1956 Formula One season

The 1956 Formula One season was the tenth season of FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the seventh World Championship of Drivers ^[1] as well as numerous non-championship races. The championship series commenced on 22 January 1956 and ended on 2 September after eight races. Juan Manuel Fangio won his third consecutive title, the fourth of his career. Until the 2006 season, this was the last season during which no British constructor won any championship race.

Juan Manuel Fangio (circa 1952)

Season summary[]

Fangio joined Ferrari after Mercedes-Benz, with whom he had won the 1954 and 1955 titles, withdrew from the sport. Ferrari acquired the folded Lancia team's D50 cars and put together a strong team containing Fangio, Eugenio Castellotti, Luigi Musso and Peter Collins. Fangio won the opening race after commandeering Musso's car after his own car had broken down. Collins and Fangio's teammate at Mercedes, Stirling Moss – now driving for Maserati provided the biggest challenge to his title defence, each winning two races. In an open season, the British Connaughts, Vanwalls and BRMs also showed some signs of promise.

Going into the final race of the season, Fangio had an eight-point lead over Collins and the consistent Jean Behra, driving for Maserati. The only way he could lose the title would be to score no points with Collins winning and setting fastest lap. (Because a driver could only count their best five scores, Behra could not win the title.) Fangio retired, and with Musso unwilling to share his car with Fangio, Collins had a great chance of winning his first title. Collins, in a remarkable act of sportsmanship, instead chose to hand his car over to Fangio to allow the Argentine to finish second in the race and win his third title in a row.

Season review[]

The following races counted towards the 1956 World Championship of Drivers:

Rnd	Race	Circuit	Date	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Constructor	Tyre	Report
1	Argentine Grand Prix	Buenos Aires	22 January	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Luigi Musso Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari	E	Report
2	Monaco Grand Prix	Monaco	13 May	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Stirling Moss	Maserati	P	Report
3	Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis	30 May	Pat Flaherty	Paul Russo	Pat Flaherty	Watson-Offenhauser	F	Report
4	Belgian Grand Prix	Spa-Francorchamps	3 June	Juan Manuel Fangio	Stirling Moss	Peter Collins	Ferrari	E	Report
5	French Grand Prix	Reims	1 July	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Peter Collins	Ferrari	E	Report
6	British Grand Prix	Silverstone	14 July	Stirling Moss	Stirling Moss	Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari	E	Report
7	German Grand Prix	Nürburgring	5 August	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari	E	Report
8	Italian Grand Prix	Monza	2 September	Juan Manuel Fangio	Stirling Moss	Stirling Moss	Maserati	P	Report

The Suez crisis was a contributing factor in Formula One in 1956. The Dutch and Spanish Grands Prix were affected by this crisis, and the oil prices were too high for the teams and drivers, so the two races that were originally supposed to be held at Zandvoort and Pedralbes were cancelled.^[2] The Indianapolis 500 was USAC-sanctioned so not run to Formula One specifications, and also counted towards the 1956 USAC Championship title.

Teams and drivers[]

Juan Manuel Fangio (pictured in 1957) won his fourth Drivers' Championship, driving for Ferrari

Pat Flaherty won the Indianapolis 500 driving the John Zink Special and placed fifth in the championship

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1956 FIA World Championship.

