1951 Formula One Season

1951 Formula One season
Previous	1950
Next	1952
Juan Manuel Fangio, who won his first of five World Drivers' titles in 1951.
Season data
Number of races	8
First race	Swiss Grand Prix May 27
Last race	Spanish Grand Prix October 28
Engine suppliers	Talbot, Alta, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Veritas, Gordini, Milano, BRM, OSCA
Tyre suppliers	D, P, E
Points system	Top-5 finishers: 8-6-4-3-2 Fastest lap: 1 point Best 4 results counted
Drivers' World Championship
Champion	Juan Manuel Fangio 31 points
Runners-up	Alberto Ascari 25 points
3rd	José Froilán González 24 points

The 1951 Formula One season included the 2nd running of the FIA Formula One World Championship, which commenced on May 27, 1951, and ended on October 28 after eight races. There were also 14 races in 1951 that, while run to Formula One rules, did not count towards championship standings.

Season summary

Ferrari's newer, unsupercharged 4.5 litre cars offered a real challenge to the Alfas, which were nearing the end of their development potential. Although Alfas won four of the European races, with Fangio taking the championship, Ferrari's three victories spelled the end for the Alfas. BRM made their only championship appearance with the V16 at Silverstone, and the old, slow Talbots were increasingly outclassed.

Points were given to top 5 finishers (8, 6, 4, 3, 2). 1 point was given for fastest lap. Only the best four of eight scores counted towards the world championship. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of who had driven more laps.

Results

Round	Event				Report
	Grid		Result

2	Indianapolis 500				Report
	Walt Faulkner Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	1	Lee Wallard Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser		Fastest Lap
	Duke Nalon Kurtis Kraft-Novi	2	Mike Nazaruk Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser		Lee Wallard Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser
	Chet Miller Kurtis Kraft-Novi	3	Jack McGrath Manny Ayulo Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser		1:07.26 on Lap ?

3	Belgian Grand Prix				Report
	Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo	1	Nino Farnia Alfa Romeo		Fastest Lap
	Nino Farnia Alfa Romeo	2	Alberto Ascari Ferrari		Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo
	Luigi Fagioli Ferrari	3	Luigi Fagioli Ferrari		4:22.1 on Lap 10

7	Italian Grand Prix				Report
	Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo	1	Alberto Ascari Ferrari		Fastest Lap
	Nino Farina Alfa Romeo	2	José Froilán González Ferrari		Nino Farnia Alfa Romeo
	Alberto Ascari Ferrari	3	Felice Bonetto Nino Farina Alfa Romeo		1:56.5 on Lap 64

Teams and Drivers

The following teams and drivers competed in the 1951 FIA Formula One World Championship.

