1953 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1953 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on June 21, 1953 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was part of the 1953 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.

Race report

A record crowd of over 100,000 spectators crammed into the forest track to watch this dramatic race. The Maseratis were definitely capable of matching the Ferraris for sheer speed - Juan Manuel Fangio put in a record-shattering practice lap of 117mph. At the flag, he waved José Froilán González past and stunned everyone with another blitzkrieg lap of 110mph from a standing start. After 11 laps, González had pulled out a full minute's lead, but it had taken its toll on his engine which expired, leaving Fangio half a minute clear. On lap 13, it was the other Argentine's turn to fall prey to engine troubles and Ferrari inherited another 1-2 victory from the third Argentine driver Onofre Marimon who gained his first podium position.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	10	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	36	2:48:30.3	2	8
2	8	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	36	+ 2:48.2	5	6
3	28	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	35	+ 1 Lap	16	4
4	30	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	35	+ 1 Lap	9	3
5	18	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	35	+ 1 Lap	8	2
6	14	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	35	+ 1 Lap	7
7	20	Harry Schell	Gordini	33	+ 3 Laps	12
8	32	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	33	+ 3 Laps	13
9	38	Fred Wacker	Gordini	32	+ 4 Laps	15
10	24	Paul Frere	HWM-Alta	30	+ 6 Laps	11
11	40	Andre Pilette	Connaught-Lea-Francis	29	+ 7 Laps	18
Ret	6	Johnny Claes Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	35	Accident	10
Ret	22	Lance Macklin	HWM-Alta	19	Engine	17
Ret	12	Nino Farina	Ferrari	16	Engine	4
Ret	4	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	13	Engine	1
Ret	2	José Froilán González	Maserati	11	Throttle	3	1
Ret	16	Jean Behra	Gordini	9	Engine	14
Ret	26	Peter Collins	HWM-Alta	4	Clutch	16
Ret	34	Georges Berger	Simca-Gordini-Gordini	3	Engine	20
Ret	36	Arthur Legat	Veritas	0	Transmission	19

Notes

• Pole position: Juan Manuel Fangio - 4:30.0
• Fastest lap: José Froilán González - 4:34.0
• Shared drive - Car #6: Claes (13 laps) then Fangio (22 laps)