1952 Belgian Grand Prix
# 1952 Belgian Grand Prix

The 1952 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 22 June 1952 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was race 3 of 8 in 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.

## Report

Maserati's new A6GCM was still not ready, and, to compound this, their lead driver Juan Manuel Fangio had suffered back injuries at the non-championship Monza Grand Prix. This meant that Ferrari were once again favoured for success in the race, with their driver lineup consisting of Alberto Ascari (in place of André Simon), Nino Farina and Piero Taruffi. There were also two privateer Ferrari entries: local driver Charles de Tornaco of Ecurie Francorchamps, and Louis Rosier. The Gordini team expanded their lineup to include Belgian driver Johnny Claes, alongside Behra, Manzon and Bira. American Robert O'Brien also drove a Simca-Gordini for this race. HWM also recruited a pair of Belgian drivers — Paul Frère and Roger Laurent — who raced alongside regular drivers Peter Collins and Lance Macklin. Stirling Moss switched from HWM to ERA for this race. A handful of other privateer entrants also took part, including future World Champion Mike Hawthorn, who made his debut in a Cooper-Bristol.

Ascari headed an all-Ferrari front row, with teammates Farina and Taruffi in second and third, respectively. The Gordinis of Manzon and Behra made up row two, while the third row consisted of Hawthorn, Ken Wharton (in a Frazer-Nash), and Frère, who was the highest qualifier of the five Belgian drivers on the grid.

Taruffi started badly in the rain, dropping to ninth by the end of the first lap, while Behra overhauled the two leading Ferraris to take the lead of the race. Moss also started well, before his car broke down halfway through the first lap. Behra's lead was short-lived, as both Ascari and Farina overtook him on the second lap, subsequently holding first and second for the remainder of the race. Behra dropped to fourth when the recovering Taruffi passed him on lap 13. On the following lap Taruffi spun at Malmédy and Behra hit him, causing both to retire. Manzon overtook Hawthorn to assume what was now third place. Despite suffering from fuel leakage problems, Hawthorn was able to maintain fourth place until the end of the race. His fellow debutant Paul Frère also finished in the points, in fifth.

Ascari's win (with fastest lap), and Taruffi's retirement, meant that the two now shared the lead of the Championship, on nine points each. Indianapolis 500 winner Troy Ruttman was in third, while Farina's second-place finish raised him to fourth in the standings, three points adrift of the joint Championship leaders.

## Entries

| No | Driver | Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | Tyre |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 2 | Nino Farina | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 500 | Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 | P |
| 4 | Alberto Ascari | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 500 | Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 | P |
| 6 | Piero Taruffi | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 500 | Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 | P |
| 8 | Mike Hawthorn | Leslie D. Hawthorn | Cooper-Bristol | Cooper T20 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D |
| 10 | Alan Brown | Ecurie Richmond | Cooper-Bristol | Cooper T20 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D |
| 12 | Eric Brandon | Ecurie Richmond | Cooper-Bristol | Cooper T20 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D |
| 14 | Robert Manzon | Equipe Gordini | Gordini | Gordini T16 | Gordini 20 2.0 L6 | E |
| 16 | Jean Behra | Equipe Gordini | Gordini | Gordini T16 | Gordini 20 2.0 L6 | E |
| 18 | Johnny Claes | Equipe Gordini | Gordini | Gordini T16 | Gordini 20 2.0 L6 | E |
| 20 | Prince Bira | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 | E |
| 22 | Louis Rosier | Ecurie Rosier | Ferrari | Ferrari 500 | Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 | D |
| 24 | Lance Macklin | HW Motors | HWM-Alta | HWM 52 | Alta F2 2.0 L4 | D |
| 26 | Peter Collins | HW Motors | HWM-Alta | HWM 52 | Alta F2 2.0 L4 | D |
| 28 | Paul Frère | HW Motors | HWM-Alta | HWM 52 | Alta F2 2.0 L4 | D |
| 30 | Roger Laurent | HW Motors | HWM-Alta | HWM 52 | Alta F2 2.0 L4 | D |
| 32 | Stirling Moss | English Racing Automobiles Ltd. | ERA-Bristol | ERA G | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D |
| 34 | Charles de Tornaco | Ecurie Francorchamps | Ferrari | Ferrari 500 | Ferrari Type 500 2.0 L4 | E |
| 36 | Ken Wharton | Scuderia Franera | Frazer Nash-Bristol | Frazer Nash FN48 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D |
| 38 | Arthur Legat | Arthur Legat | Veritas | Veritas Meteor | Veritas 2.0 L6 | E |
| 40 | Robin Montgomerie-Charrington | Robin Montgomerie-Charrington | Aston Butterworth | Aston NB41 | Aston Butterworth F4 2.0 L6 | D |
| 42 | Tony Gaze | Tony Gaze | HWM-Alta | HWM 51 | Alta F2 2.0 L4 | D |
| 44 | Robert O'Brien | Robert O'Brien | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 | E |
| Sources: |||||||

