1952 Italian Grand Prix

F1 Race Reports > 1952 Italian Grand Prix > 1952 Italian Grand Prix

The 1952 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on September 7, 1952 at Monza. It was the eighth and final round of the 1952 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.

Race report

Juan Manuel Fangio was still injured, so Felice Bonetto and José Froilán González were given the task of trying to beat Ferrari on home soil, with the aid of two new six-cylinder cars with twin-plug heads. González rocketed into the lead, whilst Maurice Trintignant was fighting wheel-to-wheel with Alberto Ascari for second place. Ascari won that particular duel, but then had to contend with Luigi Villoresi.

By now, González had opened up a 20-second lead-but this only on half tanks. On lap 32 he pitted and emerged 5th. He battled back to second, but could not beat Ascari who came home 50 seconds ahead.

This meant Ascari had won every Grand Prix he had competed in that year, whilst Ferrari won every Grand Prix of the season - with the sole exception of the Indianapolis 500 - a dominance rarely seen in Formula 1.

Classification

• Pole position: Alberto Ascari - 2:05.7
• Fastest lap: Alberto Ascari & José Froilán González - 2:06.1
• Ascari and González set equal fastest lap times, and shared the one world championship point.

Drivers' Championship standings after the race

• Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.