1951 Driver line-ups

Entrant	Constructor	Chassis	Engine	Tyre	Driver(s)
Alfa Romeo SpA	Alfa Romeo	159	Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8 Supercharged	P	Giuseppe Farina
					Juan Manuel Fangio
					Consalvo Sanesi
					Toulo de Graffenried
					Luigi Fagioli
					Felice Bonetto
					Paul Pietsch
Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari	375	Ferrari 4.5 V12	P	Alberto Ascari
					Luigi Villoresi
					Piero Taruffi
					José Froilán González
					Chico Landi
Ecurie Rosier	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Louis Rosier
					Henri Louveau
					Louis Chiron
Equipe Simca-Gordini	Simca-Gordini	15 11	Gordini 1.5 L4 Supercharged	E	Maurice Trintignant
					Robert Manzon
					André Simon
					Aldo Gordini
Ecurie Belge	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Johnny Claes
Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Yves Giraud-Cabantous
Philippe Étancelin	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Philippe Étancelin
Enrico Platé	Maserati	4CLT/48	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	P	Harry Schell
					Louis Chiron
					Toulo de Graffenried
Ecurie Belgique	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Guy Mairesse
					André Pilette
					Jacques Swaters
Pierre Levegh	Talbot-Lago	Talbot-Lago T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Pierre Levegh
Ecurie Espadon	Ferrari	212	Ferrari 2.5 V12	P	Rudi Fischer
	Veritas	Meteor	Veritas 2.0 L6	P	Peter Hirt
British Racing Motors	BRM	P15	BRM 1.5 V16 Supercharged	D	Reg Parnell
					Peter Walker
Hersham & Walton Motors	HWM	51	Alta 2.0 L4	D	George Abecassis
					Stirling Moss
Vandervell Products	Ferrari	375 tw	Ferrari 4.5 V12	P	Reg Parnell
					Peter Whitehead
Graham Whitehead	Ferrari	125	Ferrari 1.5 V12 Supercharged	D	Peter Whitehead
Duncan Hamilton	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Duncan Hamilton
Scuderia Milano	Maserati	4CLT/50 4CLT/48	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	P	Onofre Marimón
					Paco Godia
Joe Kelly	Alta	GP	Alta 1.5 L4 Supercharged	D	Joe Kelly
FR Gerard	ERA	B-Type	ERA 1.5 L6 Supercharged	D	Bob Gerard
Brian Shawe-Taylor	ERA	B-Type	ERA 1.5 L6 Supercharged	D	Brian Shawe-Taylor
Scuderia Ambrosiana	Maserati	4CLT/48	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	D	David Murray
Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	125	Ferrari 1.5 V12 Supercharged	D	Peter Whitehead
John James	Maserati	4CLT/48	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	D	John James
Philip Fotheringham-Parker	Maserati	4CL	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	D	Philip Fotheringham-Parker
Ecurie Siam	Maserati	4CLT/48	OSCA 4.5 V12	P	B. Bira
Ecurie France	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Louis Chiron
Georges Grignard	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Georges Grignard
José Froilán González	Talbot-Lago	T26CC	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	José Froilán González
Eugène Chaboud	Talbot-Lago	T26C	Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6	D	Eugène Chaboud
O.S.C.A.	OSCA	4500G	OSCA 4.5 V12	P	Franco Rol
Antonio Branca	Maserati	4CLT/48	Maserati 1.5 L4 Supercharged	P	Toni Branca

