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1951 British Grand Prix

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1951 British Grand Prix
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Silverstone Circuit in 1950–1951 configuration
Silverstone Circuit in 1950–1951 configuration
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 Italy 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 Formula One motor race held on 14 July 1951 at the Silverstone Circuit in Northamptonshire, England. It was race 5 of 8 in the 1951 World Championship of Drivers and was contested over 90 laps. The race was the first victory for José Froilán González, and was also the first of many for the Scuderia Ferrari team. Both the team and driver also achieved their first ever pole position during the weekend.

Report

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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 Alfa Romeos and Ferraris. Alfa Romeo driver Felice Bonetto, who started in seventh position, was the first man at the first corner, with the Ferrari of González in second position. González took the lead from Bonetto on the second lap with Fangio chasing. The BRM cars of Reg Parnell and Peter Walker were in hot pursuit of the leaders. The team had arrived at the last minute, and had not practiced or even qualified for their debut race, and had started in 19th and 20th positions. Bonetto's Alfa Romeo teammates of Fangio and reigning World Champion, Nino Farina, managed to overtake him to move into second and third places. On lap 6, Fangio began to close in on González; he passed him on the straight on lap 10, and slowly began to draw away. Consalvo Sanesi then pulled into the pits for fuel and new tyres.

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+116 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

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No Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre
1 Italy Nino Farina Alfa Romeo SpA Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159B Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 s P
2 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159B Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 s P
3 Italy Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159B Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 s P
4 Italy Felice Bonetto Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159A Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 s P
5 Republic of Ireland Joe Kelly Joe Kelly Alta Alta GP Alta 1.5 L4 s D
6 United Kingdom Reg Parnell BRM Ltd. BRM BRM P15 BRM 15 1.5 V16 s D
7 United Kingdom Peter Walker BRM BRM P15 BRM 15 1.5 V16 s D
8 United Kingdom Bob Gerard Bob Gerard ERA ERA B ERA 1.5 L6 s D
9 United Kingdom Brian Shawe-Taylor Brian Shawe-Taylor ERA ERA B/C ERA 1.5 L6 s D
10 Italy Luigi Villoresi Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 P
11 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 P
12 Argentina José Froilán González Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 P
14 United Kingdom Peter Whitehead G. A. Vandervell Ferrari Ferrari 375 tw Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 P
15 United Kingdom David Murray Scuderia Ambrosiana Maserati Maserati 4CLT-48 Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4 s D
16 United Kingdom John James John James Maserati Maserati 4CLT-48 Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4 s D
17 United Kingdom Philip Fotheringham-Parker Philip Fotheringham-Parker Maserati Maserati 4CL Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4 s D
18 United Kingdom Duncan Hamilton Duncan Hamilton Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
19 France Maurice Trintignant1 Equipe Gordini Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4 s E
20 France Robert Manzon1 Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4 s E
21 France André Simon1 Simca-Gordini Simca-Gordini T15 Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4 s E
22 France Louis Rosier Ecurie Rosier Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
23 Monaco Louis Chiron Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
24 France Philippe Étancelin1 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
25 Belgium Johnny Claes Ecurie Belge Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 D
Sources:[2][3][4]
^1 – Maurice Trintignant, Robert Manzon, André Simon and Philippe Étancelin all withdrew from the event prior to practice.[5]

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 12 Argentina José Froilán González Ferrari 1:43.4
2 2 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 1:44.4 + 1.0
3 1 Italy Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 1:45.0 + 1.6
4 11 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari 1:45.4 + 2.0
5 10 Italy Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 1:45.8 + 2.4
6 3 Italy Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo 1:50.2 + 6.8
7 4 Italy Felice Bonetto Alfa Romeo 1:52.0 + 8.6
8 14 United Kingdom Peter Whitehead Ferrari 1:54.6 + 11.2
9 22 France Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago-Talbot 1:56.0 + 12.6
10 8 United Kingdom Bob Gerard ERA 1:57.0 + 13.6
11 18 United Kingdom Duncan Hamilton Talbot-Lago-Talbot 1:57.2 + 13.8
12 9 United Kingdom Brian Shawe-Taylor ERA 1:58.2 + 14.8
13 23 Monaco Louis Chiron Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:00.2 + 16.8
14 25 Belgium Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago-Talbot 2:05.8 + 22.4
15 15 United Kingdom David Murray Maserati 2:06.0 + 22.6
16 17 United Kingdom Philip Fotheringham-Parker Maserati 2:13.2 + 29.8
17 16 United Kingdom John James Maserati 2:17.0 + 33.6
18 5 Republic of Ireland Joe Kelly Alta 2:18.4 + 35.0
19 7 United Kingdom Peter Walker BRM No time
20 6 United Kingdom Reg Parnell BRM No time
DNA 19 France Maurice Trintignant Simca-Gordini
DNA 20 France Robert Manzon Simca-Gordini
DNA 21 France André Simon Simca-Gordini
DNA 24 France Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago-Talbot
Source:[6]

Race

[edit]
Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/retired Grid Points
1 12 Argentina José Froilán González Ferrari 90 2:42:18.2 1 8
2 2 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 90 +51.0 2 6
3 10 Italy Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 88 +2 laps 5 4
4 4 Italy Felice Bonetto Alfa Romeo 87 +3 laps 7 3
5 6 United Kingdom Reg Parnell BRM 85 +5 laps 20 2
6 3 Italy Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo 84 +6 laps 6
7 7 United Kingdom Peter Walker BRM 84 +6 laps 19
8 9 United Kingdom Brian Shawe-Taylor ERA 84 +6 laps 12
9 14 United Kingdom Peter Whitehead Ferrari 83 +7 laps 8
10 22 France Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago-Talbot 83 +7 laps 9
11 8 United Kingdom Bob Gerard ERA 82 +8 laps 10
12 18 United Kingdom Duncan Hamilton Talbot-Lago-Talbot 81 +9 laps 11
13 25 Belgium Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago-Talbot 80 +10 laps 14
Ret 1 Italy Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 75 Clutch 3 11
NC 5 Republic of Ireland Joe Kelly Alta 75 Not classified 18
Ret 11 Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari 56 Gearbox 4
Ret 17 United Kingdom Philip Fotheringham-Parker Maserati 46 Oil leak 16
Ret 15 United Kingdom David Murray Maserati 45 Engine 15
Ret 23 Monaco Louis Chiron Talbot-Lago-Talbot 41 Brakes 13
Ret 16 United Kingdom John James Maserati 23 Radiator 17
Source:[7]
Notes
  • ^1 – 1 point for fastest lap

Championship standings after the race

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Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
1 Argentina Juan Manuel Fangio 21
2 Italy Nino Farina 15
2 3 Italy Luigi Villoresi 12
5 4 Argentina José Froilán González 11
2 5 United States Lee Wallard 9
Source: [8]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "GRAND PRIX RESULTS: BRITISH GP, 1951". grandprix.com. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. ^ "1951 British Grand Prix – Race Entries". manipef1.com. Archived from the original on 9 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. ^ "1951 British GP – Entry List". chicanef1.com. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  4. ^ "Britain 1951 – Race entrants". statsf1.com. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
  5. ^ "Britain 1951 – Result". statsf1.com. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
  6. ^ "VI RAC British Grand Prix". silhouet.com. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  7. ^ "1951 British Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  8. ^ "Britain 1951 – Championship". StatsF1.com. Retrieved 1 March 2019.


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1951 French Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1951 season
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1951 German Grand Prix
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