The 1955 Formula One season was the ninth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the sixth World Championship of Drivers, which was contested over seven races between 16 January and 11 September 1955. The season also included several non-championship races for Formula One cars.
Juan Manuel Fangio won his second consecutive World Championship title. [1] It was his third in total, a record that would not be beaten until Alain Prost in 1993. This was the last championship for a Mercedes driver until 2014.
The season was coloured by tragedy. Two drivers were killed during the 1955 Indianapolis 500: Manny Ayulo and Bill Vukovich, winner of the two previous editions. [2] Italian Mario Alborghetti died at the non-championship Pau Grand Prix. Alberto Ascari, World Champion of 1952 and 1953, was killed while testing a Ferrari 750 Monza at Monza. [3] [4] [5] And ex-Formula One driver Pierre Levegh was killed in the 1955 Le Mans disaster, along with 83 spectators. This would lead to the cancellation of four F1 Grands Prix.
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1955 FIA World Championship. The list does not include those who only contested the Indianapolis 500.
Round | Grand Prix | Circuit | Date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Argentine Grand Prix | Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires | 16 January |
2 | Monaco Grand Prix | Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo | 22 May |
3 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway | 30 May [lower-alpha 1] |
4 | Belgian Grand Prix | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot | 5 June |
5 | Dutch Grand Prix | Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort | 19 June |
6 | British Grand Prix | Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, Merseyside | 16 July |
7 | Italian Grand Prix | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza | 11 September |
In the aftermath of the 1955 Le Mans disaster, it was decided to reschedule the French Grand Prix from 3 July to 25 September. [12] It was later cancelled, along with the German, Swiss and Spanish rounds. [13] [14]
Grand Prix | Circuit | Original date |
---|---|---|
French Grand Prix | Reims-Gueux, Gueux | 3 July |
German Grand Prix | Nürburgring, Nürburg | 31 July |
Swiss Grand Prix | Circuit Bremgarten, Bern | 21 August |
Spanish Grand Prix | Pedralbes Circuit, Barcelona | 23 October |
The circuits at Pedralbes and Bremgarten were never used again for racing. Motor racing was banned altogether in Switzerland until the 2018 Zürich ePrix.
For the third year in a row, the championship opened with the Argentine Grand Prix. José Froilan González started on pole position. The Argentine had been a full-time Ferrari driver in 1954, but it would be his only race this year. Next to him on the front row started two double World Champions: Alberto Ascari in the Lancia and Juan Manuel Fangio in the Mercedes. Fangio took the lead at the start, but lost it to Ascari on lap 3. Teammate Stirling Moss went from eighth to third, while behind them, drivers and cars were beginning to succumb to the heat of 52 °C (126 °F). On lap 21, Ascari crashed out by himself, leaving González in the lead. However, he was still recovering from his accident in the 1954 RAC Tourist Trophy and got exhausted. Fearing he could not hold Fangio behind, he pitted to hand the car to teammate and 1950 World Champion Nino Farina. Fangio pitted as well, for new tyres and to cool off, while Moss retired due to a vapor lock in the fuel pump. This left another local driver, Roberto Mieres in the Maserati, in the lead after starting sixteenth. Sadly, his fuel pump faltered as well and he spent 10 minutes in the pits, coming home in fifth. Besides Mieres, Fangio would be the only classified driver not to have switched cars during the race, and went on to win. Two Ferraris completed the podium, but each had seen three different drivers behind the wheel, so Fangio had an immediate lead in the championship. [15] [16]
The Monaco Grand Prix returned to the calendar after three years and was given the honorary title of European Grand Prix. A new rule to qualifying had been added: only the times recorded in the first practice session on Thursday afternoon would count for the front row of the grid and, thus, for pole position. The rest of the starting places would be decided by the remaining sessions on Friday and Saturday morning. This was done to entice spectators to come and watch every session, but it was an unpopular idea with the drivers. Fangio set the fastest time, ahead of Ascari and Moss, so they could relax and use the remaining sessions to try out car set-ups for the race. At the start of the race, Fangio held on to the lead, but Ascari fell back. Moss took second place after a few laps and was slowly closing up to his teammate in front. After the two drivers behind Moss pitted, Ascari was left in a lonely third place until, at half-distance, Fangio stopped on track with a broken transmission and, on lap 81, Moss's engine blew up. Ascari took the unexpected lead of the race, but mere seconds later, crashed coming out of the harbour chicane and plunged into the water. He was lucky to escape with just a cut on the nose. Maurice Trintignant took the win for Ferrari, the first of his career, ahead of Eugenio Castellotti for Lancia and Cesare Perdisa in Jean Behra's Maserati. [17]
The Indianapolis 500 was included in the Formula One championship, but no F1 drivers attended. Bob Sweikert won the race.
