The 1953 British Grand Prix was a Formula Two motor race held on 18 July 1953 at Silverstone Circuit. It was race 6 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used. The 90-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari after he started from pole position. Juan Manuel Fangio finished second for the Maserati team and Ascari's teammate Nino Farina came in third.
Background The Ferrari and Maserati lineup was unchanged from the French Grand Prix. Initially three Cooper Mk IIs were entered for Peter Whitehead, Tony Crook and Stirling Moss. However, due to Moss's retirement at the French Grand Prix his car had to be withdrawn.
Entries +TeamNoDriverCarEngineTyre HW Motors1 Lance MacklinHWM 53Alta GP 2.5 L42 Peter Collins3 Duncan Hamilton4 Jack Fairman Scuderia Ferrari5 Alberto AscariFerrari Tipo 500Ferrari 500 2.0 L46 Nino Farina7 Luigi Villoresi8 Mike Hawthorn Ecurie Rosier9 Louis Rosier Connaught Engineering10 Prince BiraConnaught Type ALea-Francis 2.0 L411 Kenneth McAlpine12 Roy Salvadori R.R.C. Walker Racing Team14 Tony Rolt Ecurie Ecosse15 Ian Stewart18 Jimmy StewartCooper T20Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 Ken Wharton16 Ken WhartonCooper T23 Bob Gerard17 Bob Gerard R.J. Chase19 Alan Brown Atlantic Stable20 Peter WhiteheadCooper T24Alta GP 2.5 L4 Tony Crook22 Tony CrookCooper T20Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 Officine Alfieri Maserati23 Juan Manuel FangioMaserati A6GCMMaserati A6 2.0 L624 José Froilán González25 Felice Bonetto26 Onofre Marimón Louis Chiron27 Louis ChironOSCA 20OSCA 2000 2.0 L6 Equipe Gordini28 Harry SchellGordini Type 16Gordini 20 2.0 L629 Maurice Trintignant30 Jean Behra Emmanuel de Graffenried31 Toulo de GraffenriedMaserati A6GCMMaserati A6 2.0 L6
Classification Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap 1 5 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 1:48.0 — 2 24 José Froilán González Maserati 1:49.0 + 1.0 3 8 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 1:49.2 + 1.2 4 23 Juan Manuel Fangio Maserati 1:50.0 + 2.0 5 6 Nino Farina Ferrari 1:50.5 + 2.5 6 7 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 1:51.0 + 3.0 7 26 Onofre Marimón Maserati 1:51.3 + 3.3 8 29 Maurice Trintignant Gordini 1:52.0 + 4.0 9 28 Harry Schell Gordini 1:52.0 + 4.0 10 14 Tony Rolt Connaught-Lea-Francis 1:54.0 + 6.0 11 16 Ken Wharton Cooper-Bristol 1:54.0 + 6.0 12 1 Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 1:57.0 + 9.0 13 11 Kenneth McAlpine Connaught-Lea-Francis 1:57.6 + 9.6 14 20 Peter Whitehead Cooper-Alta 1:57.8 + 9.8 15 18 Jimmy Stewart Cooper-Bristol 1:58.0 + 10.0 16 25 Felice Bonetto Maserati 1:58.2 + 10.2 17 3 Duncan Hamilton HWM-Alta 2:02.0 + 14.0 18 17 Bob Gerard Cooper-Bristol 2:02.0 + 14.0 19 10 Prince Bira Connaught-Lea-Francis 2:04.0 + 16.0 20 15 Ian Stewart Connaught-Lea-Francis 2:04.0 + 16.0 21 19 Alan Brown Cooper-Bristol 2:04.0 + 16.0 22 30 Jean Behra Gordini 2:04.0 + 16.0 23 2 Peter Collins HWM-Alta 2:05.0 + 17.0 24 9 Louis Rosier Ferrari 2:07.0 + 19.0 25 22 Tony Crook Cooper-Bristol 2:07.4 + 19.4 26 31 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 2:08.0 + 20.0 27 4 Jack Fairman HWM-Alta 2:08.4 + 20.4 28 12 Roy Salvadori Connaught-Lea-Francis 2:09.0 + 21.0 29 27 Louis Chiron OSCA No time —
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 5 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 90 2:50:00 1 8.5 2 23 Juan Manuel Fangio Maserati 90 + 1:00 4 6 3 6 Nino Farina Ferrari 88 + 2 Laps 5 4 4 24 José Froilán González Maserati 88 + 2 Laps 2 3.5 5 8 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 87 + 3 Laps 3 2 6 25 Felice Bonetto Maserati 82 + 8 Laps 16 7 10 Prince Bira Connaught-Lea-Francis 82 + 8 Laps 19 8 16 Ken Wharton Cooper-Bristol 80 + 10 Laps 11 9 20 Peter Whitehead Cooper-Alta 79 + 11 Laps 14 10 9 Louis Rosier Ferrari 78 + 12 Laps 24 18 Jimmy Stewart Cooper-Bristol 79 Spun off 15 14 Tony Rolt Connaught-Lea-Francis 70 Halfshaft 10 7 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 65 Axle 6 26 Onofre Marimón Maserati 65 Engine 7 19 Alan Brown Cooper-Bristol 56 Overheating 21 2 Peter Collins HWM-Alta 56 Spun off 23 4 Jack Fairman HWM-Alta 54 Clutch 27 12 Roy Salvadori Connaught-Lea-Francis 50 Wheel 28 31 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 34 Clutch 26 1 Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 31 Clutch 12 30 Jean Behra Gordini 30 Fuel Pump 22 15 Ian Stewart Connaught-Lea-Francis 24 Ignition 20 29 Maurice Trintignant Gordini 14 Axle 8 3 Duncan Hamilton HWM-Alta 14 Clutch 17 17 Bob Gerard Cooper-Bristol 8 Suspension 18 28 Harry Schell Gordini 5 Electrical 9 11 Kenneth McAlpine Connaught-Lea-Francis 0 Retirement 13 22 Tony Crook Cooper-Bristol 0 Fuel System 25 27 Louis Chiron OSCA 0 Did not start Notes – Includes 0.5 points for shared fastest lap
Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Alberto Ascari 33.5 (36.5) 2 Mike Hawthorn 16 1 3 José Froilán González 13.5 (14.5) 1 4 Luigi Villoresi 13 2 5 Juan Manuel Fangio 13Source:
References