In comparison to previous seasons, the 1952 Formula One season consisted of a relatively small number of Formula One races, following the FIA's decision to run the World Drivers' Championship to Formula Two regulations rather than Formula One.

The 3rd FIA World Drivers' Championship, which commenced on May 18, 1952, and ended on September 7 after eight races, was won by Alberto Ascari, driving for Scuderia Ferrari.

In addition to the Formula One races and the World Championship Formula Two races, numerous other Formula Two races, which did not count towards the Championship, were also held during the year.

World Championship season summary

Alfa Romeo, unable to fund a new car, withdrew from racing, leaving Ferrari as the only serious Formula 1 contender. This led organizers to run their races for Formula 2, for 2 litre unsupercharged engines, which meant larger fields and a greater variety of cars, even if the victories all went to Ferrari. Ascari won the six grand prix he entered, missing the Swiss because he was at Indianapolis qualifying. Maserati and Gordini offered little challenge, but Mike Hawthorn's drives in his Cooper would earn him a works Ferrari drive in 1953. Fangio, badly injured in an early season crash, took no part in the championship.

Points were given to top 5 finishers (8, 6, 4, 3, 2). 1 point was given for fastest lap. Only the best four of eight scores counted towards the world championship. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of who had driven more laps. In 1952, all World Championship events were run under Formula 2 regulations.

World Championship season review

Rnd	Race	Date	Location	Winning driver	Constructor	Tyres	Report
1	Swiss Grand Prix	May 18	Bremgarten	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari		Report
2	Indianapolis 500	May 30	Indianapolis	Troy Ruttman	Kuzma-Offenhauser		Report
3	Belgian Grand Prix	June 22	Spa-Francorchamps	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari		Report
4	French Grand Prix	July 6	Rouen-Les-Essarts	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari		Report
5	British Grand Prix	July 19	Silverstone	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari		Report
6	German Grand Prix	August 3	Nürburgring	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari		Report
7	Dutch Grand Prix	August 17	Zandvoort	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari		Report
8	Italian Grand Prix	September 7	Monza	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari		Report

1952 Drivers Championship final standings

Pos. Driver SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA Pts. 1 Alberto Ascari Ret 1* 1* 1* 1* 1* 1** 36 (53.5) 2 Nino Farina Ret / Ret† 2 2 6 2 2 4 24 (27) 3 Piero Taruffi 1* Ret 3 2 4 7 22 4 Rudi Fischer 2 11† 13 3 Ret 10 5 Mike Hawthorn 4 Ret 3 4 Ret 10 6 Robert Manzon Ret 3 4 Ret Ret 5 14 9 7 Troy Ruttman 1 8 8 Luigi Villoresi 3 3 8 9 José Froilán González 2** 6.5 10 Jim Rathmann 2 6 11 Jean Behra 3 Ret 7 5 Ret Ret 6 12 Sam Hanks 3 4 13 Ken Wharton 4 Ret Ret 9 3 14 Dennis Poore 4 12 3 15 Duane Carter 4 3 16 Alan Brown 5 6 22 15 2 17 Maurice Trintignant 5 Ret Ret 6 Ret 2 18 Paul Frère 5 Ret Ret 2 19 Felice Bonetto Ret 5 2 20 Art Cross 5 2 21 Eric Thompson 5 2 22 Bill Vukovich 17* 1 23 Roger Laurent 12 6 0 24 Toulo de Graffenried 6 Ret† 19 DNQ 0 25 Peter Collins Ret Ret 6 Ret DNQ 0 26 André Simon Ret† 6 0 27 Jimmy Bryan 6 0 28 Peter Hirt 7 11† 0 29 Charles de Tornaco 7 Ret DNQ 0 30 Duncan Hamilton Ret 7 0 31 Jimmy Reece 7 0 32 Reg Parnell 7 0 33 Fritz Riess 7 0 34 Lance Macklin WD 11 9 15 8 DNQ 0 35 Eric Brandon 8 9 20 13 0 36 Chico Landi 9† 8 0 37 Johnny Claes 8 Ret 14 10 DNQ 0 38 Toni Ulmen Ret 8 0 39 George Connor 8 0 40 Philippe Etancelin 8 0 41 Roy Salvadori 8 0 42 Ken Downing 9 Ret 0 43 Cliff Griffith 9 0 44 Helmut Niedermayr 9 0 45 Jan Flinterman 9† 0 46 Prince Bira Ret 10 Ret 11 0 47 Louis Rosier Ret Ret Ret 10 0 48 Peter Whitehead Ret 10 DNQ 0 49 Johnnie Parsons 10 0 50 Yves Giraud Cabantous 10 0 51 Eitel Cantoni Ret Ret 11 0 52 Jack McGrath 11 0 53 Hans Klenk 11 0 54 Jim Rigsby 12 0 55 Franco Comotti 12 0 56 Graham Whitehead 12 0 57 Ernst Klodwig 12 0 58 Joe James 13 0 59 Bill Schindler 14 0 60 Robert O'Brien 14 0 61 Tony Gaze 15 Ret Ret DNQ 0 62 George Fonder 15 0 63 Kenneth McAlpine 16 Ret 0 64 Eddie Johnson 16 0 65 Harry Schell Ret Ret† 17 0 66 Gino Bianco 18 Ret Ret Ret 0 67 Chuck Stevenson 18 0 68 Henry Banks 19 0 69 Manny Ayulo 20 0 70 Johnny McDowell 21 0 71 Tony Crook 21 0 — Stirling Moss WD Ret Ret Ret Ret 0 — Piero Carini Ret Ret 0 — Bill Aston DNS Ret DNQ 0 — Hans Stuck Ret DNQ 0 — George Abecassis Ret 0 — Max de Terra Ret 0 — Spider Webb Ret 0 — Rodger Ward Ret 0 — Tony Bettenhausen Ret 0 — Duke Nalon Ret 0 — Fred Agabashian Ret 0 — Bob Sweikert Ret 0 — Gene Hartley Ret 0 — Bob Scott Ret 0 — Chet Miller Ret 0 — Bobby Ball Ret 0 — Andy Linden Ret 0 — Robin Montgomerie-Charrington Ret 0 — David Murray Ret 0 — Willi Heeks Ret 0 — Adolf Brudes Ret 0 — Marcel Balsa Ret 0 — Bernd Nacke Ret 0 — Rudolf Krause Ret 0 — Rudolf Schoeller Ret 0 — Paul Pietsch Ret 0 — Theo Helfrich Ret 0 — Josef Peters Ret 0 — Dries van der Lof Ret 0 — Franco Rol Ret 0 — Elie Bayol Ret 0 — Alberto Crespo DNQ 0 — Piero Dusio DNQ 0 Pos. Driver SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA Pts.

