The 1951 Swiss Grand Prix was a

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

motor race held on 27 May 1951 in Bern. The race was contested over 42 laps of the

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 ...

with it also being the opening race of the 1951 World Championship of Drivers. The race was the eleventh time that the

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 ...

was held with all of the races being held at Bremgarten. After claiming pole position for the race, Argentine driver, Juan Manuel Fangio would go on win the race by 55 seconds over Italian driver,

Piero Taruffi Piero Taruffi (12 October 1906 – 12 January 1988) was a racing driver from Italy. Sports car career Taruffi began his motorsport career racing motorcycles. He won the 1932 500cc European Championship on a Norton and in 1937 set the motorcycle ...

who drove for Ferrari. Fellow Italian driver,

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 ...

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 Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

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 Ferrari's

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 ...

, who was alongside Fangio and Farina on the front row. The race took place in the rain, with Fangio initially leading from Farina. Ferrari's

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 Consalvo Sanesi (28 March 1911, in Terranuova Bracciolini, Arezzo – 28 July 1998, in Milan) was best known as the Alfa Romeo works' test driver in the period following World War II, but he also competed in races with the Alfa Romeo Tipo 158/159 ...

and Toulo de Graffenried—completed the points paying positions, ahead of Ferrari's

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 ...

, who competed despite suffering from burns from the previous weekend's Formula 2 race in Genoa. Stirling Moss, driving for HWM, was in seventh, but ran out of fuel on the final lap, therefore yielding the position to

Louis Chiron Louis Alexandre Chiron (3 August 1899 – 22 June 1979) was a Monégasque racing driver who competed in rallies, sports car races, and Grands Prix. Among the greatest drivers between the two World Wars, his career embraced over thirty years, ...

, who was driving a Maserati 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 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 ...

, 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 Grand Prix