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Driver	Rounds
Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	Stirling Moss	1–2, 4–8
					Jean Behra	1–2, 4–8
					Carlos Menditeguy	1
					Luigi Piotti	1
					Chico Landi	1
					Gerino Gerini	1
					José Froilán González	1
					Cesare Perdisa	2, 4–7
					Paco Godia	4–8
					Mike Hawthorn	4
					Piero Taruffi	5
					Umberto Maglioli	7–8
					Luigi Villoresi	8
					Jo Bonnier	8
Owen Racing Organisation	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P D	Mike Hawthorn	1
	BRM	P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4			2, 6
					Tony Brooks	2, 6
					Ron Flockhart	6
Alberto Uria	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	Alberto Uria	1
					Óscar González	1
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	D50 555	Ferrari DS50 2.5 V8 Ferrari 555 2.5 L4	E P	Juan Manuel Fangio	1–2, 4–8
					Eugenio Castellotti	1–2, 4–8
					Luigi Musso	1–2, 7–8
					Peter Collins	1–2, 4–8
					Olivier Gendebien	1, 5
					Paul Frère	4
					André Pilette	4
					Alfonso de Portago	5–8
					Wolfgang von Trips	8
Equipe Gordini	Gordini		Gordini 23 2.5 L6 Gordini 25 2.5 L8	E	Robert Manzon	2, 5–8
					Élie Bayol	2
					André Pilette	2, 5, 7
					Hermano da Silva Ramos	2, 5–6, 8
					André Milhoux	7
					André Simon	8
Ecurie Rosier	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	Louis Rosier	2, 4–7
Vandervell Products	Vanwall	VW 2	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4	P	Maurice Trintignant	2, 4, 6, 8
					Harry Schell	2, 4–6, 8
					Mike Hawthorn	5
					Colin Chapman	5
					José Froilán González	6
					Piero Taruffi	8
Gould's Garage (Bristol) H.H. Gould	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	D	Horace Gould	2, 4, 6–7
Giorgio Scarlatti	Ferrari	500	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4	P	Giorgio Scarlatti	2
Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	Louis Chiron	2
					Luigi Villoresi	4
					Harry Schell	7
					Toulo de Graffenried	8
	Ferrari	500	Ferrari 500 2.0 L4		Giorgio Scarlatti	7
Piero Scotti	Connaught-Alta		Alta GP 2.5 L4	P	Piero Scotti	4
Automobiles Bugatti	Bugatti	T251	Bugatti 2.5 L8	E	Maurice Trintignant	5
Luigi Piotti	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	Luigi Villoresi	5–7
					Luigi Piotti	7–8
André Simon	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	André Simon	5
Scuderia Guastalla	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	Umberto Maglioli	6
					Gerino Gerini	8
Connaught Engineering	Connaught-Alta		Alta GP 2.5 L4	P A	Archie Scott-Brown	6, 8
					Desmond Titterington	6
					Jack Fairman	6, 8
					Les Leston	8
					Ron Flockhart	8
Bob Gerard	Cooper-Bristol	T23	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Bob Gerard	6
Gilby Engineering	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	D	Roy Salvadori	6–8
Bruce Halford	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	D	Bruce Halford	6–8
Jack Brabham	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	D	Jack Brabham	6
Emeryson Cars	Emeryson-Alta		Alta GP 2.5 L4	D	Paul Emery	6
Ottorino Volonterio	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	Ottorino Volonterio	7

The above list does not include competitors in the 1956 Indianapolis 500.

World Championship of Drivers standings[]

Championship points were awarded at each race on an 8–6–4–3–2 basis to the first five finishers, with an additional point awarded to the driver setting the fastest lap of the race. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of who had driven more laps. Only the best five round results were counted.

