1951 Spanish Grand Prix

1951 Formula One Season
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1951 Spanish Grand Prix
Date	October 28, 1951
Round	8
Track	Pedralbes
Laps	70
Weather	Warm & Sunny
Pole Position
Driver
Time
Fastest Lap
Driver
Time

Spain hosted Formula One for the first time in 1951 at Pedralbes after some successful Formula Two races there.

This race would be the title decider, with both Alberto Ascari of Ferrari and Juan Manuel Fangio of Alfa Romeo in contention for the championship. The Ferrari had been the quicker car in recent rounds, and it seemed that Ascari would hang on for the title. Both teams ran four cars in the race.

Ascari took pole position, with Fangio just behind him, Jose Froilan Gonzalez in third, and the previous year's champion, Giuseppe Farina in fourth.

Before the race, Ferrari took the decision to use smaller wheels, believing it would lead to a faster car. It was a huge gamble to take considering the situation, but Ferrari believed that it would give them the advantage over Alfa Romeo.

From the off Alberto Ascari took the lead, closely followed by Jose Froilan Gonzalez. However, the Alfa Romeo's got past Gonzalez quickly, and chased after Ascari.

Soon Fangio caught and passed Ascari for the lead. The tyre choice had proved wrong, and now Ferrari were in trouble. They had big tyre problems for a while in the race. The problem was resolved at a pit stop, by which time Ascari was two laps behind Fangio.

Gonzalez was able to stay in contention with Fangio through the problem, but he could not catch him, and had to settle for second. Farina took third ahead of a disappointed Ascari.

Fangio was World Champion, and Alfa Romeo were still the dominant force, although it seemed Ferrari were catching up. BRM had impressed briefly at Silverstone, and it was hoped that they could mount a challenge in 1952. Ascari settled for second in the championship.

Results

Bold type denotes bonus point for setting the fastest lap.

Pos/Lap		Driver	Team	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1		Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	2:46:54.10	2	9
2		Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Ferrari	+ 54.28	3	6
3		Giuseppe Farina	Alfa Romeo	+ 1:45.54	4	4
4		Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	+ 2 laps	1	3
5		Felice Bonetto	Alfa Romeo	+ 2 laps	8	2
6		Toulo de Graffenried	Alfa Romeo	+ 4 laps	6
7		Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	+ 6 laps	20
8		Phillipe Etancelin	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	+ 7 laps	13
9		Robert Manzon	Simca-Gordini	+ 7 laps	9
10		Paco Godia	Maserati	+ 10 laps	17
48		Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	Ignition	5
48		Andre Simon	Simca-Gordini	Engine	10
37		Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	Accident	15
30		Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	Wheel	7
25		Maurice Trintignant	Simca-Gordini	Engine	11
23		Georges Grignard	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	Engine	16
7		Yves Giraud Cabantous	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	Accident	14
4		Louis Chiron	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	Ignition	12
1		Prince Bira	Maserati-OSCA	Engine	19
NS		Juan Jover	Maserati	Engine	18

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