1952 British Grand Prix

1952 British Grand Prix
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Silverstone Circuit in 1952–1973 configuration
Race details
Date	19 July 1952
Official name	5th RAC British Grand Prix
Location	Silverstone Circuit Silverstone, England
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	4.7105 km (2.927 miles)
Distance	85 laps, 400.307 km (248.739 miles)
Weather	Overcast, dry.
Attendance	100,000 (estimate) [1]
Pole position
Driver	Nino Farina	Ferrari
Time	1:50.0
Fastest lap
Driver	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari
Time	1:52.0
Podium
First	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari
Second	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari
Third	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper-Bristol
Lap leaders

The 1952 British Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 19 July 1952 at Silverstone Circuit. It was race 5 of 8 in the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.

Photo from Grandstand

New pit facilities had been built on the straight between Woodcote and Copse corners; the original pits were located between Abbey and Woodcote.

Report

Jean Behra was unable to take part in the British Grand Prix, having broken his shoulder blade at the non-championship Grand Prix de Sables d'Olonne the previous weekend. Consequently, Maurice Trintignant took over Behra's Gordini T16 for Silverstone, having driven a Simca-Gordini T15 at Rouen-Les-Essarts. The Gordini team also fielded regular drivers Robert Manzon and Prince Bira. As in the previous race, Belgian driver Johnny Claes entered a privateer Simca-Gordini under the 'Ecurie Belge' moniker. Ferrari stuck with the same three drivers — Alberto Ascari, Nino Farina and Piero Taruffi — who had monopolised the podium positions at the French Grand Prix. There were also a number of privateer Ferrari entrants: Fischer and Hirt for Ecurie Espadon, Peter Whitehead and Roy Salvadori. HWM continued their policy of partnering regulars Peter Collins and Lance Macklin with a local driver, in this case Duncan Hamilton. The Connaught team ran a quartet of Lea Francis-engined entries — McAlpine, Downing, Thompson and Poore — while the remainder of the grid was made up of a series of privateers of various constructors, including Coopers and Maseratis.

The three works Ferraris, led on this occasion by Farina, again qualified in the top three positions on the grid, this time being joined on the four-car front row by Manzon. The second row consisted of Downing alongside Reg Parnell and Mike Hawthorn in a pair of Cooper-Bristols. The Connaughts of Poore and Thompson shared row three with Bira's Gordini and Hamilton in his HWM.

Ascari took the lead at the start of the race and held onto it for the whole 85 laps, taking his third consecutive victory in the World Championship. Polesitter Nino Farina was in second place for the first 26 laps but he dropped down the field when he needed to pit to change spark plugs, eventually finishing in sixth, just outside the points. Despite making a bad start that saw him drop to ninth by the end of the first lap, fellow Ferrari driver Taruffi recovered to take second place, finishing a lap behind Ascari. Dennis Poore, who had been running in third after Farina's pit stop, needed to make a stop of his own in order to refuel his car. This allowed Hawthorn to inherit third place, which he held for the remainder of the race. He finished a lap behind Taruffi and took his first World Championship podium in just his third race. Poore took fourth, ahead of Connaught teammate Eric Thompson in the fifth and final points position. ^[2]

Ascari's win, coupled with yet another fastest lap, allowed him to extend his lead in the Drivers' Championship once again. He now enjoyed an eight-point lead over fellow Ferrari driver Taruffi. Farina, having not scored any points, was seven points adrift of Taruffi.

