1953 Formula One season

The 1953 Formula One season was the seventh season of the FIA's Formula One racing. It consisted only of a number of non-championship motor races. As in 1952, all races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers, apart from the Indianapolis 500, were held for cars complying with Formula Two regulations rather than with Formula One, with the Indianapolis 500 held to AAA regulations.

The 4th FIA World Championship of Drivers,^[1] which commenced on 18 January and ended on 13 September after nine races,^[2] was won by Alberto Ascari,^[1] driving for a Scuderia Ferrari.^[3] Ascari became the first driver to successfully defend his title.

In addition to the non-championship Formula One races and the World Championship Formula Two races, numerous other non-championship Formula Two races were also held during the year.

World Championship season summary[]

Ferrari drivers again dominated the championship, taking seven of the eight grands prix, although Juan Manuel Fangio's challenge in his more fragile Maserati took him to second place in the championship and a win at Monza. Ascari extended his unbeaten run to nine consecutive World Championship Grand Prix wins before his teammate Mike Hawthorn broke the sequence in becoming the first ever British winner in the French Grand Prix at Reims after a thrilling battle with Fangio.

In 1953, all but one of the races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers were run under Formula 2 regulations, while the remaining one, the Indianapolis 500, was run under AAA Championship Car regulations. The 1953 championship was the first truly global World Championship of Drivers, with a championship event being staged outside of Europe or the United States for the first time. That race, the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix, was marred by an accident involving the Ferrari of Giuseppe Farina, which crashed into an unprotected crowd, killing nine spectators.

World Championship season review[]

Ferrari won seven of the nine championship races with its Tipo 500 model

The 1953 World Championship of Drivers was contested over a nine race series.

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Constructor	Tyre	Report
1	Argentine Grand Prix	Buenos Aires	18 January	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report
2	Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis	30 May	Bill Vukovich	Bill Vukovich	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	F	Report
3	Dutch Grand Prix	Zandvoort	7 June	Alberto Ascari	Luigi Villoresi	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report
4	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	21 June	Juan Manuel Fangio	José Froilán González	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report
5	French Grand Prix	Reims	5 July	Alberto Ascari	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	P	Report
6	British Grand Prix	Silverstone	18 July	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari José Froilán González	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report
7	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	2 August	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	P	Report
8	Swiss Grand Prix	Bremgarten	23 August	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	P	Report
9	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	13 September	Alberto Ascari	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	P	Report

The Spanish Grand Prix, scheduled to be staged on 26 October, was cancelled.^[2] The Indianapolis 500 also counted towards the 1953 AAA Championship.

Teams and drivers[]

Italian Alberto Ascari won the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, his second and last championship title and the most recent by an Italian driver

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1953 FIA World Championship of Drivers.

