1952 British Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

Alberto Ascari dominated the 1952 and 1953 seasons, and the 1952 British Grand Prix was no exception.

Season: 1952 F1 World Championship
Race date: 19 July 1952
Circuit: Silverstone Circuit
Laps: 85
Circuit length: 4.7105 km (2.927 miles)

Ascari, driving a Ferrari, led almost the entire race. His teammate, Giuseppe Farina, also performed strongly for much of the race. However, Farina encountered spark-plug issues, causing him to finish in sixth place.

Ascari’s commanding performance underscored his dominance during the early 1950s. Teammate Piero Taruffi finished in second for yet another Ferrari 1-2 finish, while Mike Hawthorn, on home soil, finished in third for Cooper.

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Qualifying

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	16	Nino Farina	Ferrari	1:50.000
2	15	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	1:50.000
3	17	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	1:53.000
4	24	Robert Manzon	Gordini	1:55.000
5	4	Ken Downing	Connaught Lea Francis	1:56.000
6	8	Reg Parnell		1:56.000
7	9	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper Bristol	1:56.000
8	6	Dennis Poore	Connaught Lea Francis	1:56.000
9	5	Eric Thompson	Connaught Lea Francis	1:57.000
10	26	Prince Bira	Gordini	1:57.000
11	30	Duncan Hamilton	HWM Alta	1:57.000
12	1	Graham Whitehead		1:58.000
13	11	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	1:58.000
14	29	Peter Collins	HWM Alta	1:58.000
15	19	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	1:58.000
16	12	Stirling Moss	ERA Bristol	1:59.000
17	3	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	2:00.000
18	10	Eric Brandon	Cooper Bristol	2:00.000
19	14	Roy Salvadori	Ferrari	2:00.000
20	21	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	2:00.000
21	25	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	2:00.000
22	7	David Murray		2:02.000
23	27	Johnny Claes	Simca-Gordini	2:02.000
24	20	Peter Hirt	Ferrari	2:03.000
25	23	Tony Crook	Frazer Nash Bristol	2:03.000
26	28	Tony Gaze	HWM Alta	2:05.000
27	35	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	2:06.000
28	34	Gino Bianco	Maserati	2:07.000
29	31	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	2:08.000
31	32	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati Plate
32	33	Harry Schell	Maserati Plate

1952 British Grand Starting Grid

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	16	Nino Farina	Ferrari	1:50.000
2	15	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	1:50.000
3	17	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	1:53.000
4	24	Robert Manzon	Gordini	1:55.000
5	4	Ken Downing	Connaught Lea Francis	1:56.000
6	8	Reg Parnell		1:56.000
7	9	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper Bristol	1:56.000
8	6	Dennis Poore	Connaught Lea Francis	1:56.000
9	5	Eric Thompson	Connaught Lea Francis	1:57.000
10	26	Prince Bira	Gordini	1:57.000
11	30	Duncan Hamilton	HWM Alta	1:57.000
12	1	Graham Whitehead		1:58.000
13	11	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	1:58.000
14	29	Peter Collins	HWM Alta	1:58.000
15	19	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	1:58.000
16	12	Stirling Moss	ERA Bristol	1:59.000
17	3	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	2:00.000
18	10	Eric Brandon	Cooper Bristol	2:00.000
19	14	Roy Salvadori	Ferrari	2:00.000
20	21	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	2:00.000
21	25	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	2:00.000
22	7	David Murray		2:02.000
23	27	Johnny Claes	Simca-Gordini	2:02.000
24	20	Peter Hirt	Ferrari	2:03.000
25	23	Tony Crook	Frazer Nash Bristol	2:03.000
26	28	Tony Gaze	HWM Alta	2:05.000
27	35	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	2:06.000
28	34	Gino Bianco	Maserati	2:07.000
29	31	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	2:08.000
31	32	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati Plate
32	33	Harry Schell	Maserati Plate

1952 British Grand Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	15	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	85	2:44:11.000	9
2	17	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	84	+1 lap	6
3	9	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper Bristol	83	+2 laps	4
4	6	Dennis Poore	Connaught Lea Francis	83	+2 laps	3
5	5	Eric Thompson	Connaught Lea Francis	82	+3 laps	2
6	16	Nino Farina	Ferrari	82	+3 laps	0
7	8	Reg Parnell	Cooper Bristol	82	+3 laps	0
8	14	Roy Salvadori	Ferrari	82	+3 laps	0
9	4	Ken Downing	Connaught Lea Francis	82	+3 laps	0
10	21	Peter Whitehead	Ferrari	81	+4 laps	0
11	26	Prince Bira	Gordini	81	+4 laps	0
12	1	Graham Whitehead	Alta	80	+5 laps	0
13	19	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	80	+5 laps	0
14	27	Johnny Claes	Simca-Gordini	79	+6 laps	0
15	31	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	79	+6 laps	0
16	3	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	79	+6 laps	0
17	33	Harry Schell	Maserati Plate	78	+7 laps	0
18	34	Gino Bianco	Maserati	77	+8 laps	0
19	32	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati Plate	76	+9 laps	0
20	10	Eric Brandon	Cooper Bristol	76	+9 laps	0
21	23	Tony Crook	Frazer Nash Bristol	75	+10 laps	0
NC	29	Peter Collins	HWM Alta	73	DNF	0
22	11	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	69	+16 laps	0
NC	30	Duncan Hamilton	HWM Alta	44	DNF	0
NC	12	Stirling Moss	ERA Bristol	36	DNF	0
NC	25	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	21	DNF	0
NC	28	Tony Gaze	HWM Alta	20	DNF	0
NC	7	David Murray	Cooper Bristol	14	DNF	0
NC	24	Robert Manzon	Gordini	9	DNF	0
NC	20	Peter Hirt	Ferrari	3	DNF	0
NC	35	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	1	DNF	0

1952 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Alberto Ascari	27
2	Piero Taruffi	19
3	Nino Farina	12
4	Troy Ruttman	8
5	Robert Manzon	7

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Ben is a staff writer specialising in F1 from the 1990s to the modern era. Ben has been following Formula 1 since 1986 and is an avid researcher who loves understanding the technology that makes it one of the most exciting motorsport on the planet. He listens to podcasts about F1 on a daily basis, and enjoys reading books from the inspirational Adrian Newey to former F1 drivers.