1952 F1 World Championship

The 1952 F1 season was distinctly different from the previous two seasons, with fewer official Formula 1 races and a twist to the regulations of those races.

The reduced official races resulted from the FIA’s decision to conduct all Grand Prix events pivotal to the World Championship of Drivers under Formula 2 regulations, as opposed to the traditional Formula 1 regulations. The iconic Indianapolis 500, a race that also contributed to the World Championship standings, maintained its consistency by following AAA regulations, as in the previous two seasons.

Season

The 3rd FIA World Championship of Drivers featured eight races from 18 May to 7 September, with Alberto Ascari, driving for Scuderia Ferrari, emerging as the Drivers’ Champion. The season also saw a significant safety milestone as racing helmets were made compulsory for all drivers. 1952 also witnessed many other Formula 2 races in addition to the official Formula 1 and World Championship Formula 2 races. However, these didn’t contribute any points to the championship standings.

Alfa Romeo, grappling with financial issues, stepped away from racing. At the same time, BRM had developed two V16-powered cars with plans to debut them in the season. However, they pulled these cars from the April race at Valentino Park in Turin. The team had ambitions of having Juan Manuel Fangio join Stirling Moss as a teammate, but this plan didn’t materialise. Consequently, Ferrari’s cars stood unrivalled. This situation prompted the FIA to shift their races to cater to Formula Two, featuring 2-litre naturally aspirated engines. While this change made for a varied grid, Ferrari claimed every victory.

Ascari dominated the six Grand Prix he participated in. He skipped the Swiss Grand Prix to make his mark at the Indianapolis 500 qualifiers, becoming the first European to do so during the World Championship period.

Maserati and Gordini posed minimal competition. Yet, Mike Hawthorn’s impressive performances in his Cooper led to his signing with Ferrari’s main team in 1953. The current World Champion of 1951, Fangio, was sidelined due to severe injuries from a crash at Monza early in the season. He didn’t compete in the championship but later drove with BRM in non-championship races.

1952 F1 Entries drivers and teams

Team	Driver	Race entries	Wins	Podiums	Poles	FastesLaps
AFM	Hans Stuck	2
	Helmut Niedermayr	1
	Ludwig Fischer	1
	Willi Heeks	1
	Willi Krakau	1
Alta	Graham Whitehead	1
	Peter Whitehead	3
Aston	Robin Montgomerie-Charrington	1
Aston Martin	Bill Aston	3
BMW	Ernst Klodwig	1
	Harry Merkel	1
	Karl-Gunther Bechem	1
	Marcel Balsa	1
	Rudolf Krause	1
Bromme	Spider Webb	1
Cisitalia D46	Piero Dusio	1
Connaught	Dennis Poore	2
	Eric Thompson	1
	Ken Downing	2
	Kenneth McAlpine	2
Cooper	Alan Brown	4
	David Murray	1
	Eric Brandon	4
	Mike Hawthorn	5		1
	Reg Parnell	1
Deidt	Tony Bettenhausen Sr.	1
Enrico Plate	Alberto Crespo	1
Escuderia Bandeirantes	Jan Flinterman	2
Ferrari	Alberto Ascari	7	6	6	5	6
	Andre Simon	2
	Charles de Tornaco	3
	Gianfranco Comotti	1
	Giuseppe Farina	8		4	2
	Louis Rosier	4
	Luigi Villoresi	2		2
	Maurice Trintignant	6
	Peter Hirt	3
	Piero Carini	2
	Piero Taruffi	6	1	3		1
	Roy Salvadori	1
	Rudi Fischer	5		2
	Rudolf Schoeller	1
Frazer	Ken Wharton	4
	Tony Crook	1
Gordini	Birabongse Bhanudej	4
	Jean Behra	6		1
	Johnny Claes	5
	Robert Manzon	7		1
HWM	Dries van der Lof	1
	Duncan Hamilton	2
	George Abecassis	1
	Lance Macklin	6
	Paul Frere	3
	Peter Collins	6
	Roger Laurent	2
	Stirling Moss	5
	Tony Gaze	4
	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	1
Kurtis	Andy Linden	1
	Art Cross	1
	Bill Vukovich	1				1
	Bob Scott	1
	Bob Sweikert	1
	Chet Miller	1
	Chuck Stevenson	1
	Cliff Griffith	1
	Duke Nalon	1
	Freddie Agabashian	1			1
	Gene Hartley	1
	George Connor	1
	Jack McGrath	1
	Jim Rathmann	1		1
	Jimmy Bryan	1
	Jimmy Reece	1
	Joe James	1
	Johnnie Parsons	1
	Johnny McDowell	1
	Rodger Ward	1
	Sam Hanks	1		1
Kuzma	Troy Ruttman	1	1	1
Lesovsky	Duane Carter	1
	Henry Banks	1
	Manny Ayulo	1
Maserati	Eitel Cantoni	3
	Emmanuel de Graffenried	4
	Felice Bonetto	2
	Francisco Landi	2
	Franco Rol	1
	Gino Bianco	4
	Harry Schell	4
	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	1		1		1
	Philippe Etancelin	1
OSCA	Elie Bayol	1
Robert O’Brien	Robert O’Brien	1
Sherman	George Fonder	1
Simca	Max de Terra	1
Stevens	Bill Schindler	1
	Bobby Ball	1
Trevis	Eddie Johnson	1
Veritas	Adolf Brudes von Breslau	1
	Arthur Legat	1
	Fritz Riess	1
	Hans Klenk	1
	Josef Peters	1
	Paul Pietsch	1
	Theo Helfrich	1
	Toni Ulmen	2
Watson	Jim Rigsby	1