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Driver	Rounds
Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6	P	Juan Manuel Fangio	1, 3–9
					José Froilán González	1, 3–6
					Felice Bonetto	1, 3, 5–9
					Oscar Gálvez	1
					Johnny Claes	4
					Onofre Marimón	4–9
					Hermann Lang	8
					Sergio Mantovani	9
					Luigi Musso	9
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	500 553	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 Ferrari 553 2.0 L4	P	Alberto Ascari	1, 3–9
					Nino Farina	1, 3–9
					Luigi Villoresi	1, 3–9
					Mike Hawthorn	1, 3–9
					Umberto Maglioli	9
					Piero Carini	9
Cooper Car Company	Cooper-Bristol Cooper-Alta	T20 T23	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 Alta GP 2.5 L4	D	Alan Brown	1
					John Barber	1
					Adolfo Schwelm Cruz	1
					Stirling Moss	5, 7, 9
Equipe Gordini	Gordini Simca-Gordini		Gordini 20 2.0 L6 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4	E	Robert Manzon	1
					Harry Schell	1, 3–7, 9
					Maurice Trintignant	1, 3–9
					Jean Behra	1, 4–8
					Carlos Menditeguy	1
					Pablo Birger	1
					Roberto Mieres	3, 5, 9
					Fred Wacker	3–4, 8
Ecurie Rosier	Ferrari	500	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4	D	Louis Rosier	3–7, 9
Ecurie Rosier	Ferrari	500	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4	E	Louis Rosier	8
Enrico Platé	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6	P	Toulo de Graffenried	3
Connaught Engineering	Connaught-Lea-Francis		Lea-Francis 2.0 L4	D	Roy Salvadori	3, 5–7, 9
					Kenneth McAlpine	3, 6–7, 9
					Stirling Moss	3
					Birabongse Bhanudej	5–7
					Jack Fairman	9
Ecurie Belge	Connaught-Lea-Francis		Lea-Francis 2.0 L4	E	Johnny Claes	3, 5, 7, 9
Ecurie Belge	Connaught-Lea-Francis		Lea-Francis 2.0 L4	E	André Pilette	4
Ken Wharton	Cooper-Bristol	T23	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Ken Wharton	3, 5–6, 8–9
HW Motors	HWM-Alta		Alta GP 2.5 L4	D	Peter Collins	3–6
					Lance Macklin	3–6, 8–9
					Paul Frère	4, 8
					Yves Giraud-Cabantous	5, 9
					Duncan Hamilton	6
					Jack Fairman	6
					Albert Scherrer	8
					John Fitch	9
Emmanuel de Graffenried	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6	P	Toulo de Graffenried	4–9
Georges Berger	Simca-Gordini		Gordini 1500 1.5 L4	E	Georges Berger	4
Arthur Legat	Veritas		Veritas 2.0 L6	E	Arthur Legat	4
Ecurie Francorchamps	Ferrari	500	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4	E	Jacques Swaters	4, 7–8
Ecurie Francorchamps	Ferrari	500	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4	E	Charles de Tornaco	4
Louis Chiron	OSCA		OSCA 2000 2.0 L6	P	Louis Chiron	5–6, 8–9
Élie Bayol	OSCA		OSCA 2000 2.0 L6	P	Élie Bayol	5, 8
Bob Gerard	Cooper-Bristol	T23	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Bob Gerard	5–6
R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Connaught-Lea-Francis		Lea-Francis 2.0 L4	D	Tony Rolt	6
Ecurie Ecosse	Connaught-Lea-Francis Cooper-Bristol	T20	Lea-Francis 2.0 L4 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Ian Stewart	6
Ecurie Ecosse	Connaught-Lea-Francis Cooper-Bristol	T20	Lea-Francis 2.0 L4 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Jimmy Stewart	6
R.J. Chase	Cooper-Bristol	T23	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Alan Brown	6
Atlantic Stable	Cooper-Alta		Alta GP 2.5 L4	D	Peter Whitehead	6
Tony Crook	Cooper-Bristol	T20	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Tony Crook	6
Hans Stuck	AFM-Bristol		Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Hans Stuck	7, 9
Wolfgang Seidel	Veritas		Veritas 2.0 L6	D	Wolfgang Seidel	7
Willi Heeks	Veritas		Veritas 2.0 L6	D	Willi Heeks	7
Theo Helfrich	Veritas		Veritas 2.0 L6	D	Theo Helfrich	7
Oswald Karch	Veritas		Veritas 2.0 L6	D	Oswald Karch	7
Helmut Niedermayr	AFM-BMW		BMW 328 2.0 L6	D	Theo Fitzau	7
Ernst Loof	Veritas		Veritas 2.0 L6	D	Ernst Loof	7
Hans Herrmann	Veritas		Veritas 2.0 L6	D	Hans Herrmann	7
Erwin Bauer	Veritas		Veritas 2.0 L6	D	Erwin Bauer	7
Ecurie Espadon	Ferrari	500 212	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 Ferrari 166 2.0 V12	P	Kurt Adolff	7
					Peter Hirt	8
					Max de Terra	8
Rennkollektiv EMW	EMW		EMW 6 2.0 L6	D	Edgar Barth	7
Dora Greifzu	Greifzu-BMW	Eigenbau	BMW 328 2.0 L6	D	Rudolf Krause	7
Ernst Klodwig	Heck-BMW	Eigenbau	BMW 328 2.0 L6	D	Ernst Klodwig	7
Equipe Anglaise	Cooper-Bristol	T23	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Alan Brown	7, 9
Equipe Anglaise	Cooper-Bristol	T23	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Helmut Glöckler	7
Rodney Nuckey	Cooper-Bristol	T23	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Rodney Nuckey	7
Günther Bechem	AFM-BMW		BMW 328 2.0 L6	D	Günther Bechem	7
Escuderia Bandeirantes	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6	P	Chico Landi	8
OSCA Automobili	OSCA		OSCA 2000 2.0 L6	P	Élie Bayol	9
Scuderia Milano	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6	P	Chico Landi	9
Scuderia Milano	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati A6 2.0 L6	P	Birabongse Bhanudej	9

World Championship of Drivers standings[]

Championship points were awarded to first five finishers in each race on an 8–6–4–3–2 basis. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of the number of laps driven by each. One point was also awarded for the fastest lap in each race. The point was shared equally between drivers sharing the fastest lap. Only the best four results from the nine races counted towards a driver's total points in the World Championship. Numbers without parentheses are retained championship points and numbers within parentheses are total points scored.