In the Drivers' Championship, Maurice Trintignant (Ferrari) was leading with 11 points, ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio (Mercedes) with 10 and Bob Sweikert (Kurtis Kraft) with 8. Sweikert would not compete in any other rounds.
Four days after the Monaco Grand Prix, double World Champion Alberto Ascari was tragically killed in a test session at Monza. Further burdened by financial troubles, the Lancia team was left with two cars and just one driver. Soon, all assets would be merged into the Ferrari team, but this did not stop Eugenio Castellotti from scoring his first career pole position in the Belgian Grand Prix. The Mercedes cars of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss started beside him on the front row. Championship leader Maurice Trintignant started down in eleventh out of thirteen. At the start, Fangio and Moss quickly took the lead and never looked back. Castellotti retired on lap 16, allowing 1950 World Champion Nino Farina to finish third for Ferrari. [18]
On 11 June, the 24 Hours of Le Mans took place and many F1 drivers participated. During the race, Pierre Levegh crashed into the spectator area, killing 83 people and injuring at least 120 others. This led the FIA to postpone the French Grand Prix. [12] However, the Dutch Grand Prix was next on the F1 championship and went on undisturbed. Mercedes managed to occupy the front row with Fangio, Moss and Karl Kling. At the start, Luigi Musso put his Maserati into second position, but was outbraved by Moss. Kling tried his best to keep up with the leading trio but, on lap 21, spun off and retired. Fangio and Moss scored another one-two finish, a minute ahead of Musso. This was the first race since the 1950 French Grand Prix that none of the cars on the podium were powered by a Ferrari engine. [19]
For the British Grand Prix, Stirling Moss scored his first career pole position in front of his home crowd. Fangio started second, Jean Behra third for Maserati. The second row was filled by two more Mercedes: Karl Kling and Piero Taruffi. Fangio had the best start, but Moss regained the lead on lap 3, his car set up with a lower top speed but better acceleration out of the corners. Behra retired on lap 10, handing the top four positions to Mercedes, with Fangio once again in front. A couple of laps later, Moss retook the lead, grew his advantage to ten seconds and set a new lap record. Unused to having the team leader behind him, Moss looked back on the last lap and hesitated. But Fangio hang back, two tenths behind, leaving the home hero to take the win. [20]
In the Drivers' Championship, Juan Manuel Fangio (Mercedes) led with 33 points, ahead of Stirling Moss (Mercedes) with 22 and Maurice Trintignant (Ferrari) with 11 points. After the British Grand Prix, the German, Swiss, French and Spanish Grand Prix were cancelled, in the aftermath of the 1955 Le Mans disaster. This left just one race in the championship and effectively handed the title to Fangio.
The Italian Grand Prix was run on the 10 km (6.2 mi) Monza layout including a new steep banking. Nino Farina crashed in practice when his rear tyre came apart under the load of the banked turn and the heat of the sun. He escaped unhurt but his Ferrari-run Lancia was written off, and although Sunday was substantially cooler, the other Lancia was withdrawn as a precaution. Like in Zandvoort, Mercedes-Benz in Formula One#Mercedes occupied the front row in the order of Fangio, Moss, Kling. Moss took the lead at the start, but gave way to his Argentinian team leader before the first lap was run. The fourth Mercedes of Taruffi went from ninth to fourth, the team repeating their procession run from last race. However, Moss pitted on lap 19 for a new windscreen and subsequently retired on lap 28 when his engine cut out. Kling's gearbox broke and he retired as well, leaving the German team worried, but Fangio and Taruffi finished the race untroubled, scoring another Mercedes 1-2, ahead of Eugenio Castellotti for Ferrari. [21]
Juan Manuel Fangio (Mercedes) had collected 40 points and won his third Drivers' Championship, his second in a row. Teammate Stirling Moss was second with 23 points and Eugenio Castellotti third with 12. Mercedes withdrew from F1 after this season, marking it the final race until the team's revival in 2010, their final win until the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix and final championship title until 2014.