Pos. Driver ARG MON 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA Pts. 1 Juan Manuel Fangio 1† / Ret 2† / 4† Ret 4 1 1 (2)† / 8† 30 (33) 2 Stirling Moss Ret 1 3† / Ret 5† / Ret (Ret) 2 1 27 (28) 3 Peter Collins Ret 2† 1 1 2† / Ret Ret† / Ret 2† 25 4 Jean Behra 2 3 7 3 3 3 Ret† / Ret 22 5 Pat Flaherty 1 8 6 Eugenio Castellotti Ret 4† / Ret Ret 2 10† Ret† / Ret 8† / Ret 7.5 7 Sam Hanks 2 6 = Paul Frère 2 6 9 Paco Godia Ret 7 8 4 4 6 10 Jack Fairman 4 5 5 11 Luigi Musso 1† Ret Ret† Ret 4 = Mike Hawthorn 3 DNS DNS 10† Ret 4 = Ron Flockhart Ret 3 4 = Don Freeland 3 4 15 Alfonso de Portago Ret 2† / 10† Ret† Ret 3 = Cesare Perdisa 7 3† 5† 7 DNS 3 = Harry Schell Ret 4 10† / Ret Ret Ret Ret 3 = Johnnie Parsons 4 3 19 Louis Rosier Ret 8 6 Ret 5 2 = Luigi Villoresi 5 Ret 6 Ret Ret† 2 = Hermano da Silva Ramos 5 8 Ret Ret 2 = Horace Gould 8 Ret 5 Ret 2 = Olivier Gendebien 5 Ret 2 = Dick Rathmann 5 2 25 Gerino Gerini 4† 10 1.5 = Chico Landi 4† 1.5 27 Paul Russo Ret 1 — André Pilette 6† 6 11 DNS 0 — Luigi Piotti Ret DNS 6 0 — Bob Sweikert 6 0 — Óscar González 6† 0 — Alberto Uria 6† 0 — Élie Bayol 6† 0 — Bob Veith 7 0 — Toulo de Graffenried 7 0 — Rodger Ward 8 0 — Robert Manzon Ret 9 9 Ret Ret 0 — André Simon Ret 9 0 — Jimmy Reece 9 0 — Cliff Griffith 10 0 — Roy Salvadori Ret Ret 11 0 — Gene Hartley 11 0 — Bob Gerard 11 0 — Fred Agabashian 12 0 — Bob Christie 13 0 — Al Keller 14 0 — Eddie Johnson 15 0 — Billy Garrett 16 0 — Duke Dinsmore 17 0 — Pat O'Connor 18 0 — Jimmy Bryan 19 0 — Ottorino Volonterio NC 0 — Maurice Trintignant Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 — Umberto Maglioli Ret Ret Ret† 0 — Bruce Halford Ret DSQ Ret 0 — José Froilán González Ret Ret 0 — Piero Taruffi Ret Ret 0 — Tony Brooks DNS Ret 0 — Giorgio Scarlatti DNQ Ret 0 — Carlos Menditeguy Ret 0 — Jim Rathmann Ret 0 — Johnnie Tolan Ret 0 — Tony Bettenhausen Ret 0 — Jimmy Daywalt Ret 0 — Jack Turner Ret 0 — Keith Andrews Ret 0 — Andy Linden Ret 0 — Al Herman Ret 0 — Ray Crawford Ret 0 — Johnny Boyd Ret 0 — Troy Ruttman Ret 0 — Johnny Thomson Ret 0 — Piero Scotti Ret 0 — Desmond Titterington Ret 0 — Archie Scott-Brown Ret 0 — Paul Emery Ret 0 — Jack Brabham Ret 0 — André Milhoux Ret 0 — Les Leston Ret 0 — Ed Elisian Ret† 0 — Eddie Russo Ret† 0 — Jo Bonnier Ret† 0 — Louis Chiron DNS 0 — Colin Chapman DNS 0 — Wolfgang von Trips DNS 0 Pos. Driver ARG MON 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA Pts.

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Other points position Blue Other classified position Not classified, finished (NC) Purple Not classified, retired (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) 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 (One point awarded – point shared equally between drivers sharing fastest lap)
• Bold indicates pole position
• † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
• Only the best five results counted towards the championship. Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Non-championship races[]

The following non-championship races for Formula One cars were also held in 1956:

Race name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
IV Glover Trophy	Goodwood	2 April	Stirling Moss	Maserati	Report
VI Gran Premio di Siracusa	Syracuse	15 April	Juan Manuel Fangio	Lancia-Ferrari	Report
XI	Aintree	21 April	Stirling Moss	Maserati	Report
VIII BRDC International Trophy	Silverstone	5 May	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	Report
IX Gran Premio di Napoli	Posillipo	6 May	Robert Manzon	Gordini	Report
I	Aintree	24 June	Horace Gould	Maserati
I	Snetterton	22 July	Roy Salvadori	Maserati
IV Grand Prix de Caen	Caen	26 August	Harry Schell	Maserati
II	Goodwood	8 September	Roy Salvadori	Cooper-Climax
I	Brands Hatch	14 October	Archie Scott Brown	Connaught-Alta

Notes and references[]

External links[]

• 1956 World Championship race results and images at f1-facts.com
• 1956 World Championship images at The Cahier Archive