Pos.	Driver	ARG	500‡	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	Pts.
1	Alberto Ascari	1		1	(1)	(4)	1	8† / (Ret)†	1	Ret	34.5 (46.5)
2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Ret		Ret	Ret / Ret†	2	2	2	(4)† / Ret†	1	28 (29.5)
3	Nino Farina	Ret		2	Ret	(5)	(3)	1	2	2	26 (32)
4	Mike Hawthorn	4		(4)	6	1	(5)	3	3	(4)	19 (27)
5	Luigi Villoresi	2		Ret	2	6	Ret	8† / Ret��	6	3	17
6	José Froilán González	3		3†	(Ret)	3	4				13.5 (14.5)
7	Bill Vukovich		1								9
8	Toulo de Graffenried			5	4	7	Ret	5	Ret	Ret	7
9	Felice Bonetto	Ret		3†		Ret	6	4	4† / Ret†	Ret	6.5
10	Art Cross		2								6
11	Onofre Marimón				3	9	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	4
12	Maurice Trintignant	7†		6	5	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	5	4
13	Sam Hanks		3†								2
14	Duane Carter		3†								2
15	Óscar Alfredo Gálvez	5									2
16	Jack McGrath		5								2
17	Hermann Lang								5		2
18	Fred Agabashian		4†								1.5
19	Paul Russo		4†								1.5
—	Stirling Moss			9		Ret		6		13	0
—	Jean Behra	6			Ret	10	Ret	Ret	Ret		0
—	Roberto Mieres			Ret		Ret				6	0
—	Jimmy Daywalt		6								0
—	Harry Schell	7†		Ret	7	Ret	Ret	Ret		9	0
—	Louis Rosier			7	8	8	10	10	Ret	16	0
—	Ken Wharton			Ret		Ret	8		7	NC	0
—	Birabongse Bhanudej					Ret	7	Ret		11	0
—	Jacques Swaters				DNS			7	Ret		0
—	Jim Rathmann		7								0
—	Sergio Mantovani									7†	0
—	Luigi Musso									7†	0
—	Peter Collins			8	Ret	13	Ret				0
—	John Barber	8									0
—	Ernie McCoy		8								0
—	Max de Terra								8		0
—	Umberto Maglioli									8	0
—	Alan Brown	9					Ret	Ret		12	0
—	Fred Wacker			DNS	9				DNS		0
—	Tony Bettenhausen		9								0
—	Peter Whitehead						9				0
—	Hans Herrmann							9			0
—	Albert Scherrer								9		0
—	Louis Chiron					15	DNS		DNS	10	0
—	Paul Frère				10				Ret		0
—	Jimmy Davies		10								0
—	Duke Nalon		11								0
—	André Pilette				11						0
—	Bob Gerard					11	Ret				0
—	Rodney Nuckey							11			0
—	Johnny Claes			NC	Ret†	12		Ret		Ret	0
—	Carl Scarborough		12								0
—	Theo Helfrich							12			0
—	Kenneth McAlpine			Ret			Ret	13		NC	0
—	Manny Ayulo		13								0
—	Yves Giraud-Cabantous					14				15	0
—	Hans Stuck							Ret		14	0
—	Jimmy Bryan		14								0
—	Rudolf Krause							14			0
—	Bill Holland		15								0
—	Ernst Klodwig							15			0
—	Rodger Ward		16								0
—	Wolfgang Seidel							16			0
—	Walt Faulkner		17								0
—	Jack Fairman						Ret			NC	0
—	Lance Macklin			Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret	Ret	0
—	Roy Salvadori			Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret		Ret	0
—	Élie Bayol					Ret			DNS	Ret	0
—	Chico Landi								Ret	Ret	0
—	Robert Manzon	Ret									0
—	Carlos Menditeguy	Ret									0
—	Pablo Birger	Ret									0
—	Adolfo Schwelm Cruz	Ret									0
—	Marshall Teague		Ret								0
—	Spider Webb		Ret								0
—	Bob Sweikert		Ret								0
—	Mike Nazaruk		Ret								0
—	Pat Flaherty		Ret								0
—	Jerry Hoyt		Ret								0
—	Johnnie Parsons		Ret								0
—	Don Freeland		Ret								0
—	Gene Hartley		Ret								0
—	Chuck Stevenson		Ret								0
—	Cal Niday		Ret								0
—	Bob Scott		Ret								0
—	Andy Linden		Ret								0
—	Johnny Thomson		Ret								0
—	Georges Berger				Ret						0
—	Arthur Legat				Ret						0
—	Jimmy Stewart						Ret				0
—	Tony Rolt						Ret				0
—	Ian Stewart						Ret				0
—	Duncan Hamilton						Ret				0
—	Tony Crook						Ret				0
—	Edgar Barth							Ret			0
—	Oswald Karch							Ret			0
—	Willi Heeks							Ret			0
—	Theo Fitzau							Ret			0
—	Kurt Adolff							Ret			0
—	Günther Bechem							Ret			0
—	Ernst Loof							Ret			0
—	Erwin Bauer							Ret			0
—	Peter Hirt								Ret		0
—	Piero Carini									Ret	0
—	John Fitch									Ret	0
—	Charles de Tornaco				DNS						0
—	Helmut Glöckler							DNS			0
Pos.	Driver	ARG	500‡	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	Pts.

