The 1951 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One

motor race Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

held on 27 May 1951 in

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

. The race was contested over 42 laps of the Bremgarten Circuit with it also being the opening race of the

1951 World Championship of Drivers The 1951 Formula One season was the fifth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1951 World Championship of Drivers,1974 FIA Yearbook, Grey section, page 118 which commenced on 27 May 1951 and ended on 28 October after eig ...

. The race was the eleventh time that the Swiss Grand Prix was held with all of the races being held at Bremgarten. After claiming pole position for the race, Argentine driver,

Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

would go on win the race by 55 seconds over Italian driver, Piero Taruffi who drove for

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

. Fellow Italian driver, Nino Farina rounded out the podium in the second Alfa Romeo car.

Report

The Swiss Grand Prix, the first event of the 1951 World Championship due to the absence of Monaco from the calendar, saw the Alfa Romeo team continue their dominance of the previous season. All four of their drivers occupied positions on the front two rows of the grid; the highest non-Alfa qualifier was

's Luigi Villoresi, who was alongside

Fangio Fangio is a given name and surname. Notable people with the name include: *Fangio Buyse (born 1974), Belgian footballer * Francesca Fangio (born 1995), Italian swimmer *Juan Manuel Fangio (1911–1995), Argentine racing car driver *Juan Manuel Fang ...

and Farina on the front row. The race took place in the rain, with Fangio initially leading from Farina. Ferrari's Piero Taruffi also challenged for the lead, having started from sixth on the grid. Fangio pitted, handing Nino Farina the lead for the 24th lap of the race. However, Farina's decision not to make a pitstop did not pay off, as Fangio was able to retake the lead on lap 29. Fangio maintained the lead for the remainder of the race, eventually winning by nearly a minute from Taruffi, who had overtaken Farina on the penultimate lap. This was Taruffi's first podium in just his second championship race. The remaining Alfa drivers— Consalvo Sanesi and Toulo de Graffenried—completed the points paying positions, ahead of Ferrari's Alberto Ascari, who competed despite suffering from burns from the previous weekend's Formula 2 race in Genoa.

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

, driving for HWM, was in seventh, but ran out of fuel on the final lap, therefore yielding the position to Louis Chiron, who was driving a

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

for Enrico Platé.

Entries

: — Consalvo Sanesi qualified and drove the entirety of the race in the #28 Alfa Romeo. Gianbattista Guidotti, named substitute driver, was not used during the Grand Prix. : — Francis Rochat, Maurice Trintignant and André Simon all withdrew from the event prior to practice. Robert Manzon, who was entered in the #48 Simca Gordini alongside Trintignant, also withdrew.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

;Notes * – Includes 1 point for fastest lap *

Championship standings after the race

;Drivers' Championship standings *Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted toward the Championship.

References

{{F1GP 50-59 Swiss Grand Prix Swiss Grand Prix

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

Swiss Grand Prix