The 1953 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 23 August 1953 at Bremgarten Circuit. It was race 8 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used. World Champion Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari won the race, the last race win and finish of his career.

1953 Swiss Grand Prix
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Circuit Bremgarten track layout
Circuit Bremgarten track layout
Race details
Date 23 August 1953
Official name XIII Großer Preis der Schweiz
Location Bremgarten, Bern, Switzerland
Course Temporary street/road circuit
Course length 7.280 km (4.524 miles)
Distance 65 laps, 473.200 km (294.033 miles)
Weather Sunny, mild, dry
Pole position
Driver Maserati
Time 2:40:1
Fastest lap
Driver Italy Alberto Ascari Ferrari
Time 2:41.3 on lap 50
Podium
First
  • Italy Alberto Ascari
Ferrari
Second Ferrari
Third Ferrari
Lap leaders

The race marked the brief return of Grand Prix-era legend Hermann Lang. He was given a chance to participate in Formula 1 racing driving for Officine Alfieri Maserati after one of their team drivers was injured. He raced in two World Drivers' Championship events overall—one in 1953 and one in 1954—and his result here, a fifth-place finish, was his best result.

Classification

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Qualifying

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Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap
1 32   Juan Manuel Fangio Maserati 2:40.1
2 46   Alberto Ascari Ferrari 2:40.7 + 0.6
3 24   Nino Farina Ferrari 2:42.6 + 2.5
4 8   Maurice Trintignant Gordini 2:43.8 + 3.7
5 36   Onofre Marimón Maserati 2:44.5 + 4.4
6 28   Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 2:44.6 + 4.5
7 26   Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 2:48.1 + 8.0
8 42   Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 2:49.9 + 9.8
9 20   Ken Wharton Cooper-Bristol 2:51.5 + 11.4
10 30   Felice Bonetto Maserati 2:52.0 + 11.9
11 34   Hermann Lang Maserati 2:54.8 + 14.7
12 6   Jean Behra Gordini 2:55.0 + 14.9
13 2   Jacques Swaters Ferrari 2:55.1 + 15.0
14 10   Louis Rosier Ferrari 2:55.4 + 15.3
15 16   Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 2:57.1 + 17.0
16 14   Paul Frère HWM-Alta 2:57.9 + 17.8
17 38   Peter Hirt Ferrari 3:01.5 + 21.4
18 18   Albert Scherrer HWM-Alta 3:07.4 + 27.3
19 40   Max de Terra Ferrari 3:21.1 + 41.0
20 4   Chico Landi Maserati 3:29.1 + 49.0
21 12   Louis Chiron OSCA No time
22 22   Élie Bayol OSCA No time
23 44   Fred Wacker Gordini No time
Source:[1]

Race

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Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points
1 46   Alberto Ascari Ferrari 65 3:01:34.40 2 91
2 24   Nino Farina Ferrari 65 + 1:12.93 3 6
3 26   Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 65 + 1:35.96 7 4
4 32   Juan Manuel Fangio
  Felice Bonetto
Maserati 64 + 1 Lap 1 1.5
1.5
5 34   Hermann Lang Maserati 62 + 3 Laps 11 2
6 28   Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 62 + 3 Laps 6  
7 20   Ken Wharton Cooper-Bristol 62 + 3 Laps 9  
8 40   Max de Terra Ferrari 51 + 14 Laps 19  
9 18   Albert Scherrer HWM-Alta 49 + 16 Laps 18  
Ret 4   Chico Landi Maserati 54 Gearbox 20  
Ret 42   Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 49 Transmission 8  
Ret 36   Onofre Marimón Maserati 46 Engine 5  
Ret 8   Maurice Trintignant Gordini 43 Axle 4  
Ret 6   Jean Behra Gordini 37 Oil Pressure 12  
Ret 30   Felice Bonetto
  Juan Manuel Fangio
Maserati 29 Engine 10  
Ret 16   Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 29 Engine 15  
Ret 38   Peter Hirt Ferrari 17 Engine 17  
Ret 14   Paul Frère HWM-Alta 1 Engine 16  
Ret 2   Jacques Swaters Ferrari 0 Spun Off 13  
Ret 10   Louis Rosier Ferrari 0 Spun Off 14  
DNS 12   Louis Chiron OSCA 0 Did not start  
DNS 22   Élie Bayol OSCA 0 Did not start  
DNS 44   Fred Wacker Gordini 0 Did not start  
Source:[2]
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Shared drives

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  • (Fangio and Bonetto switched cars)
    • Car #32: Fangio (12 laps) then Bonetto (52 laps). They shared the points for 4th place.
    • Car #30: Bonetto (12 laps) then Fangio (17 laps)

Championship standings after the race

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Drivers' Championship standings
Pos Driver Points
  1   Alberto Ascari 34.5 (46.5)
  2   Nino Farina 24 (26)
  3   Juan Manuel Fangio 20.5
  4   Mike Hawthorn 19 (24)
  5   José Froilán González 13.5 (14.5)
Source: [3]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References

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  1. ^ "Switzerland 1953 - Qualifying". statsf1.com. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  2. ^ "1953 Swiss Grand Prix". formula1.com. Archived from the original on 18 January 2015. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  3. ^ "Switzerland 1953 - Championship • STATS F1". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 5 March 2019.


Previous race:
1953 German Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1953 season
Next race:
1953 Italian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1952 Swiss Grand Prix
Swiss Grand Prix Next race:
1954 Swiss Grand Prix