Key
Colour	Result
Gold	Winner
Silver	2nd place
Bronze	3rd place
Green	Other points position
Blue	Other classified position
Blue	Not classified, finished (NC)
Purple	Not classified, retired (Ret)
Red	Did not qualify (DNQ)
Red	Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)
Black	Disqualified (DSQ)
White	Did not start (DNS)
White	Race cancelled (C)
Blank	Did not practice (DNP)
	Excluded (EX)
	Did not arrive (DNA)
	Withdrawn (WD)
	Did not enter (cell empty)
Text formatting	Meaning
Bold	Pole position
Italics	Fastest lap

* Italics indicate fastest lap
Bold indicates pole position
† Position shared between more drivers of the same car
‡ Several cars were shared in this race. See the race page for details.

Non-championship races[]

The following Formula One/Formula Two races, which did not count towards the World Championship of Drivers, were held during 1953.

Race name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
III Gran Premio di Siracusa	Syracuse	22 March	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati
XIV Pau Grand Prix	Pau	6 April	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
V	Goodwood	6 April	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati
II Aston Martin Owners Club F2 Race	Snetterton	18 April	Eric Thompson	Connaught-Lea Francis
III	Bordeaux	3 May	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari
I	Karl-Marx-Stadt	3 May	Rudolf Krause	BMW-
V BRDC International Trophy	Silverstone	9 May	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari
XV Eläintarhanajot	Eläintarharata	10 May	Rodney Nuckey	Cooper-Bristol
VI Gran Premio di Napoli	Posillipo	10 May	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari
VII	Dundrod	16 May	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari
I		23 May	Ken Wharton	Cooper-Climax
III	Crystal Palace	23 May	Tony Rolt	Connaught-Lea Francis
XXIII Grand Prix des Frontières	Chimay	24 May	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini
I	Snetterton	30 May	Tony Rolt	Connaught-Lea Francis
XVII Internationales ADAC Eifelrennen	Nürburgring	31 May	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati
XV	Albi	31 May	Louis Rosier	Ferrari
I	Montlhéry	31 May	Marcel Balsa	BMW
I	Dessau	7 June	Edgar Barth	EMW
II	Snetterton	27 June	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught-Lea Francis
I	Silverstone	27 June	Tony Crook	Cooper-Alta
III	Rouen-les-Essarts	28 June	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari
IV		5 July	Edgar Barth	EMW
I	Crystal Palace	11 July	Tony Rolt	Connaught-Lea Francis
IX Internationales Avusrennen	AVUS	12 July	Jacques Swaters	Ferrari
II	Snetterton	25 July	Tony Rolt	Connaught-Lea Francis
V Circuit du Lac	Aix-les-Bains	26 July	Élie Bayol	OSCA
I	Dresden-Hellerau	26 July	Edgar Barth	EMW
I	Thruxton	3 August	Tony Rolt	Connaught-Lea Francis
I	Oulton Park	8 August	Tony Rolt	Connaught-Lea Francis
III	Les Sables-d'Olonne	9 August	Louis Rosier	Ferrari
II		15 August	Ken Wharton	Cooper-Bristol
V Circuit de Cadours	Cadours	30 August	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini
V	Sachsenring	6 September	Edgar Barth	EMW-BMW
I	Snetterton	12 September	Eric Thompson	Connaught-Lea Francis
III	Skarpnäck	13 September	Erik Lundgren	Ford
I	Crystal Palace	19 September	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Alta
IV Gran Premio di Modena	Modena	20 September	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati
VI	Goodwood	26 September	Roy Salvadori	Connaught-Lea Francis
II	Bernau	27 September		EMW
II	Castle Combe	3 October	Bob Gerard	Cooper-Bristol
I	Snetterton	17 October	Bob Gerard	Cooper-Bristol

References[]

^ ^a ^b World Championship of Drivers, 1974 FIA Yearbook, Grey section, pages 118 & 119
^ ^a ^b Mike Lang, Grand Prix! Volume 1: 1950 to 1965, pages 53 to 66
^ Steve Small, The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who, 1994, page 37

[FIA_1974-1] World Championship of Drivers, 1974 FIA Yearbook, Grey section, pages 118 & 119

[Lang-2] Mike Lang, Grand Prix! Volume 1: 1950 to 1965, pages 53 to 66

[3] Steve Small, The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who, 1994, page 37

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