1951 British Grand Prix
1951 British Grand Prix | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Race details | |||||
Date | 14 July 1951 | ||||
Official name | IV RAC British Grand Prix | ||||
Location |
Silverstone Circuit Silverstone, England | ||||
Course | Permanent racing facility | ||||
Course length | 4.649 km (2.888 miles) | ||||
Distance | 90 laps, 408.410 km (253.774 miles) | ||||
Weather | Mild, Dry | ||||
Pole position | |||||
Driver | Ferrari | ||||
Time | 1:43.4 | ||||
Fastest lap | |||||
Driver | Nino Farina |
Alfa Romeo | |||
Time | 1:44.0 on lap 38 | ||||
Podium | |||||
First | Ferrari | ||||
Second |
Alfa Romeo | ||||
Third | Ferrari | ||||
Lap leaders |
The 1951 British Grand Prix was a
Report
José Froilán González was one second quicker than Juan Manuel Fangio in qualifying, achieving the first pole position of his career. It was also the first pole position for the Ferrari team, and the first in the World Championship (excluding the Indy 500 races) not scored by an Alfa Romeo. Nino Farina and Alberto Ascari qualified in third and fourth positions, completing the front row.[1]
González and Fangio shot away almost parallel from the front row of the grid, closely followed by the other
The Maserati of John James became the first retirement of the race on lap 23 with a radiator problem, but was soon joined on the sidelines by Louis Chiron, both his Maserati teammates, the Ferrari of Alberto Ascari and Farina. Farina pulled up at Abbey curve after 75 laps with a slipping clutch and his engine on fire. He had set the lap record on lap 38, with a time of 1 minute 44 seconds, an average speed of 100.0003981 mph,(some sources state 99.997382 mph) ensuring he still left the weekend with one point. González retook the lead on lap 39 with an overtake at Becketts corner. He kept his lead for the remainder of the race (excluding one lap when he pitted just before Fangio did) extending it to 1 minute and 5 seconds with 5 laps to go, before easing off at the end of the race. The BRM drivers of Parnell and Walker were still battling on, despite the fact they were suffering from hand and feet burns, and would eventually finish fifth and seventh respectively.
The Alfa Romeos of Fangio and Farina pitted twice for fuel, owing to the awful fuel consumption of their cars. They were doing 1+1⁄16 miles to the gallon, and needed to take on 90 gallons for every stop. Both drivers needed to stop twice, and, owing to the lengthy, minutes-long pit stops of Formula One in 1951, the more fuel efficient Ferrari of González (who only needed to make one stop) was able to overtake the Alfa Romeos and pull out a considerable lead.
González eventually took his own and Ferrari's first victory in a World Championship race by 51 seconds. It was the first World Championship race (excluding the Indy 500) that was not won by an Alfa Romeo. An Alfa Romeo was still in second place though, in the form of the year's eventual champion Fangio. Luigi Villoresi became the second Ferrari on the podium after he finished in third place, two laps behind. Bonetto and Parnell were the other two-point scorers at the race, finishing in fourth and fifth positions respectively.
