1956 Italian Grand Prix: F1 Race, Qualifying & Winners

Stirling Moss won the 1956 Italian Grand Prix, while Juan Manuel Fangio secured his fourth World Championship after Peter Collins handed him his Ferrari. Monza‘s combined road-and-banking circuit produced a dramatic finale of tyre failures, broken components and a remarkable act of sporting generosity.

Result	Driver / Time	Team
Pole position	Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari
Pole time	2:42.600
Fastest lap	Stirling Moss	Maserati
Fastest-lap time	2:45.500 on lap 47
First	Stirling Moss	Maserati
Second	Peter Collins / Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari
Third	Ron Flockhart	Connaught

Weekend Schedule

Date	Session	Local Time
31 August 1956	Friday timed practice	Start time unconfirmed
1 September 1956	Saturday final qualifying	Start time unconfirmed
2 September 1956	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 8 leading the 1956 F1 World Championship on 30 points, with Peter Collins on 22.

Race entries

Ferrari brought six cars, with von Trips initially a reserve, while Maserati introduced revised machinery for Moss and Behra. Perdisa remained unfit, and Bonnier joined the Maserati ranks. Connaught substituted Flockhart for Scott-Brown after the Italian authorities declined to accept Scott-Brown’s participation. Vanwall fielded Schell, Trintignant and Taruffi.

Friday timed practice

Ferrari was quickest, but the banking exposed serious tyre concerns as treads began lifting at high speed. Fangio set an outstanding 2:42.6, with Musso also strong. Maserati worked on its revised cars, while Connaught arranged suitable tyres for its existing wheel sizes. Vanwall‘s central challenge was keeping its cars settled and intact over the banking’s bumps.

Saturday final qualifying

Damp patches prevented an attack on Fangio’s benchmark. Maserati improved, and Taruffi showed impressive Vanwall speed despite a difficult ride on the banking. Von Trips crashed heavily at Curva Grande and escaped with relatively minor injuries, but his Ferrari was destroyed. The remaining cars completed their preparations with concerns over durability still unresolved.

Qualifying Classification

Two official timed-practice sessions followed earlier team testing. The combined road circuit and banking imposed different demands from the road-only layout used in later Italian Grands Prix.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Best Time
1	22	Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari	2:42.600
2	24	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari	2:43.4
3	28	Luigi Musso	Ferrari	2:43.7
4	16	Piero Taruffi	Vanwall	2:45.4
5	32	Jean Behra	Maserati	2:45.6
6	36	Stirling Moss	Maserati	2:45.9
7	26	Peter Collins	Ferrari	2:46.0
8	34	Luigi Villoresi	Maserati	2:47.7
9	30	Alfonso de Portago	Ferrari	2:47.8
10	18	Harry Schell	Vanwall	2:50.1
11	20	Maurice Trintignant	Vanwall	2:51.6
12	46	Umberto Maglioli	Maserati	2:52.7
13	44	Roy Salvadori	Maserati	2:54.6
14	40	Luigi Piotti	Maserati	2:58.6
15	6	Jack Fairman	Connaught	2:59.2
16	42	Gerino Gerini	Maserati	3:02.6
17	38	Paco Godia	Maserati	3:02.9
18	14	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	3:03.3
19	2	Les Leston	Connaught	3:04.3
20	8	Hermano da Silva Ramos	Gordini	3:04.8
21	48	Bruce Halford	Maserati	3:05.0
22	10	Robert Manzon	Gordini	3:06.6
23	4	Ron Flockhart	Connaught	3:08.1
24	12	André Simon	Gordini	3:13.3
DNS	50	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	No time

What happened in the 1956 Italian Grand Prix?

Moss and Schell fought for the lead as Ferrari suffered tyre and mechanical problems. Fangio’s steering failed, threatening his title hopes, while Collins remained a championship contender. Collins nevertheless handed over his car, giving Fangio the chance to finish and secure the crown.

Moss also faced a scare when he ran short of fuel, receiving a push towards the pits from Piotti’s Maserati. Musso briefly held the lead, but his Ferrari suffered a steering failure late in the race. Moss regained control and brought the Maserati through the remaining laps.

Moss won ahead of the Ferrari shared by Collins and Fangio. Flockhart took third for Connaught, with Godia fourth and Fairman fifth. Fangio’s points were enough for his fourth title, while Collins’s decision became one of the defining stories of the season. The shared finishing positions and points are retained in full.

After the race, Juan Manuel Fangio headed the drivers’ standings with 30 points, followed by Stirling Moss on 27.

1956 Italian Grand Prix race results

The 1956 Italian Grand Prix was held on 2 September 1956.

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time / Retired	Pts.
1	36	Stirling Moss	Maserati	50	2:23:41.3	9
2	26	Peter Collins / Juan Manuel Fangio	Ferrari	50	+5.7 secs	3 / 3
3	4	Ron Flockhart	Connaught	49	+1 Lap	4
4	38	Paco Godia	Maserati	49	+1 Lap	3
5	6	Jack Fairman	Connaught	47	+3 Laps	2
6	40	Luigi Piotti	Maserati	47	+3 Laps	0
7	14	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	46	+4 Laps	0
8	22	Juan Manuel Fangio / Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari	46	+4 Laps	0
9	12	André Simon	Gordini	45	+5 Laps	0
10	42	Gerino Gerini	Maserati	42	+8 Laps	0
11	44	Roy Salvadori	Maserati	41	+9 Laps	0
Ret	28	Luigi Musso	Ferrari	47	Steering	0
Ret	46	Umberto Maglioli / Jean Behra	Maserati	42	Steering	0
Ret	18	Harry Schell	Vanwall	32	Transmission	0
Ret	32	Jean Behra	Maserati	23	Magneto	0
Ret	48	Bruce Halford	Maserati	16	Engine	0
Ret	20	Maurice Trintignant	Vanwall	13	Transmission	0
Ret	16	Piero Taruffi	Vanwall	12	Oil Leak	0
Ret	24	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari	9	Tyre	0
Ret	34	Luigi Villoresi / Jo Bonnier	Maserati	7	Engine	0
Ret	10	Robert Manzon	Gordini	7	Chassis	0
Ret	30	Alfonso de Portago	Ferrari	6	Tyre	0
Ret	2	Les Leston	Connaught	6	Suspension	0
Ret	8	Hermano da Silva Ramos	Gordini	3	Engine	0
DNS	50	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari		Practice Accident	0

