Juan Manuel Fangio began his 1957 title defence with victory at home, leading a Maserati sweep of the first four places in the Argentine Grand Prix. Ferrari‘s clutch troubles left the Italian rivals with little answer, while an early mechanical setback forced pole-sitter Stirling Moss into a spectacular but unrewarding recovery.
Race Guide
Season: 1957 F1 World Championship
Race date: 13 January 1957
Race start time: Start time unconfirmed local time (UTC-03:00)
Circuit: Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez
Laps: 100 laps
Circuit length: 3.912 km
1956 winner: Luigi Musso / Juan Manuel Fangio
| Result | Driver / Time | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Pole position | Stirling Moss | Maserati |
| Pole time | 1:42.600 | |
| Fastest lap | Stirling Moss | Maserati |
| Fastest-lap time | 1:44.700 on lap 75 | |
| First | Juan Manuel Fangio | Maserati |
| Second | Jean Behra | Maserati |
| Third | Carlos Menditeguy | Maserati |
Weekend Schedule
| Date | Session | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| Before the race; individual practice dates unconfirmed | Timed practice and qualifying | Start time unconfirmed |
| 13 January 1957 | Race | Start time unconfirmed |
All times are local. The race time is the scheduled start; weather delays and interruptions are described below.
Championship background
The 1957 F1 World Championship began with a fresh points table and the first opportunity to measure the teams in race conditions. Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez hosted the opening contest, where qualifying pace, tyre management and reliability would all shape the result.
Race entries
Fangio moved from Ferrari to Maserati for his pursuit of a fifth title. Hawthorn returned to Ferrari alongside Collins, Musso and Castellotti, while Moss made this appearance for Maserati before his European campaign with Vanwall. With the British teams absent, the contest centred on the two Italian marques and their supporting private entries.
Timed practice and qualifying
Maserati‘s lighter, revised 250Fs immediately looked formidable. Ferrari arrived with modified induction arrangements on its Lancia-derived cars, but the expected improvement was not enough to match its rival. Moss beat Fangio to pole on the champion’s home circuit, with Behra next among the Maseratis. The contemporary report does not separate these developments into individual daily sessions, so the practice account is kept together rather than imposing a modern schedule.
Qualifying Classification
The grid was established by timed practice. The consulted account does not confirm a complete day-by-day timetable; the combined qualifying results are retained.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Best Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Stirling Moss | Maserati | 1:42.600 |
| 2 | 2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Maserati | 1:43.7 |
| 3 | 6 | Jean Behra | Maserati | 1:44.0 |
| 4 | 14 | Eugenio Castellotti | Ferrari | 1:44.2 |
| 5 | 10 | Peter Collins | Ferrari | 1:44.6 |
| 6 | 12 | Luigi Musso | Ferrari | 1:44.8 |
| 7 | 16 | Mike Hawthorn | Ferrari | 1:44.8 |
| 8 | 8 | Carlos Menditeguy | Maserati | 1:45.1 |
| 9 | 22 | Harry Schell | Maserati | 1:46.4 |
| 10 | 20 | José Froilán González | Ferrari | 1:46.8 |
| 11 | 18 | Cesare Perdisa | Ferrari | 1:48.6 |
| 12 | 26 | Alejandro de Tomaso | Ferrari | 1:56.1 |
| 13 | 24 | Jo Bonnier | Maserati | 1:58.2 |
| 14 | 28 | Luigi Piotti | Maserati | 1:58.2 |
What happened in the 1957 Argentine Grand Prix?
Moss’s throttle linkage broke at the start and cost him many laps in the pits. Fangio and Behra carried Maserati‘s challenge instead, with Ferrari initially keeping them under pressure. The heat and the sustained pace soon began to expose weaknesses in the chasing cars.
Collins and Musso lost their original cars to clutch trouble, while Hawthorn also struggled with a slipping clutch. Castellotti’s challenge ended when a rear wheel came off after a mechanical failure. Ferrari tried to salvage its afternoon through driver changes, including Collins and von Trips taking turns in Perdisa’s car.
Fangio won ahead of Behra, with Menditeguy and Schell completing Maserati‘s commanding one-two-three-four. De Portago and González shared fifth and its two points. Moss returned to the track and set fastest lap, earning a point despite finishing eighth; his speed underlined what the opening failure had cost him.
After the race, Juan Manuel Fangio headed the drivers’ standings with 8 points, followed by Jean Behra on 6.
1957 Argentine Grand Prix race results
The 1957 Argentine Grand Prix was held on 13 January 1957.
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Laps | Time / Retired | Pts. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Maserati | 100 | 3:00:55.9 | 8 |
| 2 | 6 | Jean Behra | Maserati | 100 | +18.3 secs | 6 |
| 3 | 8 | Carlos Menditeguy | Maserati | 99 | +1 Lap | 4 |
| 4 | 22 | Harry Schell | Maserati | 98 | +2 Laps | 3 |
| 5 | 20 | Alfonso de Portago / José Froilán González | Ferrari | 98 | +2 Laps | 1 / 1 |
| 6 | 18 | Cesare Perdisa / Peter Collins / Wolfgang von Trips | Ferrari | 98 | +2 Laps | 0 |
| 7 | 24 | Jo Bonnier | Maserati | 95 | +5 Laps | 0 |
| 8 | 4 | Stirling Moss | Maserati | 93 | +7 Laps | 1 |
| 9 | 26 | Alejandro de Tomaso | Ferrari | 91 | +9 Laps | 0 |
| 10 | 28 | Luigi Piotti | Maserati | 90 | +10 Laps | 0 |
| Ret | 14 | Eugenio Castellotti | Ferrari | 75 | Wheel | 0 |
| Ret | 16 | Mike Hawthorn | Ferrari | 35 | Clutch | 0 |
| Ret | 12 | Luigi Musso | Ferrari | 31 | Clutch | 0 |
| Ret | 10 | Peter Collins | Ferrari | 26 | Clutch | 0 |
1 point for fastest lap
1957 Argentine Grand Prix Fastest Laps
| Pos. | No. | Driver | Team | Lap | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | Stirling Moss | Maserati | 75 | 1:44.700 |
Only drivers with a recorded lap time appear. One championship point was awarded for fastest lap, divided equally when shared.
1957 Post-Race F1 Championship Standings
Championship standings after the 1957 Argentine Grand Prix.
1957 Post-Race F1 Drivers' Championship Standings
| POS | Driver | Nationality | Car | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Argentine | Maserati | 8 |
| 2 | Jean Behra | French | Maserati | 6 |
| 3 | Carlos Menditeguy | Argentine | Maserati | 4 |
| 4 | Harry Schell | American | Maserati | 3 |
| 5 | José Froilán González | Argentine | Ferrari | 1 |
| 6 | Alfonso de Portago | Spanish | Ferrari | 1 |
| 7 | Stirling Moss | British | Maserati | 1 |
| — | Wolfgang von Trips | German | Ferrari | 0 |
| — | Cesare Perdisa | Italian | Ferrari | 0 |
| — | Peter Collins | British | Ferrari | 0 |
| — | Jo Bonnier | Swedish | Maserati | 0 |
| — | Alessandro de Tomaso | Argentine | Ferrari | 0 |
| — | Luigi Piotti | Italian | Maserati | 0 |
| — | Eugenio Castellotti | Italian | Ferrari | 0 |
| — | Mike Hawthorn | British | Ferrari | 0 |
| — | Luigi Musso | Italian | Ferrari | 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.
1957 Formula 1 Race Calendar
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