1955 F1 World Championship

The 1955 F1 season was the sixth year of the World Championship of Drivers. It included seven races from 16 January to 11 September 1955 and included 16 non-championship events.

Season

Juan Manuel Fangio clinched his second consecutive World Championship, marking his third overall. This title was the last for a Mercedes driver until 2014 when Lewis Hamilton secured the title for the team.

Multiple tragedies marred the 1955 season. At the Indianapolis 500, two drivers, Manny Ayulo and Bill Vukovich—who had won the event the two preceding years—lost their lives. Also, Mario Alborghetti perished at the 1955 Pau Grand Prix, a non-championship event. Tragedy also struck former World Champions, as Alberto Ascari, who won in 1952 and 1953, died during a test session at Monza in a Ferrari 750 Monza. While former Formula One driver Pierre Levegh and 83 spectators died in the catastrophic 1955 Le Mans disaster, which resulted in the cancellation of four F1 Grands Prix and Mercedes’s withdrawal from motorsports.

1955 F1 Entries drivers and teams

The following teams and drivers participated in the 1955 FIA World Championship of Drivers, excluding those who competed solely in the Indianapolis 500.

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Driver	Rounds
Daimler Benz AG	Mercedes	W196	Mercedes M196 2.5 L8	C	Juan Manuel Fangio	1–2, 4–7
					Karl Kling	1, 4–7
					Stirling Moss	1–2, 4–7
					Hans Herrmann	1–2
					André Simon	2
					Piero Taruffi	6–7
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	625 555	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4	E	Umberto Maglioli	1, 7
					José Froilán González	1
					Maurice Trintignant	1–2, 4–7
					Harry Schell	2, 4
					Piero Taruffi	2, 4
					Paul Frère	2, 4
					Mike Hawthorn	5–7
					Eugenio Castellotti	5–7
					Giuseppe Farina	1–2, 4
Scuderia Ferrari	Italy Giuseppe Farina	Lancia	D50	E	Lancia DS50 2.5 V8	7
Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	Jean Behra	1–2, 4–7
					Roberto Mieres	1–2, 4–7
					Sergio Mantovani	1
					Luigi Musso	1–2, 4–7
					Carlos Menditeguy	1, 7
					Clemar Bucci	1
					Harry Schell	1
					Cesare Perdisa	2, 4
					André Simon	6
					Peter Collins	7
					Horace Gould	7
Alberto Uría	Maserati	A6GCM	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	Alberto Uría	1
Scuderia Lancia	Lancia	D50	Lancia DS50 2.5 V8	P	Alberto Ascari	1–2
					Luigi Villoresi	1–2, 7
					Eugenio Castellotti	1–2, 4
					Louis Chiron	2
Equipe Gordini	Gordini	T16	Gordini 23 2.5 L6	E	Élie Bayol	1–2
					Pablo Birger	1
					Jesús Iglesias	1
					Robert Manzon	2, 5–6
					Jacques Pollet	2, 5, 2007
					Hermano da Silva Ramos	5–7
					Mike Sparken	6
					Jean Lucas	7
Ecurie Rosier	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	P	Louis Rosier	2, 4–5
Vandervell Products	Vanwall	VW 55	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4	P	Mike Hawthorn	2, 4
					Ken Wharton	6–7
					Harry Schell	6–7
Stirling Moss Ltd	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	D	Lance Macklin	2, 6
					Johnny Claes	4
					Peter Walker	5
					John Fitch	7
E.N. Whiteaway	HWM – Alta	53	Alta GP 2.5 L4	D	Ted Whiteaway	2
Equipe Nationale Belge	Ferrari	625	Ferrari 625 2.5 L4	E	Johnny Claes	5
Gould’s Garage (Bristol)	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	D	Horace Gould	5–6
Connaught Engineering	Connaught – Alta	B	Alta GP 2.5 L4	D	Kenneth McAlpine	6
Connaught Engineering	Connaught – Alta	B	Alta GP 2.5 L4	D	Jack Fairman	6
R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Connaught – Alta	B	Alta GP 2.5 L4	D	Tony Rolt	6
					Peter Walker	6
Leslie Marr	Connaught – Alta	B	Alta GP 2.5 L4	D	Leslie Marr	6
Cooper Car Company	Cooper – Bristol	T40	Bristol BS1 2.0 L6	D	Jack Brabham	6
Owen Racing Organisation	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	D	Peter Collins	6
Gilby Engineering	Maserati	250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6	D	Roy Salvadori	6
Scuderia Volpini	Arzani-Volpini – Maserati	F1	Maserati 4CLT 2.5 L4	P	Luigi Piotti	7

