1953 Belgian Grand Prix

1953 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 4 of 9 in the 1953 Formula One season
Spa-Francorchamps layout
Race details
Date	21 June 1953
Official name	XV Grand Prix de Belgique
Location	Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Francorchamps, Belgium
Course	Permanent racing circuit
Course length	14.120 km (8.774 miles)
Distance	36 laps, 508.320 km (315.855 miles)
Weather	Hot, dry
Pole position
Driver	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati
Time	4:30.0
Fastest lap
Driver	José Froilán González	Maserati
Time	4:34.0 on lap 2
Podium
First	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari
Second	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari
Third	Onofre Marimón	Maserati
Lap leaders

The 1953 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 21 June 1953 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the fourth round of the 1953 World Drivers' Championship, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used.

Race report

A record crowd of over 100,000 spectators crammed into the forest track to watch this dramatic race. The Maseratis were definitely capable of matching the Ferraris for sheer speed – Juan Manuel Fangio put in a record-shattering practice lap of 117 mph. At the flag, he waved José Froilán González past and stunned everyone with another blitzkrieg lap of 110 mph from a standing start. After 11 laps, González had pulled out a full minute's lead, but it had taken its toll on his engine which expired, leaving Fangio half a minute clear. On lap 13, it was the other Argentine's turn to fall prey to engine troubles and Ferrari inherited another 1–2 victory from the third Argentine driver Onofre Marimón who gained his first podium position.

Classification

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	10	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	36	2:48:30.3	2	8
2	8	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	36	+ 2:48.2	5	6
3	28	Onofre Marimón	Maserati	35	+ 1 Lap	6	4
4	30	Toulo de Graffenried	Maserati	35	+ 1 Lap	9	3
5	18	Maurice Trintignant	Gordini	35	+ 1 Lap	8	2
6	14	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	35	+ 1 Lap	7
7	20	Harry Schell	Gordini	33	+ 3 Laps	12
8	32	Louis Rosier	Ferrari	33	+ 3 Laps	13
9	38	Fred Wacker	Gordini	32	+ 4 Laps	15
10	24	Paul Frère	HWM-Alta	30	+ 6 Laps	11
11	40	André Pilette	Connaught-Lea-Francis	29	+ 7 Laps	18
Ret	6	Johnny Claes† Juan Manuel Fangio†	Maserati	35	Accident	10
Ret	22	Lance Macklin	HWM-Alta	19	Engine	17
Ret	12	Nino Farina	Ferrari	16	Engine	4
Ret	4	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	13	Engine	1
Ret	2	José Froilán González	Maserati	11	Throttle	3	1
Ret	16	Jean Behra	Gordini	9	Engine	14
Ret	26	Peter Collins	HWM-Alta	4	Clutch	16
Ret	34	Georges Berger	Simca-Gordini-Gordini	3	Engine	20
Ret	36	Arthur Legat	Veritas	0	Transmission	19

† Shared Drive – Car #6: Claes (13 laps) then Fangio (22 laps)

Drivers' Championship standings after the race

	Pos	Driver	Points
	1	Alberto Ascari	25
1	2	Luigi Villoresi	13
1	3	Bill Vukovich	9
2	4	José Froilán González	7
1	5	Nino Farina	6

• Note: Only the top five positions are included.