The 1952 Swiss Grand Prix was a

Formula Two Formula Two (F2 or Formula 2) is a type of open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009–2012 in the form of the FIA Formula Two Championship. The name retur ...

race held on 18 May 1952 at

Bremgarten Circuit The Circuit Bremgarten was a motorsport race track in Bern, Switzerland which formerly hosted the Swiss Grand Prix from 1933 to 1954 (Formula One, 1947 to 1954) and the Swiss motorcycle Grand Prix in 1949 and from 1951 until 1954. Bremgarten ...

. It was the first round of the 1952 World Championship of Drivers, in which each Grand Prix was run to Formula Two rules rather than the Formula One regulations normally used. Pre-

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Grand Prix great

Rudolf Caracciola Otto Wilhelm Rudolf CaracciolaBolsinger and Becker (2002), p. 63 (30 January 1901 – 28 September 1959) was a racing driver from Remagen, Germany. He won the European Drivers' Championship, the pre-1950 equivalent of the modern Formula One Wor ...

crashed heavily during a support sports car race. He survived with a broken leg, but this crash effectively ended his racing career. He was driving a

Mercedes-Benz 300 SL The Mercedes-Benz 300 SL (chassis code W 198) is a two-seat sports car which was produced by Mercedes-Benz as a gullwinged coupe (1954–1957) and roadster (1957–1963).Werner Oswald: ''Mercedes-Benz Personenwagen 1945–1985''. Motorbuch Ve ...

; his brakes locked up going into a corner and the car skidded off the road and hit a tree. Italian driver Piero Taruffi scored his only win in a World Championship race, driving for Ferrari.

Report

With the withdrawal of

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

from the World Championship,

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 ...

were left as the sole competitive team under the existing Formula One regulations. It was therefore decided to restrict the World Championship Grand Prix races to Formula Two cars. The works Ferrari team brought three drivers to the Swiss Grand Prix, namely Farina, Taruffi and

Simon Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

. Regular Ferrari drivers

Alberto Ascari Alberto Ascari (; 13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver and a two time Formula One World Champion. He was a multitalented racer who competed in motorcycle racing before switching to cars. Ascari won consecutive world titles ...

and

Luigi Villoresi Luigi Villoresi (16 May 1909 – 24 August 1997) was an Italian Grand Prix motor racing driver who continued racing on the Formula One circuit at the time of its inception. Biography Born in Milan, Lombardy, and nicknamed "Gigi", he was the older ...

were both unavailable, the former due to his participation in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

, and the latter because of his having had a road accident. Also running Ferraris were

Rudi Fischer Rudi, born Albert Rudolph (January 24, 1928 – February 21, 1973), also known as Swami Rudrananda, was born in Brooklyn, New York. Rudi was a spiritual teacher and an antiquities entrepreneur in New York City.Swami Rudrananda udi ''Spir ...

and

Peter Hirt Peter Hirt (30 March 1910 – 28 June 1992) was a racing driver from Switzerland. He participated in five World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 27 May 1951. He scored no championship points. He was a member of the Ecurie Espadon. Prese ...

Ecurie Espadon Ecurie may refer to: * Écurie, a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département in France * Several car racing teams (compare '' scuderias'') : ** Ecurie Belge ** Ecurie Bleue ** Ecurie Bonnier ** Ecurie Ecosse, a former motor racing team from Scot ...

, and veteran Frenchman

Louis Rosier Louis Rosier (5 November 1905 in Chapdes-Beaufort – 29 October 1956 in Neuilly-sur-Seine) was a racing driver from France. Career highlights He participated in 38 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 13 May 1950. He ac ...

Gordini Gordini () is a division of Renault Sport Technologies (Renault Sport). In the past, it was a sports car manufacturer and performance tuner, established in 1946 by Amédée Gordini (1899–1979), nicknamed "Le Sorcier" (The Sorcerer). Gordini be ...

also had a three-car team for this race, consisting of

Robert Manzon Robert Manzon (12 April 1917 – 19 January 2015) was a French racing driver. He participated in 29 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 21 May 1950. He achieved two podiums, and scored a total of 16 championship points. At the ...

, B. Bira and the debutant

Jean Behra Jean Marie Behra (16 February 1921 – 1 August 1959) was a Formula One driver who raced for the Gordini, Maserati, BRM, Ferrari and Porsche teams. Appearance and personality Behra was small in stature, stocky, and weighed 178 pounds.''B ...