1952 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Date	Grand Prix	Laps	Distance	Country
18 May	Bremgarten	62	7.28	Switzerland
30 May	Indianapolis	200	4.01	Indianapolis
22 Jun	Spa-Francorchamps	36	8.77361111	Belgium
06 Jul	Rouen	77	4.02597402	France
19 Jul	Silverstone	85	4.71047058	Great Britain
03 Aug	Nurburgring	18	22.81	Germany
17 Aug	Zandvoort	90	4.193	Netherlands
07 Sep	Monza	80	6.3	Italy

1952 Formula 1 Race Reports

Round 1: Swiss Grand Prix

Race date: 18 May 1952
Circuit: Bremgarten, Bern, Switzerland
Laps: 62
Circuit length: 7.28 km (4.524 miles)

Piero Taruffi claimed his only Formula One victory at the season-opening 1952 Swiss Grand Prix at Bremgarten on May 18. After his Ferrari teammate Nino Farina’s car broke down, Farina took over Andre Simon’s car and regained second place, only for its engine to fail as well. Stirling Moss put in a strong performance in his second F1 race but had to withdraw his HWM early. Second place went to local driver Rudi Fischer in a Ferrari and Jean Behra third for Gordini on his F1 debut.

Round 2: Indianapolis 500

Race date: 30 May 1952
Circuit: Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Laps: 200
Circuit length: 4.023 km (2.500 miles)

The 1952 Indianapolis 500 served as the second round of the eight-race 1952 World Championship season. Unlike previous years, the race featured a notable entry from a European-based driver competing for the title—Alberto Ascari, driving for Ferrari. He became the first serious World Championship contender to attempt the Indy 500, opting to skip the Swiss Grand Prix to participate. However, his race ended early, and he finished 31st without scoring any points.

Despite this setback, Ascari went on to dominate the remainder of the season, winning all seven of the remaining races and securing the 1952 World Championship.

Troy Ruttman claimed victory at Indianapolis, earning 8 points toward the championship, which placed him seventh in the final standings. Jim Rathmann finished second, while Sam Hanks secured third place.

Round 3: Belgian Grand Prix

Race date: 22 June 1952
Circuit: Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps
Laps: 36
Circuit length: 14.12 km (8.774 miles)

The 1952 Belgian Grand Prix was the third round of the eight-race World Championship, with all races that season being run under Formula Two regulations instead of the usual Formula One rules.

Alberto Ascari secured victory for Ferrari, also setting the fastest lap of the race. His win, combined with teammate Piero Taruffi’s retirement, resulted in both drivers sharing the lead of the championship with nine points each. Meanwhile, in the Indianapolis 500, the previous round winner, Troy Ruttman, sat in third place in the standings, while Nino Farina’s second-place finish at Spa moved him up to fourth, just three points behind the joint championship leaders. Robert Manzon finished third for Gordini.

