1956 British Grand Prix
The 1955 British Grand Prix was the eighth race of the 1956 Formula One World Championship and was held in Silverstone on October 7th 1956. Held just one week after the deaths of Tony Brooks and Paco Godia at the 1956 Scottish Grand Prix, the weekend was surrounded by spirited discourse on the state of safety in the sport. The race itself is considered one of the best of its time for the three-way battle for the win between the eventual podium finishers. Polesitter Jack Brabham scored his third win of the season and took a crucial championship lead, less than three seconds ahead of Umberto Maglioli's Ferrari. Long-time race leader Peter Collins finished third and scored the race's fastest lap.
Contents
Background
Once again, the motor racing world has lost some of its most esteemed citizens. After the tragic deaths of Dries van der Lof and André Milhoux earlier in the year, Paco Godia and Tony Brooks were sadly killed in separate accidents during last week's Scottish Grand Prix.
As the paddock mourns their deaths, the mood at Silverstone is sombre. Scuderia Ferrari has declined to hire a replacement for Godia, while B.C.M.A. have had to resort to whomever they had to hand. 41 drivers will be competing in this event.
- Amidst rumours that Team Lotus could withdraw from the sport, Trintignant and team boss Colin Chapman were injured in the Scottish Grand Prix. Impressive rookie Masten Gregory agreed to step into the car, alongside Australian Lex Davison, who happened to be present in Silverstone.
- Irishman Joe Flynn was also injured in Edinburgh, meaning that the third IRC Lancia will be entered by William Lacy, alongside Titterington and Hamilton.
- Following the senseless death of Tony Brooks, B.C.M.A. decided to obtain permission from Climax and Connaught to hire Stuart Lewis-Evans for the remainder of the season. Former Vanwall driver Cliff Allison will replace Lewis-Evans at Connaught.
- An administrative mishap caused the BRM engine used by Jack Fairman to be retained by BRM, prompting Owen Racing Organisation to borrow Vanwall's spare engine.
- At Gordini, Jo Bonnier inherits the fourth Type 56 after his point scored in Edinburgh. Red Gallagher is demoted to driving the 1953 model.
- After Ninian Sanderson failed to qualify the Ecurie Ecosse Cooper in Edinburgh, Ivor Bueb will be driving the car in Silverstone.
- As previously mentioned, following Paco Godia's fatal accident, Ferrari have decided not to bring a fourth car, keeping to a three-car operation for Fangio, Gaze and Maglioli.
- Giulio Cabianca returns with Reatherson, after the team skipped the Scottish Grand Prix.
- BRUNEL once again change their engine, hiring an old Jaguar powerplant to replace their own Jag and Porsche.
- Following Harry Schell's injury in Edinburgh, Cooper's second car will now be driven by Olivier Gendebien.
- After bringing only one car to the previous two races, BRM now have a three-car operation for Ron Flockhart, Paul Frère and Tony Rolt, driving the AAC 555 that hadn't appeared for months.
- Asso di Fiori, after their embarrassing mistake of arriving to Wicklow during the Scottish weekend, will finally be competing again for the first time since Spa.
- Scared by the smaller grid size, Escuderia Hernandez decided not to make the trip to to Silverstone.
- Horace Gould will also not be attending his home race, unable to get the Hernandez repaired in time.
- Following the rather underwhelming performance by Kuznetsov in Edinburgh, the Soviet team have not appeared. It is not known whether or not they plan to appear again.
Race weekend
Prequalifying
No real surprise in terms of the top teams all making through. The two 'outsiders' who make the cut are Dorino Serafini in the Adriatica Ferrari and Ivor Bueb in the Ecurie Ecosse Cooper, both of whome outpaced Lex Davison in the Lotus. Similarly expectedly, both BRM drivers took the bottom spots.
Paul Emery almost pulled off a brilliant upset, coming within just 0.31 seconds of outpacing Lex Davison, but otherwise, no real surprises occurred.
Qualifying
Jack Brabham establishes himself as clear favourite with a fourth dominant pole position, though main rivals Titterington and Collins will line up alongside him. Reg Parnell, Giulio Cabianca and Onofre Marimón will make the grid as the only drivers for non-top teams. Mike Hawthorn suffers from recurring technical issues causing him not to set a time.