As it turned out, González had actually raced with an older chassis and engine than his teammates, Villoresi and Ascari.[1]
Entries
- ^1 – Maurice Trintignant, Robert Manzon, André Simon and Philippe Étancelin all withdrew from the event prior to practice.[5]
Classification
Qualifying
Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | José Froilán González | Ferrari | 1:43.4 | – |
2 | 2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 1:44.4 | + 1.0 |
3 | 1 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 1:45.0 | + 1.6 |
4 | 11 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 1:45.4 | + 2.0 |
5 | 10 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 1:45.8 | + 2.4 |
6 | 3 | Consalvo Sanesi | Alfa Romeo | 1:50.2 | + 6.8 |
7 | 4 | Felice Bonetto | Alfa Romeo | 1:52.0 | + 8.6 |
8 | 14 | Peter Whitehead | Ferrari | 1:54.6 | + 11.2 |
9 | 22 | Louis Rosier | Talbot
|
1:56.0 | + 12.6 |
10 | 8 | Bob Gerard | ERA | 1:57.0 | + 13.6 |
11 | 18 | Duncan Hamilton | Talbot
|
1:57.2 | + 13.8 |
12 | 9 | Brian Shawe-Taylor | ERA | 1:58.2 | + 14.8 |
13 | 23 | Louis Chiron | Talbot
|
2:00.2 | + 16.8 |
14 | 25 | Johnny Claes | Talbot
|
2:05.8 | + 22.4 |
15 | 15 | David Murray | Maserati | 2:06.0 | + 22.6 |
16 | 17 | Philip Fotheringham-Parker | Maserati | 2:13.2 | + 29.8 |
17 | 16 | John James | Maserati | 2:17.0 | + 33.6 |
18 | 5 | Joe Kelly | Alta | 2:18.4 | + 35.0 |
19 | 7 | Peter Walker | BRM | No time | – |
20 | 6 | Reg Parnell | BRM | No time | – |
DNA | 19 | Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini
|
– | – |
DNA | 20 | Robert Manzon | Simca-Gordini
|
– | – |
DNA | 21 | André Simon | Simca-Gordini
|
– | – |
DNA | 24 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot
|
– | – |
Source:[6]
|
Race
Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/retired | Grid | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | José Froilán González | Ferrari | 90 | 2:42:18.2 | 1 | 8 |
2 | 2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 90 | +51.0 | 2 | 6 |
3 | 10 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 88 | +2 laps | 5 | 4 |
4 | 4 | Felice Bonetto | Alfa Romeo | 87 | +3 laps | 7 | 3 |
5 | 6 | Reg Parnell | BRM | 85 | +5 laps | 20 | 2 |
6 | 3 | Consalvo Sanesi | Alfa Romeo | 84 | +6 laps | 6 | |
7 | 7 | Peter Walker | BRM | 84 | +6 laps | 19 | |
8 | 9 | Brian Shawe-Taylor | ERA | 84 | +6 laps | 12 | |
9 | 14 | Peter Whitehead | Ferrari | 83 | +7 laps | 8 | |
10 | 22 | Louis Rosier | Talbot
|
83 | +7 laps | 9 | |
11 | 8 | Bob Gerard | ERA | 82 | +8 laps | 10 | |
12 | 18 | Duncan Hamilton | Talbot
|
81 | +9 laps | 11 | |
13 | 25 | Johnny Claes | Talbot
|
80 | +10 laps | 14 | |
Ret | 1 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 75 | Clutch | 3 | 11 |
NC | 5 | Joe Kelly | Alta | 75 | Not classified | 18 | |
Ret | 11 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 56 | Gearbox | 4 | |
Ret | 17 | Philip Fotheringham-Parker | Maserati | 46 | Oil leak | 16 | |
Ret | 15 | David Murray | Maserati | 45 | Engine | 15 | |
Ret | 23 | Louis Chiron | Talbot
|
41 | Brakes | 13 | |
Ret | 16 | John James | Maserati | 23 | Radiator | 17 | |
Source:[7]
|
- Notes
- ^1 – 1 point for fastest lap
Championship standings after the race
- Drivers' Championship standings
Pos | Driver | Points | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 21 | |
2 | Nino Farina | 15 | |
2 | 3 | Luigi Villoresi | 12 |
5 | 4 | José Froilán González | 11 |
2 | 5 | Lee Wallard | 9 |
Source: [8] |
- Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.
References
- ^ a b "GRAND PRIX RESULTS: BRITISH GP, 1951". grandprix.com. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
- ^ "1951 British Grand Prix – Race Entries". manipef1.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "1951 British GP – Entry List". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
- ^ "Britain 1951 – Race entrants". statsf1.com. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
- ^ "Britain 1951 – Result". statsf1.com. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ "VI RAC British Grand Prix". silhouet.com. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
- ^ "1951 British Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
- ^ "Britain 1951 – Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.