1952 Italian Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

Alberto Ascari capped off his and Ferrari‘s dominant season by winning the 1952 Italian Grand Prix in front of his home fans.

Season: 1952 F1 World Championship
Race date: 7 September 1952
Circuit: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
Laps: 80
Circuit length: 6.300 km (3.915 miles)

However, Froilan Gonzalez ensured it wasn’t all about Ferrari on the day, bringing his Maserati home in second place, ahead of Ferrari drivers Luigi Villoresi and Giuseppe Farina.

Such was the dominance of the Ferrari team throughout the 1952 season; the World Drivers’ Championship had already been clinched a month before the season-ending Italian Grand Prix.

Qualifying

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	12	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2:05.700
2	16	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	2:06.600
3	10	Nino Farina	Ferrari	2:07.000
4	4	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	2:07.200
5	26	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati	2:07.600
6	14	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	2:07.800
7	2	Robert Manzon	Gordini	2:08.200
8	8	Andre Simon	Ferrari	2:09.100
9	32	Stirling Moss	ERA Bristol	2:09.800
10	34	Elie Bayol	OSCA	2:10.600
11	6	Jean Behra	Gordini	2:10.800
12	42	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper Bristol	2:11.200
13	22	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	2:11.600
14	18	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	2:11.800
15	40	Ken Wharton	Cooper Bristol	2:12.200
16	24	Franco Rol	Maserati	2:12.700
17	62	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	2:12.700
18	48	Chico Landi	Maserati	2:13.000
19	30	Dennis Poore	Connaught Lea Francis	2:14.000
20	36	Eric Brandon	Cooper Bristol	2:14.000
21	38	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	2:15.000
22	28	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	2:15.100
23	50	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	2:15.900
24	46	Gino Bianco	Maserati	2:17.100

1952 Italian Grand Starting Grid

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	12	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2:05.700
2	16	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	2:06.600
3	10	Nino Farina	Ferrari	2:07.000
4	4	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	2:07.200
5	26	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati	2:07.600
6	14	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	2:07.800
7	2	Robert Manzon	Gordini	2:08.200
8	8	Andre Simon	Ferrari	2:09.100
9	32	Stirling Moss	ERA Bristol	2:09.800
10	34	Elie Bayol	OSCA	2:10.600
11	6	Jean Behra	Gordini	2:10.800
12	42	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper Bristol	2:11.200
13	22	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	2:11.600
14	18	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	2:11.800
15	40	Ken Wharton	Cooper Bristol	2:12.200
16	24	Franco Rol	Maserati	2:12.700
17	62	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	2:12.700
18	48	Chico Landi	Maserati	2:13.000
19	30	Dennis Poore	Connaught Lea Francis	2:14.000
20	36	Eric Brandon	Cooper Bristol	2:14.000
21	38	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	2:15.000
22	28	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	2:15.100
23	50	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	2:15.900
24	46	Gino Bianco	Maserati	2:17.100

1952 Italian Grand Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	12	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	80	2:50:45.600	8.5
2	26	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati	80	+61.800s	6.5
3	16	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	80	+124.200s	4
4	10	Nino Farina	Ferrari	80	+131.400s	3
5	22	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	79	+1 lap	2
6	8	Andre Simon	Ferrari	79	+1 lap	0
7	14	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	77	+3 laps	0
8	48	Chico Landi	Maserati	76	+4 laps	0
9	40	Ken Wharton	Cooper Bristol	76	+4 laps	0
10	62	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	75	+5 laps	0
11	50	Eitel Cantoni	Maserati	75	+5 laps	0
12	30	Dennis Poore	Connaught Lea Francis	74	+6 laps	0
13	36	Eric Brandon	Cooper Bristol	73	+7 laps	0
14	2	Robert Manzon	Gordini	71	+9 laps	0
15	38	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	68	+12 laps	0
NC	32	Stirling Moss	Connaught Lea Francis	60	DNF	0
NC	46	Gino Bianco	Maserati	46	DNF	0
NC	6	Jean Behra	Gordini	42	DNF	0
NC	42	Mike Hawthorn	Cooper Bristol	38	DNC	0
NC	24	Franco Rol	Maserati	24	DNF	0
NC	4	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	5	DNF	0
NC	28	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	4	DNF	0
NC	18	Rudi Fischer	Ferrari	3	DNF	0
NC	34	Elie Bayol	OSCA	0	DNF	0

1952 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

Pos	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Alberto Ascari	ITA	Ferrari	36
2	Giuseppe Farina	ITA	Ferrari	24
3	Piero Taruffi	ITA	Ferrari	22
4	Rudi Fischer	SUI	Ferrari	10
4	Mike Hawthorn	GBR	Cooper Bristol	10
6	Robert Manzon	FRA	Gordini	9
7	Troy Ruttman	USA	Kuzma Offenhauser	8
7	Luigi Villoresi	ITA	Ferrari	8
9	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	ARG	Maserati	6.5
10	Jim Rathmann	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	6
10	Jean Behra	FRA	Gordini	6
12	Sam Hanks	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	4
13	Ken Wharton	GBR		3
13	Duane Carter	USA	Lesovsky Offenhauser	3
13	Dennis Poore	GBR	Connaught Lea Francis	3
16	Alan Brown	GBR	Cooper Bristol	2
16	Art Cross	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	2
16	Paul Frere	BEL	Simca-Gordini	2
16	Maurice Trintignant	FRA	Gordini	2
16	Eric Thompson	GBR	Connaught Lea Francis	2
16	Felice Bonetto	ITA	Maserati	2
22	Bill Vukovich	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	1

Seen in:

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.