Entries

No	Driver	Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre
1	Graham Whitehead	Peter Whitehead	Alta	Alta F2	Alta F2 2.0 L4	D
2	Bill Aston	W.S. Aston	Aston Butterworth	Aston NB41	Aston Butterworth F4 2.0 F4	D
3	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Engineering	Connaught-Lea Francis	Connaught A	Lea Francis 2.0 L4	D
4	Ken Downing		Connaught-Lea Francis	Connaught A	Lea Francis 2.0 L4	D
5	Eric Thompson		Connaught-Lea Francis	Connaught A	Lea Francis 2.0 L4	D
6	Dennis Poore		Connaught-Lea Francis	Connaught A	Lea Francis 2.0 L4	D
7	David Murray	Ecurie Ecosse	Cooper-Bristol	Cooper T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D
8	Reg Parnell	AHM Bryde	Cooper-Bristol	Cooper T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D
9	Mike Hawthorn	Leslie D. Hawthorn	Cooper-Bristol	Cooper T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D
10	Eric Brandon	Ecurie Richmond	Cooper-Bristol	Cooper T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D
11	Alan Brown		Cooper-Bristol	Cooper T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D
12	Stirling Moss	English Racing Automobiles Ltd.	ERA-Bristol	ERA G	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D
14	Roy Salvadori 1	G. Caprara	Ferrari	Ferrari 500	Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4	D
15	Alberto Ascari	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	Ferrari 500	Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4	P
16	Nino Farina		Ferrari	Ferrari 500	Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4	P
17	Piero Taruffi		Ferrari	Ferrari 500	Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4	P
18	Louis Rosier 2	Ecurie Rosier	Ferrari	Ferrari 500	Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4	D
19	Rudi Fischer	Ecurie Espadon	Ferrari	Ferrari 500	Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4	P
20	Peter Hirt		Ferrari	Ferrari 212	Ferrari 166 2.0 V12	P
21	Peter Whitehead	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	Ferrari 125	Ferrari 166 2.0 V12	D
22	Ken Wharton 2	Scuderia Franera	Frazer Nash-Bristol	Frazer Nash FN48	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D
23	Tony Crook	Tony Crook	Frazer Nash-BMW	Frazer Nash 421	BMW 328 2.0 L6	D
24	Robert Manzon	Equipe Gordini	Gordini	Gordini T16	Gordini 20 2.0 L6	E
25	Maurice Trintignant		Gordini	Gordini T16	Gordini 20 2.0 L6	E
26	Prince Bira		Gordini	Gordini T16	Gordini 20 2.0 L6	E
27	Johnny Claes	Ecurie Belge	Simca-Gordini	Simca-Gordini T15	Gordini 1500 1.5 L4	E
28	Tony Gaze	Tony Gaze	HWM-Alta	HWM 52	Alta F2 2.0 L4	D
29	Peter Collins	HW Motors	HWM-Alta	HWM 52	Alta F2 2.0 L4	D
30	Duncan Hamilton		HWM-Alta	HWM 52	Alta F2 2.0 L4	D
31	Lance Macklin		HWM-Alta	HWM 52	Alta F2 2.0 L4	D
32	Toulo de Graffenried	Enrico Platé	Maserati-Platé	Maserati 4CLT-48	Platé 2.0 L4	P
33	Harry Schell		Maserati-Platé	Maserati 4CLT-48	Platé 2.0 L4	P
34	Gino Bianco	Escuderia Bandeirantes	Maserati	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati A6G 2.0 L6	P
35	Eitel Cantoni		Maserati	Maserati A6GCM	Maserati A6G 2.0 L6	P
Sources: [3] [4]

^1 — Roy Salvadori qualified and drove the entire race in the #14 Ferrari. Bobbie Baird, named substitute driver for the car, was not used during the Grand Prix. ^[5]

^2 — Louis Rosier and Ken Wharton both withdrew from the event prior to practice. ^[6]