Includes 1 point for fastest lap

1956 Italian Grand Prix Fastest Laps

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Lap	Time
1	36	Stirling Moss	Maserati	47	2:45.500

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

1956 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings

Championship standings after the 1956 Italian Grand Prix.

1956 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings

POS	Driver	Nationality	Car	PTS
1	Juan Manuel Fangio	Argentine	Ferrari	30
2	Stirling Moss	British	Maserati	27
3	Peter Collins	British	Ferrari	25
4	Jean Behra	French	Maserati	22
5	Pat Flaherty	American	Watson	8
6	Eugenio Castellotti	Italian	Ferrari	7.5
7	Sam Hanks	American	Kurtis Kraft	6
8	Paul Frère	Belgian	Ferrari	6
9	Paco Godia	Spanish	Maserati	6
10	Jack Fairman	British	Connaught	5
11	Luigi Musso	Italian	Ferrari	4
12	Mike Hawthorn	British	Maserati / BRM / Vanwall	4
13	Ron Flockhart	British	BRM / Connaught	4
14	Don Freeland	American	Phillips	4
15	Alfonso de Portago	Spanish	Ferrari	3
16	Cesare Perdisa	Italian	Maserati	3
17	Harry Schell	American	Vanwall / Maserati	3
18	Johnnie Parsons	American	Kurtis Kraft	3
19	Louis Rosier	French	Maserati	2
20	Luigi Villoresi	Italian	Maserati	2
21	Horace Gould	British	Maserati	2
22	Hermano da Silva Ramos	Brazilian	Gordini / Maserati	2
23	Olivier Gendebien	Belgian	Ferrari	2
24	Dick Rathmann	American	Kurtis Kraft	2
25	Gerino Gerini	Italian	Maserati	1.5
26	Chico Landi	Brazilian	Maserati	1.5
27	Paul Russo	American	Kurtis Kraft	1
—	André Pilette	Belgian	Gordini / Ferrari	0
—	Luigi Piotti	Italian	Maserati	0
—	Óscar González	Uruguayan	Maserati	0
—	Alberto Uria	Uruguayan	Maserati	0
—	Élie Bayol	French	Gordini	0
—	Bob Sweikert	American	Kuzma	0
—	Bob Veith	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Toulo de Graffenried	Swiss	Maserati	0
—	Rodger Ward	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Robert Manzon	French	Gordini	0
—	André Simon	French	Maserati / Gordini	0
—	Jimmy Reece	American	Lesovsky	0
—	Cliff Griffith	American	Stevens	0
—	Roy Salvadori	British	Maserati	0
—	Gene Hartley	American	Kuzma	0
—	Bob Gerard	British	Cooper	0
—	Fred Agabashian	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Bob Christie	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Al Keller	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Eddie Johnson	American	Kuzma	0
—	Billy Garrett	American	Kuzma	0
—	Duke Dinsmore	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Pat O'Connor	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Jimmy Bryan	American	Kuzma	0
—	Bruce Halford	British	Maserati	0
—	Ottorino Volonterio	Swiss	Maserati	0
—	André Milhoux	Belgian	Gordini	0
—	Maurice Trintignant	French	Vanwall / Bugatti	0
—	Carlos Menditeguy	Argentine	Maserati	0
—	José Froilán González	Argentine	Maserati / Vanwall	0
—	Umberto Maglioli	Italian	Maserati	0
—	Piero Scotti	Italian	Connaught	0
—	Desmond Titterington	British	Connaught	0
—	Tony Brooks	British	BRM	0
—	Louis Chiron	Monegasque	Maserati	0
—	Piero Taruffi	Italian	Vanwall	0
—	Giorgio Scarlatti	Italian	Ferrari	0
—	Jim Rathmann	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Colin Chapman	British	Vanwall	0
—	Jo Bonnier	Swedish	Maserati	0
—	Johnnie Tolan	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Tony Bettenhausen	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Ed Elisian	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Eddie Russo	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Les Leston	British	Connaught	0
—	Jimmy Daywalt	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Archie Scott Brown	British	Connaught	0
—	Jack Turner	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Paul Emery	British	Emeryson	0
—	Wolfgang von Trips	German	Ferrari	0
—	Keith Andrews	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Jack Brabham	Australian	Maserati	0
—	Andy Linden	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Al Herman	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Ray Crawford	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Johnny Boyd	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Troy Ruttman	American	Kurtis Kraft	0
—	Johnny Thomson	American	Kuzma	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.

1956 Formula 1 Race Calendar

Round	Grand Prix	Circuit	Date
1	1956 Argentine Grand Prix	Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires	22 January
2	1956 Monaco Grand Prix	Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo	13 May
3	1956 Indianapolis 500	Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway, Indiana	30 May
4	1956 Belgian Grand Prix	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot	3 June
5	1956 French Grand Prix	Reims-Gueux, Reims	1 July
6	1956 British Grand Prix	Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone	14 July
7	1956 German Grand Prix	Nürburgring, Nürburg	5 August
8	1956 Italian Grand Prix	Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza	2 September