1951 Drivers Championship final standings

Pos.	Driver
										Pts
1st	Juan Manuel Fangio	1st*		9th*	1st†* 11th†	2nd	2nd*	Ret	1st*	31 (37)
2nd	Alberto Ascari	6th		2nd	2nd†	Ret	1st	1st	4th	25 (28)
3rd	José Froilán González	Ret			2nd†	1st	3rd	2nd	2nd	24 (27)
4th	Nino Farina	3rd		1st	5th	Ret*	Ret	3rd† Ret*	3rd	19 (22)
5th	Luigi Villoresi	Ret		3rd	3rd	3rd	4th	4th	Ret	15 (18)
6th	Piero Taruffi	2nd		Ret			5th	5th	Ret	10
7th	Lee Wallard		1st*							9
8th	Felice Bonetto					4th	Ret	3rd†	5th	7
9th	Mike Nazaruk		2nd							6
10th	Reg Parnell				4th	5th		DNS		5
11th	Luigi Fagioli				1st† 11th†					4
12th	Consalvo Sanesi	4th		Ret	10th	6th				3
13th	Louis Rosier	9th		4th	Ret	10th	8th	7th	7th	3
14th	Andy Linden		4th							3
15th	Manny Ayulo		3rd†							2
16th	Jack McGrath		3rd†							2
17th	Toulo de Graffenried	5th			Ret		Ret	Ret	6th	2
18th	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Ret		5th	7th		Ret	8th	Ret	2
19th	Bobby Ball		5th							2
20th	Louis Chiron	7th		Ret	6th	Ret	Ret	Ret	Ret	0
21st	Rudi Fischer	11th					6th			0
22nd	André Simon				Ret		Ret	6th	Ret	0
23rd	Henry Banks		6th							0
24th	André Pilette			6th						0
25th	Robert Manzon				Ret		7th	Ret	9th	0
26th	Johnny Claes	13th		7th	Ret	13th	11th	Ret	Ret	0
27th	Carl Forberg		7th							0
28th	Peter Walker					7th				0
29th	Pierre Levegh			8th			9th	Ret		0
30th	Philippe Étancelin	10th		Ret	Ret		Ret		8th	0
31st	Stirling Moss	8th								0
32nd	Duane Carter		8th							0
33rd	Eugène Chaboud				8th					0
34th	Brian Shawe Taylor					8th				0
35th	Guy Mairesse	14th			9th					0
36th	Peter Whitehead	Ret			Ret	9th		Ret		0
37th	Franco Rol							9th		0
38th	Jacques Swaters						10th	Ret		0
39th	Paco Godia								10th	0
40th	Bob Gerard					11th				0
41st	Harry Schell	12th			Ret					0
42nd	Duncan Hamilton					12th	Ret			0
–	Maurice Trintignant				Ret		Ret	Ret	Ret	0
–	Henri Louveau	Ret								0
–	George Abecassis	Ret								0
–	Peter Hirt	Ret								0
–	Tony Bettenhausen		Ret							0
–	Duke Nalon		Ret							0
–	Gene Force		Ret							0
–	Sam Hanks		Ret							0
–	Bill Schindler		Ret							0
–	Mauri Rose		Ret							0
–	Walt Faulkner		Ret							0
–	Jimmy Davies		Ret							0
–	Fred Agabashian		Ret							0
–	Carl Scarborough		Ret							0
–	Bill Mackey		Ret							0
–	Chuck Stevenson		Ret							0
–	Johnnie Parsons		Ret							0
–	Cecil Green		Ret							0
–	Troy Ruttman		Ret							0
–	Duke Dinsmore		Ret							0
–	Chet Miller		Ret							0
–	Walt Brown		Ret							0
–	Rodger Ward		Ret							0
–	Cliff Griffith		Ret							0
–	Bill Vukovich		Ret							0
–	George Connor		Ret							0
–	Mack Hellings		Ret							0
–	Joe James		Ret							0
–	Johnny McDowell		Ret							0
–	Aldo Gordini				Ret					0
–	Onofre Marimón				Ret					0
–	Joe Kelly					Ret				0
–	Philip Fotheringham-Parker					Ret				0
–	David Murray					Ret				0
–	John James					Ret				0
–	Paul Pietsch						Ret			0
–	Toni Branca						Ret			0
–	Chico Landi							Ret		0
–	Georges Grignard								Ret	0
–	Prince Bira								Ret	0
–	Ken Richardson							DNS		0

• * Fastest lap (1 point awarded)
• † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
• Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Non-Championship race results

Other Formula One races, which did not count towards the World Championship, also held in 1951.

Race Name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
I Gran Premio di Siracusa	Syracuse	March 11	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Report
XII Grand Prix de Pau	Pau	March 26	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Report
III Richmond Trophy	Goodwood	March 26	B. Bira	Maserati	Report
VI Gran Premio di Sanremo	Ospedaletti	April 22	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
I Grand Prix de Bordeaux	Bordeaux	April 29	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago	Report
III BRDC International Trophy	Silverstone	May 5	Reg Parnell	Ferrari	Report
V Grand Prix de Paris	Bois de Boulogne	May 20	Giuseppe Farina	Maserati	Report
V Ulster Trophy	Dundrod	June 2	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	Report
I Scottish Grand Prix	Winfield	July 21	Philip Fotheringham-Parker	Maserati	Report
II Grote Prijs van Nederland	Zandvoort	July 22	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago	Report
XIII Grand Prix de l'Albigeois	Albi	August 5	Maurice Trintignant	Simca-Gordini	Report
XX Circuito di Pescara	Pescara	August 15	José Froilán González	Ferrari	Report
V Gran Premio di Bari	Bari	September 2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	Report
IV Goodwood Trophy	Goodwood	September 29	Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	Report

Notes

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