Points were awarded to the top five classified finishers, with an additional point awarded for setting the fastest lap, regardless of finishing position or even classification. Only the best five results counted towards the championship. Shared drives result in shared points for each driver if they finished in a points-scoring position. If more than one driver set the same fastest lap time, the fastest lap point would be divided equally between the drivers. Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored. Points were awarded in the following system:
Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | FL |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Race | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Source: [22] |
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Other Formula One races were also held in 1955, which did not count towards the World Championship.
Alberto Ascari was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1955. Ascari won two Formula One World Drivers' Championship titles, which he won in 1952 and 1953 with Ferrari, and won 13 Grands Prix across six seasons. In endurance racing, Ascari won the Mille Miglia in 1954 with Lancia.
The 1952 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 17 August 1952 at the Circuit Zandvoort. It was race 7 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. The 90-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari after he started from pole position. His teammates Giuseppe Farina and Luigi Villoresi finished in second and third places. Ascari overtook Fangio's record for the most race wins, scoring his seventh at this race.
The 1952 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 7 September 1952 at Monza. It was the eighth and final round of 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. The 80-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari after he started from pole position. José Froilán González finished second for the Maserati team and Ascari's teammate Luigi Villoresi came in third.
The 1953 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 7 June 1953 at the Circuit Zandvoort. It was race 3 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used. The 90-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari after he started from pole position. His teammate Nino Farina finished second and Maserati drivers José Froilán González and Felice Bonetto came in third
The 1953 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 21 June 1953 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was race 4 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used. The 36-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari after he started from second position. His teammate Luigi Villoresi finished second and Maserati driver Onofre Marimón came in third.
The 1954 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 20 June 1954. It was race 3 of 9 in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers. The 36-lap race was won by Maserati driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from pole position. Maurice Trintignant finished second for the Ferrari team with Fangio's teammate Stirling Moss in third.
The 1954 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Reims on 4 July 1954, the same date as the 1954 Football World Cup Final. It was race 4 of 9 in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers. The 61-lap race was won by Mercedes driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from pole position. His teammate Karl Kling finished second and Ferrari driver Robert Manzon came in third. This race was held the same day as the 1954 FIFA World Cup Final in Bern, Switzerland, but that event took place later in the day from this Grand Prix.
The 1954 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 17 July 1954. It was race 5 of 9 in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers. The 90-lap race was won by Ferrari driver José Froilán González after he started from second position. His teammate Mike Hawthorn finished second and Maserati driver Onofre Marimón came in third.
The 1954 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring on 1 August 1954. It was race 6 of 9 in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers. It was the 17th German Grand Prix since the race was first held in 1926 and the 16th to be held at the Nürburgring complex of circuits. The race was won by 1951 world champion, Argentine driver Juan Manuel Fangio driving a Mercedes-Benz W196. Ferrari 625 drivers Mike Hawthorn and Maurice Trintignant finished second and third for Scuderia Ferrari.
The 1954 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 24 October 1954 at Pedralbes. It was the ninth and final race in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers. The 80-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Mike Hawthorn after he started from third position. Luigi Musso finished second for the Maserati team and Mercedes driver Juan Manuel Fangio came in third.
The 1955 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on 16 January 1955. It was race 1 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers.
The 1955 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 22 May 1955. It was race 2 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers and was given an honorary name, Grand Prix d'Europe. The 100-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Maurice Trintignant after he started from ninth position. Eugenio Castellotti finished second for the Lancia team and Maserati drivers Jean Behra and Cesare Perdisa came in third.
The 1955 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on June 5, 1955. It was race 4 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers. The 36-lap race was won by Mercedes driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from second position. His teammate Stirling Moss finished second and Ferrari driver Nino Farina came in third.
The 1957 Formula One season was the 11th season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 8th World Championship of Drivers which was contested over eight races between 13 January and 8 September 1957. The season also included nine non-championship races for Formula One cars.
The 1956 Formula One season was the tenth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the seventh World Championship of Drivers, which was contested over eight races between 22 January and 2 September 1956. The season also included nine non-championship races for Formula One cars.
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Cesare Perdisa was an Italian racing driver from Bologna. He participated in eight Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 22 May 1955. He achieved two podiums and scored a total of five championship points.