The 1955 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, in Monza, Italy on 11 September 1955. It was the seventh and final race of the 1955 World Championship of Drivers.
In the wake of the 1955 Le Mans disaster, the championship was still open after the British Grand Prix; although after that race (with the French Grand Prix already having been cancelled) the German, Swiss and Spanish Grands Prix were all cancelled. This meant that Fangio won the world driver's championship for the 3rd time and the 2nd time in succession.
The Monza circuit near Milan had been revamped and resurfaced, and had been given all new pit and safety facilities. A new concrete banking had been constructed over where the original slightly banked version was, and the combined 10 km (6.214 mi) Monza circuit was used for the first time since 1933. The Curva Sud had also been modified from 2 right hand corners into one sweeping right-hander known as the "Parabolica", where run-off area was implemented.
Of the 4 factory Mercedes cars in the race, Fangio and Moss drove the streamlined, closed-wheel W196's, while Kling and Taruffi drove open-wheel W196's. This was the 4th and last appearance of the streamlined Mercedes cars at a championship GP as well as the third and last time in Formula One history that a race had been won by a closed-wheel car.
This was the last Grand Prix race for 1950 world champion Nino Farina. This was also the last Grand Prix win for a Mercedes-Benz as an engine manufacturer until David Coulthard won the 1997 Australian Grand Prix and the last Grand Prix win for Mercedes-Benz as a constructor until Nico Rosberg won the 2012 Chinese Grand Prix, and also the last 1-2 finish for Mercedes-Benz as an engine manufacturer until Mika Häkkinen and Coulthard at the 1997 European Grand Prix, as well as the last 1-2 finish for Mercedes-Benz as a constructor until Lewis Hamilton and Rosberg at the 2014 Malaysian Grand Prix.
Entries +TeamNoDriverCarEngineTyre Scuderia Ferrari2 Nino FarinaLancia D50Lancia DS50 2.5 V84 Eugenio CastellottiFerrari 555Ferrari 555 2.5 L46 Mike Hawthorn8 Maurice Trintignant12 Umberto Maglioli Scuderia Lancia10 Luigi VilloresiLancia D50Lancia DS50 2.5 V8 Daimler Benz AG14 Piero TaruffiMercedes-Benz W196Mercedes M196 2.5 L816 Stirling Moss18 Juan Manuel Fangio20 Karl Kling Equipe Gordini22 Hermano da Silva RamosGordini T16Gordini 23 2.5 L624 Jean Lucas26 Jacques Pollet Officine Alfieri Maserati28 Roberto MieresMaserati 250FMaserati 250F1 2.5 L630 Luigi Musso32 Peter Collins34 Carlos Menditeguy36 Jean Behra38 Horace Gould Stirling Moss Ltd40 John Fitch Vandervell Products42 Harry SchellVanwall VW 55Vanwall 254 2.5 L444 Ken Wharton Scuderia Volpini46 Luigi PiottiArzani-VolpiniMaserati 4CLT 2.5 L4
Classification Qualifying +PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap1 18 Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes 2:46.5—2 16 Stirling Moss Mercedes 2:46.8 +0.33 20 Karl Kling Mercedes 2:48.3 +1.84 4 Eugenio Castellotti Ferrari 2:49.6 +3.15 2 Nino Farina Lancia 2:49.9 +3.46 36 Jean Behra Maserati 2:50.1 +3.67 28 Roberto Mieres Maserati 2:51.1 +4.68 10 Luigi Villoresi Lancia 2:51.6 +5.19 14 Piero Taruffi Mercedes 2:51.8 +5.310 30 Luigi Musso Maserati 2:52.1 +5.611 32 Peter Collins Maserati 2:55.3 +8.812 12 Umberto Maglioli Ferrari 2:55.4 +8.913 42 Harry Schell Vanwall 2:55.5 +9.014 6 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 2:56.2 +9.715 8 Maurice Trintignant Ferrari 2:56.3 +9.816 34 Carlos Menditeguy Maserati 2:58.4 +11.917 44 Ken Wharton Vanwall 2:59.5 +13.018 22 Hermano da Silva Ramos Gordini 2:59.8 +13.319 26 Jacques Pollet Gordini 2:59.9 +13.420 40 John Fitch Maserati 3:03.1 +16.621 38 Horace Gould Maserati 3:05.2 +18.722 24 Jean Lucas Gordini 3:15.9 +29.4 46 Luigi Piotti Arzani-Volpini-Maserati Source:
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 18 Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes 50 2:25:04.4 1 8 2 14 Piero Taruffi Mercedes 50 +0.7 9 6 3 4 Eugenio Castellotti Ferrari 50 +46.2 4 4 4 36 Jean Behra Maserati 50 +3:57.5 6 3 5 34 Carlos Menditeguy Maserati 49 +1 Lap 16 2 6 12 Umberto Maglioli Ferrari 49 +1 Lap 12 7 28 Roberto Mieres Maserati 48 +2 Laps 7 8 8 Maurice Trintignant Ferrari 47 +3 Laps 15 9 40 John Fitch Maserati 46 +4 Laps 20 10 6 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 38 Gearbox 14 20 Karl Kling Mercedes 32 Gearbox 3 30 Luigi Musso Maserati 31 Gearbox 10 38 Horace Gould Maserati 31 Suspension 21 16 Stirling Moss Mercedes 27 Engine 2 1 26 Jacques Pollet Gordini 26 Engine 19 22 Hermano da Silva Ramos Gordini 23 Fuel System 18 32 Peter Collins Maserati 22 Suspension 11 42 Harry Schell Vanwall 7 Suspension 13 24 Jean Lucas Gordini 7 Engine 22 44 Ken Wharton Vanwall 0 Injection 17 2 Nino Farina Lancia Tyre 5 10 Luigi Villoresi Lancia Tyre 8 46 Luigi Piotti Arzani-Volpini-Maserati Engine Notes – 1 point for fastest lap
Final Championship standings Bold text indicates the World Champion. Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Juan Manuel Fangio 40 (41) 2 Stirling Moss 23 3 3 Eugenio Castellotti 12 1 4 Maurice Trintignant 11 1 5 Nino Farina 10 Source:
References
Further reading