1955 Formula 1 Race Calendar

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 May¹
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

¹The Indianapolis 500 also counted towards the 1955 AAA Championship Car season, and was run for AAA Championship cars, but was not run to Formula One regulations.

The Monaco and Dutch Grand Prix returned to the calendar after last being held in 1952 and 1953, respectively. Meanwhile, the British Grand Prix was relocated from Silverstone to Aintree, continuing the practice of alternating the event between the two circuits.

Cancelled Rounds

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

Following the 1955 Le Mans disaster, the French Grand Prix was initially postponed from July 3 to September 25. Subsequently, it was cancelled, along with the German, Swiss, and Spanish rounds.

The Pedralbes and Bremgarten circuits were permanently retired from racing. In Switzerland, motor racing was prohibited until the 2018 Zürich ePrix marked its return.

1955 Formula 1 Race Results

Round	Grand Prix	Pole Position	Fastest Lap	Winning Driver	Winning Constructor	Report
1	Argentine Grand Prix	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	Report
2	Monaco Grand Prix	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	Report
3	Indianapolis 500	Jerry Hoyt	Bill Vukovich	Bob Sweikert	Kurtis Kraft – Offenhauser	Report
4	Belgian Grand Prix	Eugenio Castellotti	Juan Manuel Fangio	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	Report
5	Dutch Grand Prix	Juan Manuel Fangio	Roberto Mieres	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	Report
6	British Grand Prix	Stirling Moss	Stirling Moss	Stirling Moss	Mercedes	Report
7	Italian Grand Prix	Juan Manuel Fangio	Stirling Moss	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	Report

1955 Formula 1 Standings

Points were awarded to the top five finishers, with an additional point for the fastest lap, regardless of the driver’s finishing position or classification. Only a driver’s four best results contributed to their final championship standings. In cases where drivers shared a car and finished in a points position, they each received half the points for that position. If multiple drivers set identical fastest lap times, the fastest lap point was equally divided among them.

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Fastest Lap
Race	8	6	4	3	2	1

1955 Driver standings

Pos	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Juan Manuel Fangio	ARG	Mercedes	40
2	Stirling Moss	GBR	Mercedes	23
3	Eugenio Castellotti	ITA	Ferrari	12
4	Maurice Trintignant	FRA	Ferrari	11.3
5	Giuseppe Farina	ITA	Ferrari	10.3
6	Piero Taruffi	ITA	Mercedes	9
7	Bob Sweikert	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	8
8	Roberto Mieres	ARG	Maserati	7
9	Luigi Musso	ITA	Maserati	6
9	Jean Behra	FRA	Maserati	6
11	Karl Kling	GER	Mercedes	5
12	Jimmy Davies	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	4
13	Paul Russo	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	3
13	Tony Bettenhausen	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	3
13	Johnny Thomson	USA	Kuzma Offenhauser	3
13	Paul Frere	BEL	Ferrari	3
17	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	ARG	Ferrari	2
17	Cesare Perdisa	ITA	Maserati	2
17	Luigi Villoresi	ITA	Scuderia Lancia	2
17	Carlos Menditeguy	ARG	Maserati	2
21	Umberto Maglioli	ITA	Ferrari	1.3
22	Hans Herrmann	GER	Mercedes	1
22	Walt Faulkner	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	1
22	Bill Homeier	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	1
22	Bill Vukovich	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	1