1953 Italian Grand Prix: Full Weekend Report & Highlights

Juan Manuel Fangio snatched victory at the 1953 Italian Grand Prix, spoiling Ferrari’s party after a dramatic finish.

Season: 1953 F1 World Championship
Race date: 13 September 1953
Circuit: Autodromo Nazionale di Monza
Laps: 80
Circuit length: 6.300 km (3.915 miles)

Ferrari drivers Giuseppe Farina, Luigi Villoresi, and Mike Hawthorn appeared set to dominate, with Alberto Ascari leading early on. But in the final corner, Ascari spun, and Farina veered off-track to avoid him, leading to chaos as Ascari was hit by Onofre Marimon. Fangio avoided the melee to claim victory, with Farina recovering for second ahead of Villoresi.

Qualifying

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	4	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2:02.700
2	50	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	2:03.200
3	6	Nino Farina	Ferrari	2:03.900
4	54	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	2:04.100
5	2	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	2:04.600
6	8	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	2:04.900
7	52	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	2:05.100
8	36	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	2:05.700
9	58	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	2:05.900
10	28	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	2:06.600
11	10	Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari	2:06.900
12	56	Sergio Mantovani	Maserati	2:07.500
13	34	Elie Bayol	OSCA	2:07.800
14	22	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	2:08.000
15	38	Harry Schell	Gordini	2:08.000
16	40	Roberto Mieres	Gordini	2:08.700
17	64	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	2:09.300
18	24	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	2:09.500
19	30	Ken Wharton	Cooper Bristol	2:10.100
20	12	Piero Carini	Ferrari	2:11.200
21	42	Chico Landi	Maserati	2:12.800
22	20	Jack Fairman	Connaught Lea Francis	2:13.500
23	44	Prince Bira	Maserati	2:13.600
24	46	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	2:14.800
25	32	Louis Chiron	OSCA	2:15.000
26	18	John Fitch	HWM Alta	2:18.100
27	14	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	2:18.200
28	16	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	HWM Alta	2:20.800
29	48	Hans Von Stuck	AFM Bristol	2:24.100
30	26	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	2:28.200

1953 Italian Grand Starting Grid

POS.	NO.	DRIVER	TEAM	TIME
1	4	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	2:02.700
2	50	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	2:03.200
3	6	Nino Farina	Ferrari	2:03.900
4	54	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	2:04.100
5	2	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	2:04.600
6	8	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	2:04.900
7	52	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	2:05.100
8	36	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	2:05.700
9	58	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	2:05.900
10	28	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	2:06.600
11	10	Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari	2:06.900
12	56	Sergio Mantovani	Maserati	2:07.500
13	34	Elie Bayol	OSCA	2:07.800
14	22	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	2:08.000
15	38	Harry Schell	Gordini	2:08.000
16	40	Roberto Mieres	Gordini	2:08.700
17	64	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	2:09.300
18	24	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	2:09.500
19	30	Ken Wharton	Cooper Bristol	2:10.100
20	12	Piero Carini	Ferrari	2:11.200
21	42	Chico Landi	Maserati	2:12.800
22	20	Jack Fairman	Connaught Lea Francis	2:13.500
23	44	Prince Bira	Maserati	2:13.600
24	46	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	2:14.800
25	32	Louis Chiron	OSCA	2:15.000
26	18	John Fitch	HWM Alta	2:18.100
27	14	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	2:18.200
28	16	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	HWM Alta	2:20.800
29	48	Hans Von Stuck	AFM Bristol	2:24.100
30	26	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	2:28.200

1953 Italian Grand Race Results

Pos	No	Driver	Car	Laps	Time/retired	Pts
1	50	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	80	2:49:45.900	9
2	6	Nino Farina	Ferrari	80	+1.400s	6
NC	4	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	79	DNF	0
3	2	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	79	+1 lap	4
4	8	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	79	+1 lap	3
5	36	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	79	+1 lap	2
NC	52	Felice Bonetto	Maserati	77	DNF	0
6	40	Roberto Mieres	Gordini	77	+3 laps	0
7	56	Sergio Mantovani	Maserati		SHC	0
7	56	Luigi Musso	Maserati	76	+4 laps	0
NC	54	Onofre Marimon	Maserati	75	DNF	0
8	10	Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari	75	+5 laps	0
9	38	Harry Schell	Gordini	75	+5 laps	0
10	32	Louis Chiron	OSCA	72	+8 laps	0
11	44	Prince Bira	Maserati	72	+8 laps	0
NC	58	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	70	DNF	0
12	46	Alan Brown	Cooper Bristol	70	+10 laps	0
13	28	Stirling Moss	Cooper Alta	70	+10 laps	0
14	48	Hans Von Stuck	AFM Bristol	67	+13 laps	0
15	16	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	HWM Alta	67	+13 laps	0
16	64	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	65	+15 laps	0
NC	20	Jack Fairman	Connaught Lea Francis	61	+19 laps	0
NC	30	Ken Wharton	Cooper Bristol	57	+23 laps	0
NC	24	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught Lea Francis	56	+24 laps	0
NC	12	Piero Carini	Ferrari	40	DNF	0
NC	22	Roy Salvadori	Connaught Lea Francis	33	DNF	0
NC	42	Chico Landi	Maserati	18	DNF	0
NC	34	Elie Bayol	OSCA	17	DNF	0
NC	18	John Fitch	HWM Alta	14	DNF	0
NC	26	Johnny Claes	Connaught Lea Francis	7	DNF	0
NC	14	Lance Macklin	HWM Alta	6	DNF	0

1953 Post-Race F1 Drivers’ Championship Standings

Pos	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Alberto Ascari	ITA	Ferrari	34.5
2	Juan Manuel Fangio	ARG	Maserati	27.5
3	Giuseppe Farina	ITA	Ferrari	26
4	Mike Hawthorn	GBR	Ferrari	19
5	Luigi Villoresi	ITA	Ferrari	17
6	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	ARG	Maserati	13.5
7	Bill Vukovich	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	9
8	Toulo de Graffenried	SUI	Maserati	7
9	Felice Bonetto	ITA	Maserati	6.5
10	Art Cross	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	6
11	Onofre Marimon	ARG	Maserati	4
11	Maurice Trintignant	FRA	Gordini	4
13	Oscar Alfredo Galvez	ARG	Maserati	2
13	Sam Hanks	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	2
13	Duane Carter	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	2
13	Jack McGrath	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	2
13	Hermann Lang	GER	Maserati	2
18	Fred Agabashian	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	1.5
18	Paul Russo	USA	Kurtis Kraft Offenhauser	1.5

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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.