1955 British Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Stirling Moss claimed his first World Championship victory in the 1955 British Grand Prix, narrowly beating Fangio at Aintree. Mercedes occupied the first four places, giving Moss a memorable home success and extending the team’s commanding season.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Stirling Moss	Mercedes
Pole time	2:00.400
Fastest lap	Stirling Moss	Mercedes
Fastest-lap time	2:00.400 on lap 88
First	Stirling Moss	Mercedes
Second	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes
Third	Karl Kling	Mercedes

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
14 July 1955	Thursday timed practice	14:00–17:00
15 July 1955	Friday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
16 July 1955	Race	Start time unconfirmed

All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.

Championship background

Juan Manuel Fangio arrived at round 6 leading the 1955 F1 World Championship on 27 points, with Stirling Moss on 13.

Race entries

Aintree hosted the British championship round for the first time. Mercedes added Taruffi to its line-up, while Ferrari chose its older 625 cars for the comparatively slow circuit. Schell joined Vanwall, several Connaughts strengthened the British entry, and Brabham made his championship debut in a rear-engined Cooper-Bristol.

Thursday timed practice

Most drivers needed to learn the circuit, and Mercedes used extensive running to compare cars and conduct endurance work. Moss was immediately quick, while Behra offered the clearest opposition. Ferrari struggled, with Castellotti suffering gearbox trouble. Several British entries missed the opening session, and the unfamiliar venue made preparation particularly valuable.

Friday final qualifying

Brabham‘s Cooper appeared but clutch trouble limited his running. Moss improved to 2:00.4 to take pole ahead of Fangio and Behra, while Schell impressed in the Vanwall. Mieres had gear-selection difficulties, and Connaught continued experimenting with fuel injection. The leading Mercedes pair looked comfortably established at the front.

Qualifying Classification

Thursday and Friday timed practice established the grid for Saturday’s race. Aintree’s first championship visit required familiarisation, but there was no separate modern free-practice format.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	12	Stirling Moss	Mercedes	2:00.400
2	10	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	2:00.6
3	2	Jean Behra	Maserati	2:01.4
4	14	Karl Kling	Mercedes	2:02.0
5	50	Piero Taruffi	Mercedes	2:03.0
6	6	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	2:03.2
7	30	Harry Schell	Vanwall	2:03.8
8	8	André Simon	Maserati	2:04.0
9	4	Luigi Musso	Maserati	2:04.2
10	20	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari	2:05.0
11	22	Robert Manzon	Gordini	2:05.0
12	16	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	2:05.4
13	18	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	2:05.4
14	36	Tony Rolt	Connaught	2:06.6
15	28	Ken Wharton	Vanwall	2:08.4
16	46	Lance Macklin	Maserati	2:08.4
17	32	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught	2:09.6
18	24	Hermano da Silva Ramos	Gordini	2:10.6
19	38	Leslie Marr	Connaught	2:11.6
20	44	Roy Salvadori	Maserati	2:11.6
21	34	Jack Fairman	Connaught	2:11.6
22	48	Horace Gould	Maserati	2:11.8
23	26	Mike Sparken	Gordini	2:12.6
24	42	Peter Collins	Maserati	2:13.4
25	40	Jack Brabham	Cooper	2:27.4

What happened in the 1955 British Grand Prix?

Fangio led initially before Moss moved ahead. Behra threatened briefly, but Maserati‘s challenge faded through mechanical trouble, and Mercedes consolidated its advantage. Further back, Schell made an energetic recovery from a stalled start before his Vanwall also failed.

Moss and Fangio remained close throughout the decisive stages, with Kling and Taruffi completing the team’s sweep behind them. Moss crossed the line just two-tenths ahead. The question of whether Fangio deliberately allowed him to win remained a subject of discussion, although Fangio consistently credited Moss’s performance.

Moss also set fastest lap, while Musso finished fifth as the best non-Mercedes runner. Subsequent cancellations left only Monza on the championship calendar, making Fangio’s points advantage sufficient for his third title. The race itself belonged to Moss, who had finally converted his promise into a championship victory.

After the race, Juan Manuel Fangio headed the drivers’ standings with 33 points, followed by Stirling Moss on 22.

1955 British Grand Prix race results

The 1955 British Grand Prix was held on 16 July 1955.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	12	Stirling Moss	Mercedes	90	3:07:21.2	9
2	10	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	90	+0.2	6
3	14	Karl Kling	Mercedes	90	+1:11.8	4
4	50	Piero Taruffi	Mercedes	89	+1 Lap	3
5	4	Luigi Musso	Maserati	89	+1 Lap	2
6	16	Mike Hawthorn / Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari	87	+3 Laps	0
7	26	Mike Sparken	Gordini	81	+9 Laps	0
8	46	Lance Macklin	Maserati	79	+11 Laps	0
9	28	Ken Wharton / Harry Schell	Vanwall	72	+18 Laps	0
Ret	18	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	59	Overheating	0
Ret	6	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	47	Engine	0
Ret	40	Jack Brabham	Cooper	30	Engine	0
Ret	32	Kenneth McAlpine	Connaught	30	Oil Pressure	0
Ret	42	Peter Collins	Maserati	28	Clutch	0
Ret	24	Hermano da Silva Ramos	Gordini	26	Oil Pressure	0
Ret	44	Roy Salvadori	Maserati	23	Gearbox	0
Ret	48	Horace Gould	Maserati	22	Brakes	0
Ret	30	Harry Schell	Vanwall	20	Throttle	0
Ret	36	Tony Rolt / Peter Walker	Connaught	19	Transmission	0
Ret	38	Leslie Marr	Connaught	18	Brakes	0
Ret	20	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari	16	Transmission	0
Ret	8	André Simon	Maserati	9	Gearbox	0
Ret	2	Jean Behra	Maserati	9	Oil Leak	0
Ret	22	Robert Manzon	Gordini	4	Transmission	0
DNS	34	Jack Fairman	Connaught		Engine	0

Includes 1 point for fastest lap

1955 British Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	12	Stirling Moss	Mercedes	88	2:00.400

Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. One championship point was awarded for fastest lap, divided equally when shared.