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	16	Nino Farina	Ferrari	1:50	–
2	15	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	1:50	+ 0
3	17	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	1:53	+ 3
4	24	Robert Manzon	Gordini	1:55	+ 5
5	4	Ken Downing	Connaught-Lea Francis	1:56	+ 6
6	8	Reg Parnell	Cooper-Bristol	1:56	+ 6
7	9	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper-Bristol	1:56	+ 6
8	6	Dennis Poore	Connaught-Lea Francis	1:56	+ 6
9	5	Eric Thompson	Connaught-Lea Francis	1:57	+ 7
10	26	Prince Bira	Gordini	1:57	+ 7
11	30	Duncan Hamilton	HWM-Alta	1:57	+ 7
12	1	Graham Whitehead	Alta	1:58	+ 8
13	11	Alan Brown	Cooper-Bristol	1:58	+ 8
14	29	Peter Collins	HWM-Alta	1:58	+ 8
15	19	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	1:58	+ 8
16	12	Stirling Moss	ERA-Bristol	1:59	+ 9
17	3	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught-Lea Francis	2:00	+ 10
18	10	Eric Brandon	Cooper-Bristol	2:00	+ 10
19	14	Roy Salvadori	Ferrari	2:00	+ 10
20	21	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	2:00	+ 10
21	25	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	2:00	+ 10
22	7	David Murray	Cooper-Bristol	2:02	+ 12
23	27	Johnny Claes	Simca-Gordini-Gordini	2:02	+ 12
24	20	Peter Hirt	Ferrari	2:03	+ 13
25	23	Tony Crook	Frazer Nash-BMW	2:03	+ 13
26	28	Tony Gaze	HWM-Alta	2:05	+ 15
27	35	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	2:06	+ 16
28	34	Gino Bianco	Maserati	2:07	+ 17
29	31	Lance Macklin	HWM-Alta	2:08	+ 18
30	2	Bill Aston	Aston Butterworth	3:28	+ 1:38
31	32	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati-Platé	No time	–
32	33	Harry Schell	Maserati-Platé	No time	–

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	15	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	85	2:46:11	2	9 1
2	17	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	84	+1 lap	3	6
3	9	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper-Bristol	83	+2 laps	7	4
4	6	Dennis Poore	Connaught-Lea Francis	83	+2 laps	8	3
5	5	Eric Thompson	Connaught-Lea Francis	82	+3 laps	9	2
6	16	Nino Farina	Ferrari	82	+3 laps	1
7	8	Reg Parnell	Cooper-Bristol	82	+3 laps	6
8	14	Roy Salvadori	Ferrari	82	+3 laps	19
9	4	Ken Downing	Connaught-Lea Francis	82	+3 laps	5
10	21	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	81	+4 laps	20
11	26	Prince Bira	Gordini	81	+4 laps	10
12	1	Graham Whitehead	Alta	80	+5 laps	12
13	19	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	80	+5 laps	15
14	27	Johnny Claes	Simca-Gordini-Gordini	79	+6 laps	23
15	31	Lance Macklin	HWM-Alta	79	+6 laps	29
16	3	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught-Lea Francis	79	+6 laps	17
17	33	Harry Schell	Maserati-Platé	78	+7 laps	32
18	34	Gino Bianco	Maserati	77	+8 laps	28
19	32	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati-Platé	76	+9 laps	31
20	10	Eric Brandon	Cooper-Bristol	76	+9 laps	18
21	23	Tony Crook	Frazer Nash-BMW	75	+10 laps	25
22	11	Alan Brown	Cooper-Bristol	69	+16 laps	13
Ret	29	Peter Collins	HWM-Alta	73	Ignition	14
Ret	30	Duncan Hamilton	HWM-Alta	44	Engine	11
Ret	12	Stirling Moss	ERA-Bristol	36	Engine	16
Ret	25	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	21	Gearbox	21
Ret	28	Tony Gaze	HWM-Alta	19	Engine	26
Ret	7	David Murray	Cooper-Bristol	14	Engine	22
Ret	24	Robert Manzon	Gordini	9	Clutch	4
Ret	20	Peter Hirt	Ferrari	3	Brakes	24
Ret	35	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	0	Brakes	27
DNS	2	Bill Aston	Aston Butterworth	0	Non Starter
Source: [7]

Notes

• ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Alberto Ascari	27
	2	Piero Taruffi	19
	3	Nino Farina	12
	4	Troy Ruttman	8
	5	Robert Manzon	7
Source: [8]

• Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.

References

1. "British Grand Prix" . Buckingham Advertiser and Free Press. 26 July 1952. Retrieved 9 July 2020– via British Newspaper Archive.
2. "British GP, 1952 Race Report". Grand Prix.com. Retrieved 2 February 2013.
3. "1952 British Grand Prix - Race Entries". manipef1.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
4. "1952 British GP - Entry List". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
5. "Britain 1952 - Race entrants". statsf1.com. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
6. "Britain 1952 - Result". statsf1.com. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
7. "1952 British Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 2 January 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
8. "Britain 1952 - Championship • STATS F1". statsf1.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.

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