van Acker	Alfa Romeo	4:28.8	+ 4.6
14	20	Dorino Serafini	Ferrari	4:29.0	+ 4.8
15	10	Alberto Ascari	Phoenix-Ferrari	4:29.2	+ 5.0
16	42	Piero Taruffi	Metcalf	4:29.7	+ 5.5
17	40	Consalvo Sanesi	Gordini	4:29.8	+ 5.6
18	56	Luigi Fagioli	Maserati	4:30.0	+ 5.8
19	38	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Gordini	4:30.3	+ 6.1
20	58	Chico Landi	Maserati-Ferrari	4:30.5	+ 6.3
21	18	Georges Grignard	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	4:30.8	+ 6.6
22	2	Clemente Biondetti	Ferrari-Jaguar	4:30.9	+ 6.7
23	54	Franco Rol	Maserati	4:31.1	+ 6.9
24	44	Johnny Claes	Maserati	4:31.2	+ 7.0
25	12	José Froilan Gonzalez	Phoenix-Ferrari	4:31.6	+ 7.4
26	52	Stirling Moss	Alfa Romeo	4:32.1	+ 7.9
27	16	Hans Stuck	Maserati	4:32.2	+ 8.0
28	60	Paul Frère	Metcalf	4:32.4	+ 8.2
29	64	Giovanni Bracco	Ambrosiana-Maserati	4:32.7	+ 8.5
30	26	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	4:32.9	+ 8.7
31	6	Aldo Gordini	Simca Gordini-Gordini	4:33.2	+ 9.0
32	14	David Hampshire	Alta	4:35.3	+ 11.1
33	8	Graham Whitehead	ERA	4:36.6	+ 12.4

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Pts
1	62	B. Bira	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	29	2:13:32.2	11	8
2	66	André Pilette	Ferrari	29	+ 0.2	1	6
3	48	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	29	+ 40.1	3	5
4	4	Manfred von Brauchitsch	Ferrari-Jaguar	29	+ 56.1	2	3
5	24	Reg Parnell	Ferrari	29	+ 1:52.2	10	2
6	20	Dorino Serafini	Ferrari	29	+ 3:04.3	14
7	32	Jacques Swaters	Ferrari	29	+ 3:12.3	5
8	30	Charles Van Acker	Alfa Romeo	29	+ 3:12.4	13
9	46	André Simon	Maserati	28	+ 1 lap	9
10	40	Consalvo Sanesi	Gordini	28	+ 1 lap	17
11	54	Franco Rol	Maserati	28	+ 1 lap	23
12	42	Piero Taruffi	Metcalf	28	+ 1 lap	16
13	10	Alberto Ascari	Phoenix-Ferrari	28	+ 1 lap	15
14	18	Georges Grignard	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	28	+ 1 lap	21
15	64	Giovanni Bracco	Ambrosiana-Maserati	26	+ 3 laps	29
16	14	David Hampshire	Alta	26	+ 3 laps	32
Ret	58	Chico Landi	Maserati-Ferrari	24	Oil leak	20
Ret	60	Paul Frère	Metcalf	23	Engine	28
Ret	38	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Gordini	22	Transmission	19
Ret	6	Aldo Gordini	Simca Gordini-Gordini	19	Accident	31
Ret	26	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	18	Accident damage	30
Ret	52	Stirling Moss	Alfa Romeo	15	Spin	26
Ret	22	Toulo de Graffenried	Ferrari	13	Overheating	8
Ret	2	Clemente Biondetti	Ferrari-Jaguar	10	Oil leak	22
Ret	8	Graham Whitehead	ERA	9	Accident	33
Ret	50	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	7	Spin	4
Ret	28	Maurice Trintignant	Alfa Romeo	6	Puncture	7
Ret	56	Luigi Fagioli	Maserati	5	Fatal accident	18
Ret	36	Robert Manzon	Gordini	4	Suspension	6
Ret	44	Johnny Claes	Maserati	4	Steering	24
Ret	34	Tony Bettenhausen	Gordini	3	Brakes	12
Ret	12	José Froilan Gonzalez	Phoenix-Ferrari	3	Engine	25
Ret	16	Hans Stuck	Maserati	1	Gearbox	27
DNA		Tony Gaze	Alfa Romeo		Refused entry
DNA		Mike Hawthorn	Alfa Romeo		Refused entry
DNA		Geoff Richardson	RRA-ERA		Refused entry

Notes

Drivers

• First victory for B. Bira.
• First and only pole position for André Pilette.
• First fastest lap for Giuseppe Farina.
• First and only podium for André Pilette.
• First points for André Pilette, Manfred von Brauchitsch and Reg Parnell (only points for von Brauchitsch).
• First start for Giovanni Bracco, Georges Grignard, Graham Whitehead, Paul Frère and Aldo Gordini.
• First entry for Graham Whitehead.
• Final entry and start for Luigi Fagioli.

Constructors

• First victory for Talbot-Lago.
• First start for Ambrosiana and Alta.
• Final start for Simca Gordini.

Entrants

• First victory for Motorsport Bleu.
• First pole position for Ecurie Nationale Belge.
• First points for Scuderia Maremmana.
• First start for Aldo Gordini, Graham Whitehead and Hampshire Racing Alliance (only start for Gordini and Whitehead).
• First entry for Aldo Gordini and Graham Whitehead (only entry for Whitehead).

Lap leaders

• Manfred von Brauchitsch: 2 laps (1-2)
• Giuseppe Farina: 15 laps (3-17)
• André Pilette: 8 laps (18-25)
• B. Bira: 4 laps (26-29)

Records broken

Drivers

• Most career podiums: Giuseppe Farina (4)
• Most career points: Giuseppe Farina (29)
• Most career starts: 7 drivers (8)
• Most career entries: 8 drivers (9)

Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Robert Manzon	9
2	Troy Ruttman	9
3	B. Bira	8
4	Consalvo Sanesi	6
5	André Pilette	6

Pos	Constructor	Points
1	Ferrari	14
2	Alfa Romeo	11
3	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	9
4	Gordini	9
5	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	8

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Alfa Romeo SpA	11
2	Ecurie Nationale Belge	10
3	Ferrari America	9
4	/ Alexander Racing Team	9
5	Motorsport Bleu	8

• Only the top five positions are listed.

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