• * Fastest lap (1 point awarded)
• ** Multiple drivers set equal fastest lap times, thus sharing the 1 point.
• † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
• Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Non-Championship race results

Formula One/Two Grand Prix races, which did not count towards the World Championship, also held in 1952.

Race Name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
XI Grande Prémio da Cidade de Rio de Janeiro	Gávea	January 20	José Froilán González	Ferrari	Report
II Gran Premio di Siracusa	Syracuse	March 16	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
VI Gran Premio del Valentino	Valentino Park	April 6	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Report
IV Richmond Trophy	Goodwood	April 14	José Froilán González	Ferrari	Report
IV Lavant Cup	Goodwood	April 14	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper-Bristol	Report
XIII Grand Prix de Pau	Pau	April 14	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
I Ibsley Grand Prix	Ringwood	April 19	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper-Bristol	Report
X Grand Prix de Marseille	Marseille	April 27	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
IV BRDC International Trophy	Silverstone	May 10	Lance Macklin	HWM-Alta	Report
XIV Eläintarhanajot	Eläintarharata	May 11	Roger Laurent	Talbot-Lago	Report
V Gran Premio di Napoli	Posillipo	May 11	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	Report
XVI Internationales ADAC Eifelrennen	Nürburgring	May 25	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	Report
VI Grand Prix de Paris	Montlhéry	May 25	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	Report
XIV Grand Prix de l'Albigeois	Albi	June 1	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	Report
XXII Grand Prix des Frontières	Chimay	June 1	Paul Frère	HWM-Alta	Report
VI Ulster Trophy	Dundrod	June 7	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	Report
V Gran Premio dell'Autodromo di Monza	Monza	June 8	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	Report
IV Aix les Bains Circuit du Lac	Aix-les-Bains	June 8	Jean Behra	Gordini	Report
I West Essex CC Race	Boreham	June 21	Reg Parnell	Cooper-Bristol	Report
XX Grand Prix de la Marne	Reims	June 29	Jean Behra	Gordini	Report
II Grand Prix de Sables d'Olonne	Sables	July 13	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Report
I Grand Prix de Caen	Caen	July 27	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	Report
II Daily Mail Trophy	Boreham	August 2	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Report
XVI Grand Prix de Comminges	Comminges	August 10	André Simon	Ferrari	Report
I National Trophy	Turnberry	August 23	Mike Hawthorn	Connaught	Report
XI Grand Prix de la Baule	La Baule	August 24	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	Report
III Gran Premio di Modena	Modena	September 14	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Report
IV Circuit de Cadours	Cadours	September 14	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	Report
V Madgwick Cup	Goodwood	September 27	Ken Downing	Connaught	Report
VIII Internationales Avusrennen	AVUS	September 28	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	Report
Joe Fry Memorial Trophy	Castle Combe	October 4	Roy Salvadori	Ferrari	Report
I Newcastle Journal Trophy	Charterhall	October 11	Dennis Poore	Connaught	Report
XII Grande Prémio da Cidade de Rio de Janeiro	Gávea	December 14	Henrique Casini	Ferrari	Report