The 1956 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 2 September 1956 at Monza. It was the eighth and final race of the 1956 World Championship of Drivers. Coming into the race, Juan Manuel Fangio had an eight-point lead over Ferrari teammate Peter Collins and Jean Behra, driving for Maserati.
Fangio retired with a broken steering arm, while Behra also had to pull out. Luigi Musso, also driving for Ferrari, was told to hand his car over to Fangio to ensure the Argentine's third consecutive title but he refused. Brit Collins, with the opportunity for his first world championship, sportingly handed his car over to Fangio during a routine pit-stop. Fangio finished second, behind Stirling Moss, giving himself and Collins a share of the points for second place and ensuring his fourth title.
The race saw the World Championship debuts of Jo Bonnier (the first Swede to do so), Les Leston, and Wolfgang von Trips, and the final World Championship appearances for Hermano da Silva Ramos, Toulo de Graffenried, Robert Manzon, Piero Taruffi, and Luigi Villoresi. Ron Flockhart scored his first World Championship points and podium finish, and it was the first World Championship race led by Musso. With Collins having a share of second place, this was the first World Championship Grand Prix in which British drivers finished one-two-three.
Classification Qualifying +PosNoDriverConstructorTimeGap1 22 Juan Manuel Fangio Ferrari 2:42.6—2 24 Eugenio Castellotti Ferrari 2:43.4 +0.83 28 Luigi Musso Ferrari 2:43.7 +1.14 16 Piero Taruffi Vanwall 2:45.4 +2.85 32 Jean Behra Maserati 2:45.6 +3.06 36 Stirling Moss Maserati 2:45.9 +3.37 26 Peter Collins Ferrari 2:46.0 +3.48 34 Luigi Villoresi Maserati 2:47.7 +5.19 30 Alfonso de Portago Ferrari 2:47.8 +5.210 18 Harry Schell Vanwall 2:50.1 +7.511 20 Maurice Trintignant Vanwall 2:51.6 +9.012 46 Umberto Maglioli Maserati 2:52.7 +10.113 44 Roy Salvadori Maserati 2:54.6 +12.014 40 Luigi Piotti Maserati 2:58.6 +16.015 6 Jack Fairman Connaught-Alta 2:59.2 +16.616 42 Gerino Gerini Maserati 3:02.6 +20.017 38 Paco Godia Maserati 3:02.9 +20.318 14 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 3:03.3 +20.719 2 Les Leston Connaught-Alta 3:04.3 +21.720 8 Hermano da Silva Ramos Gordini 3:04.8 +22.221 48 Bruce Halford Maserati 3:05.0 +22.422 10 Robert Manzon Gordini 3:06.6 +24.023 4 Ron Flockhart Connaught-Alta 3:08.1 +25.524 12 André Simon Gordini 3:13.3 +30.7 50 Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari Source:
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 36 Stirling Moss Maserati 50 2:23:41.3 6 9 2 26 Peter Collins Juan Manuel Fangio Ferrari 50 +5.7 secs 7 33 3 4 Ron Flockhart Connaught-Alta 49 +1 Lap 23 4 4 38 Paco Godia Maserati 49 +1 Lap 17 3 5 6 Jack Fairman Connaught-Alta 47 +3 Laps 15 2 6 40 Luigi Piotti Maserati 47 +3 Laps 14 7 14 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 46 +4 Laps 18 8 22 Juan Manuel Fangio Eugenio Castellotti Ferrari 46 +4 Laps 1 9 12 André Simon Gordini 45 +5 Laps 24 10 42 Gerino Gerini Maserati 42 +8 Laps 16 11 44 Roy Salvadori Maserati 41 +9 Laps 13 28 Luigi Musso Ferrari 47 Steering 3 46 Umberto Maglioli Jean Behra Maserati 42 Steering 12 18 Harry Schell Vanwall 32 Transmission 10 32 Jean Behra Maserati 23 Magneto 5 48 Bruce Halford Maserati 16 Engine 21 20 Maurice Trintignant Vanwall 13 Transmission 11 16 Piero Taruffi Vanwall 12 Oil Leak 4 24 Eugenio Castellotti Ferrari 9 Tyre 2 34 Luigi Villoresi Jo Bonnier Maserati 7 Engine 8 10 Robert Manzon Gordini 7 Chassis 22 30 Alfonso de Portago Ferrari 6 Tyre 9 2 Les Leston Connaught-Alta 6 Suspension 19 8 Hermano da Silva Ramos Gordini 3 Engine 20 50 Wolfgang von Trips Ferrari Practice Accident Notes – Includes 1 point for fastest lap
Shared drives and championship permutations Shared Drives: Car #26: Peter Collins (35 laps) and Juan Manuel Fangio (15 laps). They shared the 6 points for second place. Car #22: Juan Manuel Fangio (30 laps) and Eugenio Castellotti (16 laps). Car #46: Umberto Maglioli (31 laps) and Jean Behra (11 laps). Car #34: Luigi Villoresi (4 laps) and Jo Bonnier (3 laps). Three drivers were fighting for the championship going into the race: Fangio on 30 points, Collins and Behra on 22 points. Fangio would finish ahead of Collins and Behra in the Championship if: Collins or Behra doesn't win the race or Collins or Behra wins the race without fast lap and Fangio finished at least 3rd with fastest lap or Fangio finished at least 2nd Collins or Behra would finish ahead of Fangio in the Championship if: Collins or Behra wins the race with fastest lap and Fangio finished 3rd or lower or Collins wins the race without fastest lap and Fangio finished 3rd or lower without fastest lap as well
Championship standings after the race Bold text indicates the World Champion. Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Juan Manuel Fangio 30 (33) 2 2 Stirling Moss 27 (28) 1 3 Peter Collins 25 1 4 Jean Behra 22 5 Pat Flaherty 8Source:
References