1953 Formula One season

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1953 FIA Formula One World Championship | |||
Drivers' Champion: Alberto Ascari | |||
Previous: | 1952 | Next: | 1954 |
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The 1953 Formula One season was the seventh season of the FIA's Formula One racing. It consisted only of a number of non-championship motor races. As in 1952, the FIA chose to limit all Grand Prix races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers to cars complying with Formula Two regulations rather than with Formula One.
The 4th FIA World Championship of Drivers,[1] which commenced on 18 January and ended on 13 September after nine races,[2] was won by Alberto Ascari,[1] driving for a Scuderia Ferrari.[3] Ascari became the first driver to successfully defend his title.
In addition to the non-championship Formula One races and the World Championship Formula Two races, numerous other non-championship Formula Two races were also held during the year.
Contents
1 World Championship season summary
2 World Championship season review
3 Teams and drivers
4 1953 World Championship of Drivers – final standings
5 Non-championship race results
6 References
World Championship season summary
Ferrari drivers again dominated the championship, taking seven of the eight grands prix, although Juan Manuel Fangio's challenge in his more fragile Maserati took him to second place in the championship and a win at Monza. Ascari extended his unbeaten run to nine consecutive World Championship grand prix wins before his teammate Mike Hawthorn broke the sequence in becoming the first ever British winner in the French Grand Prix at Reims after a thrilling battle with Fangio.
In 1953, all but one of the races counting towards the World Championship of Drivers were run under Formula 2 regulations, while the remaining one, the Indianapolis 500, was run under AAA Championship Car regulations. The 1953 championship was the first truly global World Championship of Drivers, with a championship event being staged outside of Europe or the United States for the first time. That race, the 1953 Argentine Grand Prix, was marred by an accident involving the Ferrari of Giuseppe Farina, which crashed into an unprotected crowd, killing nine spectators.
World Championship season review

Ferrari won seven of the nine championship races with its Tipo 500 model
The 1953 World Championship of Drivers was contested over a nine race series.
Rnd | Race | Circuit | Date | Pole position | Fastest lap | Winning driver | Constructor | Tyre | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | Buenos Aires | 18 January | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | P | Report |
2 | ![]() | Indianapolis | 30 May | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | F | Report |
3 | ![]() | Zandvoort | 7 June | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | P | Report |
4 | ![]() | Spa-Francorchamps | 21 June | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | P | Report |
5 | ![]() | Reims | 5 July | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | P | Report |
6 | ![]() | Silverstone | 18 July | ![]() | ![]() ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | P | Report |
7 | ![]() | Nürburgring | 2 August | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | P | Report |
8 | ![]() | Bremgarten | 23 August | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | P | Report |
9 | ![]() | Monza | 13 September | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | ![]() | P | Report |
The Spanish Grand Prix, scheduled to be staged on 26 October, was cancelled.[2]
Teams and drivers