. The HWM team, returning to the World Championship for the first time since the previous race at Bremgarten, fielded the all-British quartet of Abecassis,

Collins Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle- ...

Macklin Macklin or MacKlin may refer to: ;Places * Macklin, Saskatchewan, a town in Canada People with the surname Macklin or MacKlin: * Macklin (surname) See also * Maclean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Goidelic languages, Gaelic sur ...

and

Moss Mosses are small, non-vascular flowerless plants in the taxonomic division Bryophyta (, ) '' sensu stricto''. Bryophyta (''sensu lato'', Schimp. 1879) may also refer to the parent group bryophytes, which comprise liverworts, mosses, and hor ...

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 ...

had planned to enter defending World Drivers' Champion Juan Manuel Fangio and fellow Argentinian

José Froilán González José Froilán González (October 5, 1922 – June 15, 2013) was an Argentine racing driver, particularly notable for scoring Ferrari's first win in a Formula One World Championship race at the 1951 British Grand Prix. He made his Formula One ...

, but this did not come into fruition. Completing the field were the sole AFM entry of Hans Stuck and a number of privately run cars representing various constructors. Former Alfa Romeo driver Nino Farina took pole position, alongside Taruffi and Manzon on the front row of the grid. Simon and Fischer started from the second row, in front of Collins, Behra and Toulo de Graffenried, who was driving an

Enrico Platé Enrico Platé (28 January 1909, Milan, Italy – 2 February 1954, Buenos Aires, Argentina) was a motor racing driver and team manager. Although born in Italy, Platé raced, and latterly ran his racing team Scuderia Enrico Platé, under Swiss natio ...

-entered Maserati. Polesitter Farina led the race until his car broke down. His Ferrari teammate assumed the lead, which he held for the remainder of the race. Moss was impressively running in third place in the early stages, behind Farina and Taruffi, before he had to stop. Moss and Macklin withdrew from the race. The main battle was between Behra and Simon, for second place (once Farina had retired). When Behra had to stop, due to his exhaust pipe having fallen off, Farina, who had taken over Simon's car, assumed second place. However, further problems meant that he once again had to retire, on lap 51, handing second to local driver Rudi Fischer. The Swiss driver took his first Championship podium, being the only driver not to be lapped by Taruffi, who took his first (and only) World Championship race victory. Behra completed the podium, taking third on debut, while

Ken Wharton Frederick Charles Kenneth Wharton (21 March 1916 – 12 January 1957) was a British racing driver from Smethwick, England. He competed in off-road trials, hillclimbs, and rallying, and also raced sports cars and single-seaters. He began racing ...

(fourth) and Alan Brown (fifth) took the first points finishes for

Frazer Nash Frazer Nash was a brand of British sports car manufactured from 1922 first by Frazer Nash Limited founded by engineer Archibald Frazer-Nash. On its financial collapse in 1927 a new company, AFN Limited, was incorporated. Control of AFN passed t ...

and

Cooper Cooper, Cooper's, Coopers and similar may refer to: * Cooper (profession), a maker of wooden casks and other staved vessels Arts and entertainment * Cooper (producers), alias of Dutch producers Klubbheads * Cooper (video game character), in ...

, respectively.

Entries

: — André Simon qualified and drove 21 laps of the race in the #32 Ferrari.

Nino Farina Emilio Giuseppe Farina, also known as Giuseppe Antonio "Nino" Farina, (; 30 October 1906 – 30 June 1966) was an Italian racing driver and first official Formula One World Champion. He gained the title in 1950. He was the Italian Champion in ...

, whose own vehicle had already retired, took over the car for a further 30 laps before again being forced to retire. : — Juan Manuel Fangio and José Froilán González, whose cars were unavailable, withdrew from the event prior to practice. : — Peter Hirt qualified and drove the entire race in the #44 Ferrari. Rudolf Schoeller, named substitute driver for the car, was not used during the Grand Prix. : — Max de Terra drove the #50 Simca-Gordini in the race. Alfred Dattner, who was also entered in the same car, was unable to take part in the Grand Prix due to illness.

Classification

Qualifying

Race

;Notes * – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Shared drive

* Farina (33 laps) took over from Simon (18) after Farina retired from the race.

Championship standings after the race

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

References

{{F1GP 50-59

Swiss Grand Prix The Swiss Grand Prix (french: Grand Prix de Suisse, german: Großer Preis der Schweiz, it, Gran Premio di Svizzera), was the premier auto race of Switzerland. In its later years it was a Formula One race. History Bremgarten (1934–1939, 1947 ...

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 ...