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

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