## Classification

### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 4 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 4:37.0 | – |
| 2 | 2 | Nino Farina | Ferrari | 4:40.0 | + 3.0 |
| 3 | 6 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 4:46.0 | + 9.0 |
| 4 | 14 | Robert Manzon | Gordini | 4:52.0 | + 15.0 |
| 5 | 16 | Jean Behra | Gordini | 4:56.0 | + 19.0 |
| 6 | 8 | Mike Hawthorn | Cooper-Bristol | 4:58.0 | + 21.0 |
| 7 | 36 | Ken Wharton | Frazer Nash-Bristol | 5:01.0 | + 24.0 |
| 8 | 28 | Paul Frère | HWM-Alta | 5:05.0 | + 28.0 |
| 9 | 10 | Alan Brown | Cooper-Bristol | 5:07.0 | + 30.0 |
| 10 | 32 | Stirling Moss | ERA-Bristol | 5:07.6 | + 30.6 |
| 11 | 26 | Peter Collins | HWM-Alta | 5:09.0 | + 32.0 |
| 12 | 12 | Eric Brandon | Cooper-Bristol | 5:11.0 | + 34.0 |
| 13 | 34 | Charles de Tornaco | Ferrari | 5:14.5 | + 37.5 |
| 14 | 24 | Lance Macklin | HWM-Alta | 5:17.1 | + 40.1 |
| 15 | 40 | Robin Montgomerie-Charrington | Aston Butterworth | 5:19.3 | + 42.3 |
| 16 | 42 | Tony Gaze | HWM-Alta | 5:22.8 | + 45.8 |
| 17 | 22 | Louis Rosier | Ferrari | 5:25.7 | + 48.7 |
| 18 | 20 | Prince Bira | Simca-Gordini-Gordini | 5:28.4 | + 51.4 |
| 19 | 18 | Johnny Claes | Gordini | 5:31.1 | + 54.1 |
| 20 | 30 | Roger Laurent | HWM-Alta | 5:37.9 | + 60.9 |
| 21 | 38 | Arthur Legat | Veritas | 5:45.0 | + 68.0 |
| 22 | 44 | Robert O'Brien | Simca-Gordini-Gordini | 5:51.0 | + 74.0 |

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | 4 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 36 | 3:03:46.3 | 1 | 9 |
| 2 | 2 | Nino Farina | Ferrari | 36 | +1:55.2 | 2 | 6 |
| 3 | 14 | Robert Manzon | Gordini | 36 | +4:28.4 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 8 | Mike Hawthorn | Cooper-Bristol | 35 | +1 lap | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | 28 | Paul Frère | HWM-Alta | 34 | +2 laps | 8 | 2 |
| 6 | 10 | Alan Brown | Cooper-Bristol | 34 | +2 laps | 9 | |
| 7 | 34 | Charles de Tornaco | Ferrari | 33 | +3 laps | 13 | |
| 8 | 18 | Johnny Claes | Gordini | 33 | +3 laps | 19 | |
| 9 | 12 | Eric Brandon | Cooper-Bristol | 33 | +3 laps | 12 | |
| 10 | 20 | Prince Bira | Simca-Gordini-Gordini | 32 | +4 laps | 18 | |
| 11 | 24 | Lance Macklin | HWM-Alta | 32 | +4 laps | 14 | |
| 12 | 30 | Roger Laurent | HWM-Alta | 32 | +4 laps | 20 | |
| 13 | 38 | Arthur Legat | Veritas | 31 | +5 laps | 21 | |
| 14 | 44 | Robert O'Brien | Simca-Gordini-Gordini | 30 | +6 laps | 22 | |
| 15 | 42 | Tony Gaze | HWM-Alta | 30 | +6 laps | 16 | |
| Ret | 40 | Robin Montgomerie-Charrington | Aston Butterworth | 17 | Engine | 15 | |
| Ret | 6 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 13 | Accident | 3 | |
| Ret | 16 | Jean Behra | Gordini | 13 | Accident | 5 | |
| Ret | 36 | Ken Wharton | Frazer-Nash-Bristol | 10 | Spun off | 7 | |
| Ret | 22 | Louis Rosier | Ferrari | 6 | Transmission | 17 | |
| Ret | 26 | Peter Collins | HWM-Alta | 3 | Halfshaft | 11 | |
| Ret | 32 | Stirling Moss | ERA-Bristol | 0 | Engine | 10 | |
| Source: ||||||||

**Notes**

* ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

## Championship standings after the race

### Drivers' Championship standings

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1 | Piero Taruffi | 9 |
| 41 | 2 | Alberto Ascari | 9 |
| 1 | 3 | Troy Ruttman | 8 |
| 26 | 4 | Nino Farina | 6 |
| 2 | 5 | Rudi Fischer | 6 |
| Source: ||||

* Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.