Italian Alberto Ascari won the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, his second championship victory and the most recent by an Italian driver
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1953 FIA World Championship of Drivers.
Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | Tyre | Driver | Rounds |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Maserati | A6GCM | Maserati A6 2.0 L6 | P | ![]() | 1, 3–9 |
![]() | 1, 3–6 | |||||
![]() | 1, 3, 5–9 | |||||
![]() | 1 | |||||
![]() | 4 | |||||
![]() | 4–9 | |||||
![]() | 8 | |||||
![]() | 9 | |||||
![]() | 9 | |||||
![]() | Ferrari | 500 553 | Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 Ferrari 553 2.0 L4 | P | ![]() | 1, 3–9 |
![]() | 1, 3–9 | |||||
![]() | 1, 3–9 | |||||
![]() | 1, 3–9 | |||||
![]() | 9 | |||||
![]() | 9 | |||||
![]() | Cooper-Bristol Cooper-Alta | T20 T23 T24 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 Alta GP 2.5 L4 | D | ![]() | 1 |
![]() | 1 | |||||
![]() | 1 | |||||
![]() | 5, 7, 9 | |||||
![]() | Gordini Simca-Gordini | Type 16 Type 15 | Gordini 20 2.0 L6 Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 | E | ![]() | 1 |
![]() | 1, 3–7, 9 | |||||
![]() | 1, 3–9 | |||||
![]() | 1, 4–8 | |||||
![]() | 1 | |||||
![]() | 1 | |||||
![]() | 3, 5, 9 | |||||
![]() | 3–4, 8 | |||||
![]() | Ferrari | 500 | Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 | D | ![]() | 3–7, 9 |
E | 8 | |||||
![]() | Maserati | A6GCM | Maserati A6 2.0 L6 | P | ![]() | 3 |
![]() | Connaught-Lea-Francis | Type A | Lea-Francis 2.0 L4 | D | ![]() | 3, 5–7, 9 |
![]() | 3, 6–7, 9 | |||||
![]() | 3 | |||||
![]() | 5–7 | |||||
![]() | 9 | |||||
![]() | Connaught-Lea-Francis | Type A | Lea-Francis 2.0 L4 | E | ![]() | 3, 5, 7, 9 |
![]() | 4 | |||||
![]() | Cooper-Bristol | T23 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 3, 5–6, 8–9 |
![]() | HWM-Alta | 53 | Alta GP 2.5 L4 | D | ![]() | 3–6 |
![]() | 3–6, 8–9 | |||||
![]() | 4, 8 | |||||
![]() | 5, 9 | |||||
![]() | 6 | |||||
![]() | 6 | |||||
![]() | 8 | |||||
![]() | 9 | |||||
![]() | Maserati | A6GCM | Maserati A6 2.0 L6 | P | ![]() | 4–9 |
![]() | Simca-Gordini | Type 15 | Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 | E | ![]() | 4 |
![]() | Veritas | Meteor | Veritas 2.0 L6 | E | ![]() | 4 |
![]() | Ferrari | 500 | Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 | E | ![]() | 4, 7–8 |
![]() | 4 | |||||
![]() | OSCA | 20 | OSCA 2000 2.0 L6 | P | ![]() | 5–6, 8–9 |
![]() | OSCA | 20 | OSCA 2000 2.0 L6 | P | ![]() | 5, 8 |
![]() | Cooper-Bristol | T23 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 5–6 |
![]() | Connaught-Lea-Francis | Type A | Lea-Francis 2.0 L4 | D | ![]() | 6 |
![]() | Connaught-Lea-Francis Cooper-Bristol | Type A T20 | Lea-Francis 2.0 L4 Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 6 |
![]() | 6 | |||||
![]() | Cooper-Bristol | T23 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 6 |
![]() | Cooper-Alta | T24 | Alta GP 2.5 L4 | D | ![]() | 6 |
![]() | Cooper-Bristol | T20 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 6 |
![]() | AFM-Bristol | 6 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7, 9 |
![]() | Veritas | RS | Veritas 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Veritas | Meteor | Veritas 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Veritas | RS | Veritas 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Veritas | RS | Veritas 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | AFM-BMW | U8 | BMW 328 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Veritas | Meteor | Veritas 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Veritas | Meteor | Veritas 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Veritas | RS | Veritas 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Ferrari | 500 212 | Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 Ferrari 166 2.0 V12 | P | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | 8 | |||||
![]() | 8 | |||||
![]() | EMW | R2 | EMW 6 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Greifzu-BMW | Eigenbau | BMW 328 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Heck-BMW | Eigenbau | BMW 328 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Cooper-Bristol | T23 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7, 9 |
![]() | 7 | |||||
![]() | Cooper-Bristol | T23 | Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | AFM-BMW | 50–5 | BMW 328 2.0 L6 | D | ![]() | 7 |
![]() | Maserati | A6GCM | Maserati A6 2.0 L6 | P | ![]() | 8 |
![]() | OSCA | 20 | OSCA 2000 2.0 L6 | P | ![]() | 9 |
![]() | Maserati | A6GCM | Maserati A6 2.0 L6 | P | ![]() | 9 |
![]() | 9 |
1953 World Championship of Drivers – final standings
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- Championship points were awarded to first five finishers in each race on an 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 basis. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of the number of laps driven by each.
- 1 point was also awarded for the fastest lap in each race. The point was shared equally between drivers sharing the fastest lap.
- Only the best four results from the nine races counted towards a driver's total points in the World Championship.
- Numbers without parentheses are retained championship points and numbers within parentheses are total points scored.
- * Italics indicate fastest lap
Bold indicates pole position- † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
- ‡ Several cars were shared in this race. See the race page for details.
Non-championship race results
The following Formula One/Formula Two races, which did not count towards the World Championship of Drivers, were held during 1953.
Race Name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | Syracuse | 22 March | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Pau | 6 April | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Goodwood | 6 April | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Snetterton | 18 April | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Bordeaux | 3 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Karl-Marx-Stadt | 3 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Silverstone | 9 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Eläintarharata | 10 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Posillipo | 10 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Dundrod | 16 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Charterhall | 23 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Crystal Palace | 23 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Chimay | 24 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Snetterton | 30 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Nürburgring | 31 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Albi | 31 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Montlhéry | 31 May | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Dessau | 7 June | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Snetterton | 27 June | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Silverstone | 27 June | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Rouen-les-Essarts | 28 June | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Halle-Saale-Schleife | 5 July | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Crystal Palace | 11 July | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | AVUS | 12 July | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Snetterton | 25 July | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Aix-les-Bains | 26 July | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Dresden-Hellerau | 26 July | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Thruxton | 3 August | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Oulton Park | 8 August | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Les Sables-d'Olonne | 9 August | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Charterhall | 15 August | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Cadours | 30 August | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Sachsenring | 6 September | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Snetterton | 12 September | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Skarpnäck | 13 September | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Crystal Palace | 19 September | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Modena | 20 September | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Goodwood | 26 September | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Bernau | 27 September | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Castle Combe | 3 October | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
![]() | Snetterton | 17 October | ![]() | ![]() | Report |
References
^ ab World Championship of Drivers, 1974 FIA Yearbook, Grey section, pages 118 & 119
^ ab Mike Lang, Grand Prix! Volume 1: 1950 to 1965, pages 53 to 66
^ Steve Small, The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who, 1994, page 37
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