Round 4: French Grand Prix

Race date: 6 July 1952
Circuit: Rouen-Les-Essarts, Grand-Couronne, France
Laps: 77
Circuit length: 5.100 km (3.169 miles)

Ferrari achieved a commanding 1-2-3 victory at the 1952 French Grand Prix in Rouen, decisively outpacing the local favourites, Gordini. Prior to the race, there was optimism that the enigmatic Jean Behra might replicate his winning performance from a non-championship race the previous weekend. However, Ferrari introduced a more powerful engine for its 500s in the world championship race. Their three factory drivers, Alberto Ascari, Nino Farina, and Piero Taruffi, secured the front row at the start and swept the podium at the finish in that order.

Round 5: British Grand Prix

Race date: 19 July 1952
Circuit: Silverstone Circuit
Laps: 85
Circuit length: 4.7105 km (2.927 miles)

Alberto Ascari dominated the 1952 and 1953 seasons, and the 1952 British Grand Prix was no exception. Ascari, driving a Ferrari, led almost the entire race. His teammate, Giuseppe Farina, also performed strongly for much of the race. However, Farina encountered spark-plug issues, causing him to finish in sixth place. Ascari’s commanding performance underscored his dominance during the early 1950s. Teammate Piero Taruffi finished in second, while Mike Hawthorn, on home soil, finished in third for Cooper.

Round 6: German Grand Prix

Race date: 3 August 1952
Circuit: Nürburgring, Nürburg, West Germany
Laps: 18
Circuit length: 22.810 km (14.173 miles)

The 1952 German Grand Prix, held on 3 August at the Nürburgring Nordschleife, was the sixth round of the eight-race World Championship. Like all races that season, it was contested under Formula Two regulations rather than the standard Formula One rules.

Ferrari dominated the event, with Alberto Ascari taking victory after starting from pole position. His teammates Giuseppe Farina and Rudi Fischer completed the podium, securing a Ferrari 1-2-3 finish in the gruelling 18-lap race.

Round 7: Dutch Grand Prix

Race date: 17 August 1952
Circuit: Circuit Zandvoort
Laps: 90
Circuit length: 4.193 km (2.605 miles)

Ferrari dominated the 1952 Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort, achieving a 1-2-3 finish with Alberto Ascari leading Giuseppe Farina and Luigi Villoresi. Cooper driver Mike Hawthorn, who qualified third, moved up to second in the early stages but eventually finished fourth. Ascari overtook Juan Manuel Fangio‘s record, at the time, for the most race wins, scoring his seventh at this race.

Round 8: Italian Grand Prix

Race date: 7 September 1952
Circuit: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
Laps: 80
Circuit length: 6.300 km (3.915 miles)

Alberto Ascari capped off his and Ferrari‘s dominant season by winning the 1952 Italian Grand Prix in front of his home fans. However, Froilan Gonzalez ensured it wasn’t all about Ferrari on the day, bringing his Maserati home in second place, ahead of Ferrari drivers Luigi Villoresi and Giuseppe Farina. Such was the dominance of the Ferrari team throughout the 1952 season; the World Drivers’ Championship had already been clinched a month before the season-ending Italian Grand Prix.

1952 Formula 1 Race Results

Round	Grand Prix	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Constructor	Report
1	Swiss Grand Prix	Giuseppe Farina	Piero Taruffi	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	Report
2	Indianapolis 500	Fred Agabashian	Bill Vukovich	Troy Ruttman	Kuzma – Offenhauser	Report
3	Belgian Grand Prix	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
4	French Grand Prix	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
5	British Grand Prix	Giuseppe Farina	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
6	German Grand Prix	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
7	Dutch Grand Prix	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
8	Italian Grand Prix	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report

1952 Formula 1 Standings

Driver standings

In the scoring system of the 1952 Formula One season, drivers were allocated points based on their finishing positions in each Grand Prix. Specifically, the distribution was as follows:

• The race winner received 8 points.
• The second-place finisher was awarded 6 points.
• Third place earned 4 points.
• Fourth place got 3 points.
• The driver finishing fifth was given 2 points.

Furthermore, an additional point was up for grabs for the driver who set the fastest lap during the Grand Prix.

However, there was a notable caveat in the championship calculations: only a driver’s best four race results contributed to their championship total. This meant that even if a driver competed in more races and amassed points, only the points from their top four performances would count towards their championship standing.