1955 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1955 British Grand Prix.

1955 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Juan Manuel Fangio	Argentine	Mercedes	33
2	Stirling Moss	British	Mercedes	22
3	Maurice Trintignant	French	Ferrari	11 1/3
4	Nino Farina	Italian	Ferrari	10 1/3
5	Bob Sweikert	American	Kurtis Kraft	8
6	Eugenio Castellotti	Italian	Lancia / Ferrari	8
7	Roberto Mieres	Argentine	Maserati	7
8	Luigi Musso	Italian	Maserati	6
9	Karl Kling	German	Mercedes	5
10	Jimmy Davies	American	Kurtis Kraft	4
11	Tony Bettenhausen	American	Kurtis Kraft	3
12	Paul Russo	American	Kurtis Kraft	3
13	Jean Behra	French	Maserati	3
14	Piero Taruffi	Italian	Ferrari / Mercedes	3
15	Paul Frère	Belgian	Ferrari	3
16	Johnny Thomson	American	Kuzma	3
17	José Froilán González	Argentine	Ferrari	2
18	Cesare Perdisa	Italian	Maserati	2
19	Luigi Villoresi	Italian	Lancia	2
20	Umberto Maglioli	Italian	Ferrari	1 1/3
21	Hans Herrmann	German	Mercedes	1
22	Walt Faulkner	American	Kurtis Kraft	1
23	Bill Homeier	American	Kurtis Kraft	1
24	Bill Vukovich	American	Kurtis Kraft	1
—	Mike Hawthorn	British	Vanwall / Ferrari	0
—	Harry Schell	American	Maserati / Ferrari / Vanwall	0
—	Louis Chiron	Monegasque	Lancia	0
—	Andy Linden	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Jacques Pollet	French	Gordini	0
—	Sergio Mantovani	Italian	Maserati	0
—	Al Herman	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Mike Sparken	French	Gordini	0
—	Hermano da Silva Ramos	Brazilian	Gordini	0
—	Pat O'Connor	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Lance Macklin	British	Maserati	0
—	Louis Rosier	French	Maserati	0
—	Jimmy Daywalt	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Ken Wharton	British	Vanwall	0
—	Pat Flaherty	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Johnny Claes	Belgian	Maserati / Ferrari	0
—	Duane Carter	American	Kuzma	0
—	Chuck Weyant	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Eddie Johnson	American	Trevis	0
—	Jim Rathmann	American	Epperly	0
—	Clemar Bucci	Argentine	Maserati	0
—	Carlos Menditeguy	Argentine	Maserati	0
—	Jesús Iglesias	Argentine	Gordini	0
—	Alberto Ascari	Italian	Lancia	0
—	Jack Brabham	Australian	Cooper	0
—	Robert Manzon	French	Gordini	0
—	Kenneth McAlpine	British	Connaught	0
—	Élie Bayol	French	Gordini	0
—	Horace Gould	British	Maserati	0
—	Alberto Uria	Uruguayan	Maserati	0
—	Peter Collins	British	Maserati	0
—	Don Freeland	American	Phillips	0
—	Peter Walker	British	Maserati / Connaught	0
—	Cal Niday	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Roy Salvadori	British	Maserati	0
—	André Simon	French	Mercedes / Maserati	0
—	Art Cross	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Shorty Templeman	American	Trevis	0
—	Sam Hanks	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Tony Rolt	British	Connaught	0
—	Pablo Birger	Argentine	Gordini	0
—	Keith Andrews	American	Schroeder	0
—	Leslie Marr	British	Connaught	0
—	Johnnie Parsons	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Eddie Russo	American	Pawl	0
—	Ray Crawford	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Jimmy Bryan	American	Kuzma	0
—	Jack Fairman	British	Connaught	0
—	Jack McGrath	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Al Keller	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Rodger Ward	American	Kuzma	0
—	Johnny Boyd	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Ed Elisian	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Jerry Hoyt	American	Stevens	0
—	Fred Agabashian	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Jimmy Reece	American	Pankratz	0

There was no constructors’ championship in this season; the manufacturers’ competition began in 1958.

Drivers counted their best 5 results. The first five places earned 8–6–4–3–2 points, with one further point for fastest lap, shared equally when necessary. Points from shared drives were divided between the eligible drivers; individual allocations are shown in driver order.

1955 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1955 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	16 January
2	1955 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	22 May
3	1955 Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana	30 May
4	1955 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	5 June
5	1955 Dutch Grand Prix	Circuit Zandvoort, Zandvoort	19 June
6	1955 British Grand Prix	Aintree Motor Racing Circuit, Liverpool	16 July
7	1955 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	11 September