Race
Peter Collins got the best start at the front and led the first lap, which didn't see very many position changes. Brabham and Sanesi began dropping backwards, Brabham down to fourth place behind Collins, Titterington and González. On the third lap, González made a mistake at Chapel corner, catching out Brabham. Taking advantage of the confusion, Umberto Maglioli passed both to take third place for Ferrari. However, he couldn't keep up the pace, falling behind Volonterio, Brabham and a charging Bonnier. Collins started to get caught by Titterington and Volonterio, but responded by setting fastest lap. Meanwhile, Maglioli reacted to his drop down the field by picking up the pace, passing Ruttman and Brabham.
On lap 9, Volonterio passed Titterington for second place and started to pull away. Surprised by this, Titterington began to push, but disrupted his rhythm. He made a mistake at Abbey and span out of the race, throwing the title fight wide open. Ottorino Volonterio retired soon after with a clutch failure, rendering the battle pretty much moot. This left Collins with a shrinking lead ahead of Umberto Maglioli, who had just passed Brabham. González retired from fifth place soon after, reducing the O.S.C.A. ranks to Ruttman in sixth and Moss in ninth. Maglioli and Brabham were fighting hard for second place, and catching Collins in the process. Feeling the pressure, Collins had an off-track excursion at Stowe on lap 21, allowing Brabham through into the race lead. Further back, Marimón's customer O.S.C.A. pulled up by the track side with a clutch failure. A few laps later, Moss joined him, with a gearbox failure.
Passing Collins was a liberation for Brabham, who pulled away, while Maglioli and Collins failed to keep up. Maglioli slowly pulled up to Collins, surprising everyone by continuing his impressive performance from qualifying. As Maglioli pushed Collins, the Brit picked up the pace as well, catching Brabham on lap 37 and setting a new fastest lap in the process. Despite the Australian's best efforts, Collins took the lead back on lap 46. Giulio Cabianca became the sixth driver to retire, with transmission failure, on the 47th lap. Five laps later, Troy Ruttman's clutch failed, ending the race early for the O.S.C.A. contingent. On lap 54, Brabham took the lead again, but Collins and Maglioli started to catch him once more. 4 laps later, Collins was in the lead again.
Jo Bonnier sadly retired from a promising fourth place with an oil leak on lap 62. Maglioli, at this point, was aggressively attacking Brabham for second place, but simply couldn't find a way past. Brabham responded by pulling away, catching and passing Collins for the lead on lap 69. On the following lap, Maglioli also passed Collins, taking second place, only for Collins to take the place back the following lap, and for Maglioli to take the advantage again on lap 72! Consalvo Sanesi pulled up by the side of the track at Club, having run out of fuel. As Collins fell behind, Maglioli attempted to pass Brabham once again, but despite the Italian's best efforts, Jack Brabham pulled off some of the best defensive driving in the sport's history to win his third race of the season and take the championship lead! Maglioli, undoubtedly the quickest driver of the day, finished a close second, with Collins third. In a close battle for fifth, Bira took two points despite a horrendous race, Tony Gaze took the final point, followed by Castellotti, Fangio, Gallagher and Gregory. Sanesi was classified in 12th place.
Classification
Entry list
Championship standings
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Jack Brabham
|
27 |
| 2 |  Desmond Titterington
|
22 |
| 3 | Stirling Moss
|
19 |
| 4 |  B. Bira
|
16 |
| 5 |  Consalvo Sanesi
|
13 |
| Pos | Constructor | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Gordini
|
38 |
| 2 | O.S.C.A.
|
31 |
| 3 | Lancia
|
25 |
| 4 | B.C.M.A.
|
22 |
| 5 | Lotus-B.C.M.A.
|
19 |
| Pos | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alexander Racing Team-Gordini
|
38 |
| 2 | Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili
|
31 |
| 3 |  Irish Racing Cars
|
25 |
| 4 | British Commonwealth Motorsport Association
|
22 |
| 5 | Team Lotus
|
19 |
- Only the top five positions are listed.
| Previous race: 1956 Scottish Grand Prix |
Alternate Formula 1 World Championship 1956 Season |
Next race: 1956 Italian Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1955 British Grand Prix |
British Grand Prix | Next race: 1957 British Grand Prix |
