1954 Swiss Grand Prix

The 1954 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Bremgarten on 22 August 1954. It was race 7 of 9 in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers. The 66-lap race was won by Mercedes driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from second position. José Froilán González finished second for the Ferrari team and Fangio's teammate Hans Herrmann came in third.

1954 Swiss Grand Prix
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Circuit Bremgarten track layout
Circuit Bremgarten track layout
Race details
Date22 August 1954
Official nameXIV Großer Preis der Schweiz
LocationBremgarten, Bern, Switzerland
CourseTemporary street/road circuit
Course length7.280 km (4.524 miles)
Distance66 laps, 480.480 km (298.556 miles)
WeatherRain
Pole position
DriverFerrari
Time2:39.5
Fastest lap
DriverArgentina Juan Manuel FangioMercedes
Time2:39.7 on lap 34
Podium
FirstMercedes
SecondFerrari
ThirdMercedes
Lap leaders

Race report edit

The Mercedes dominance continued as Juan Manuel Fangio led from start to finish. Stirling Moss soon passed José Froilán González for 2nd and battled ferociously to catch Fangio. However, he was himself soon under pressure as Mike Hawthorn caught him. The two duelled furiously in a superb patriotic spectacle, which ended only when Moss's engine gave way. Hawthorn himself succumbed to fuel feed problems. Gonzalez thus ended in second, whilst Fangio lapped the entire field up to second, winning by nearly a minute. Hans Herrmann in the sister Mercedes took the final podium spot.

The Driver's championship was to be decided at this race. Works Ferrari driver José Froilán González needed to win to stay in contention to beat Mercedes driver Juan Manuel Fangio on points and after finishing 2nd to Fangio, he still had 23 1/7 points to Fangio's 42. With the rules in place at the time, González could not overhaul Fangio's total with 2 races left, and so the title went to Fangio for the 2nd time.

This would be the last F1 race in Switzerland. Following the 1955 Le Mans disaster the Swiss government banned all forms of motor racing. Swiss Grands Prix were subsequently held in 1975 (non-championship) and 1982 but both races took place in France.

There would not be any form of circuit motor racing in Switzerland for nearly sixty four years. In 2015, Switzerland lifted their ban on motor racing for electric vehicles only.[1] The first race organized after the ban was lifted was a Formula E Championship race taking place in the streets of Zürich in 2018.

Classification edit

Qualifying edit

PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap
120 José Froilán GonzálezFerrari2:39.5
24 Juan Manuel FangioMercedes2:39.7+ 0.2
332 Stirling MossMaserati2:41.4+ 1.9
426 Maurice TrintignantFerrari2:41.7+ 2.2
58 Karl KlingMercedes2:41.9+ 2.4
622 Mike HawthornFerrari2:43.2+ 3.7
76 Hans HerrmannMercedes2:45.0+ 5.5
818 Ken WhartonMaserati2:46.2+ 6.7
928 Sergio MantovaniMaserati2:56.9+ 17.4
1012 Clemar BucciGordini3:04.1+ 24.6
1124 Umberto MaglioliFerrari3:08.2+ 28.7
1230 Roberto MieresMaserati3:09.3+ 29.8
1334 Harry SchellMaserati3:12.1+ 32.6
1410 Jean BehraGordini3:16.4+ 36.9
1514 Fred WackerGordini3:20.3+ 40.8
162 Jacques SwatersFerrari3:20.4+ 40.9
1724 Robert ManzonFerrariNo time
DNA16 Roy SalvadoriMaseratiNo time
DNA36 Toulo de GraffenriedMaseratiNo time

Race edit

PosNoDriverConstructorLapsTime/retiredGridPoints
14 Juan Manuel FangioMercedes663:00:34.5291
220 José Froilán GonzálezFerrari66+57.816
36 Hans HerrmannMercedes65+1 lap74
430 Roberto MieresMaserati64+2 laps123
528 Sergio MantovaniMaserati64+2 laps92
618 Ken WhartonMaserati64+2 laps8
724 Umberto MaglioliFerrari61+5 laps11
82 Jacques SwatersFerrari58+8 laps16
Ret8 Karl KlingMercedes38Fuel system5
Ret26 Maurice TrintignantFerrari33Engine4
Ret22 Mike HawthornFerrari30Oil leak6
Ret34 Harry SchellMaserati23Oil pump13
Ret32 Stirling MossMaserati21Oil pump3
Ret14 Fred WackerGordini10Transmission15
Ret10 Jean BehraGordini8Clutch14
Ret12 Clemar BucciGordini0Fuel pump10
DNS24 Robert ManzonFerrariAccident
Source:[2]
Notes
  • ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Championship standings after the race edit

Drivers' Championship standings
PosDriverPoints
1 Juan Manuel Fangio42 (45 17)
2 José Froilán González23 914
3 Maurice Trintignant15
4 Mike Hawthorn10 914
5 Karl Kling10
Source: [3]
  • Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

References edit


Previous race:
1954 German Grand Prix
FIA Formula One World Championship
1954 season
Next race:
1954 Italian Grand Prix
Previous race:
1953 Swiss Grand Prix
Swiss Grand PrixNext race:
1975 Swiss Grand Prix