| 1951 Spanish Grand Prix | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||
 Pedralbes street circuit | |||||
| Race details | |||||
| Date | 28 October 1951 | ||||
| Official name | XIGran Premio de España | ||||
| Location | Pedralbes Circuit,Barcelona,Catalonia | ||||
| Course | Street circuit | ||||
| Course length | 6.316 km (3.925 miles) | ||||
| Distance | 70 laps, 442.120 km (274.721 miles) | ||||
| Weather | Hot, Dry | ||||
| Pole position | |||||
| Driver | Scuderia Ferrari | ||||
| Time | 2:10.59 | ||||
| Fastest lap | |||||
| Driver |  Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | |||
| Time | 2:16.93 | ||||
| Podium | |||||
| First | Alfa Romeo | ||||
| Second | Scuderia Ferrari | ||||
| Third | Alfa Romeo | ||||
Lap leaders | |||||
The1951 Spanish Grand Prix was aFormula Onemotor race held on 28 October 1951 atPedralbes Circuit. It was the eighth and final race of the1951 World Championship of Drivers.
This race was determined by tyre choice –Ferrari chose a 16-inch rear wheel, whilstAlfa Romeo settled for the 18 inch, which proved to be the better of the two options.Juan Manuel Fangio ledAlberto Ascari by two points before the race. Ascari led the race fromJosé Froilán González, but the Ferraris suffered numerous tread problems.Piero Taruffi threw a tyre tread on lap 6 and was followed on lap 7 byLuigi Villoresi, Ascari on lap 8 and Gonzalez on lap 14. The Ferraris were forced to stop frequently to change tyres and Fangio comfortably won the race and his first drivers' title, after Ascari finished 4th was not able to overhaul Fangio's total. After the race, Alfa Romeo announced that due to lack of finances, they would not be competing in the 1952 season.
Three drivers were fighting for the championship going into the race: Fangio on 27 points, Ascari on 25 points and González on 21 points. Championship leader Fangio only needed a second place in order to win his maiden drivers' title.
The championship would have been won by either of the top three drivers in the following manner:[4]
| Fangio would have won if: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Juan Manuel Fangio |  Alberto Ascari | José Froilán González | |
| Pos. | 2nd or better | Any position | Any position |
| 3rd | |||
| 4th | 3rd or lower | ||
| 5th | 4th or lower | ||
| lower than 5th + FL | |||
| lower than 5th w/o FL | 2nd or lower + FL | ||
| Ascari would have won if: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Alberto Ascari | Juan Manuel Fangio | José Froilán González | |
| Pos. | 1st | Any position | Any position |
| 2nd | 3rd or lower | ||
| González would have won if: | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| José Froilán González | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alberto Ascari | |
| Pos. | 1st + FL | lower than 5th w/o FL | 3rd or lower |
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 2:10.59 | – |
| 2 | 22 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 2:12.27 | + 1.68 |
| 3 | 6 | José Froilán González | Ferrari | 2:14.01 | + 3.42 |
| 4 | 20 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 2:14.94 | + 4.35 |
| 5 | 4 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 2:16.38 | + 5.79 |
| 6 | 26 |  Toulo de Graffenried | Alfa Romeo | 2:16.40 | + 5.81 |
| 7 | 8 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 2:16.80 | + 6.21 |
| 8 | 24 | Felice Bonetto | Alfa Romeo | 2:21.80 | + 11.21 |
| 9 | 14 |  Robert Manzon | Simca-Gordini | 2:23.81 | + 13.22 |
| 10 | 16 | André Simon | Simca-Gordini | 2:24.60 | + 14.01 |
| 11 | 12 | Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini | 2:25.25 | + 14.66 |
| 12 | 30 |  Louis Chiron | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:30.32 | + 19.73 |
| 13 | 34 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:31.00 | + 20.41 |
| 14 | 32 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:32.18 | + 21.59 |
| 15 | 36 |  Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:34.46 | + 23.87 |
| 16 | 38 | Georges Grignard | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:35.58 | + 24.99 |
| 17 | 44 |  Paco Godia | Maserati | 2:37.45 | + 26.86 |
| 18 | 46 | Juan Jover | Maserati | 2:41.99 | + 31.40 |
| 19 | 18 |  Prince Bira | Maserati-OSCA | 2:45.99 | + 35.40 |
| 20 | 28 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:46.78 | + 36.19 |
| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 22 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 70 | 2:46:54.10 | 2 | 91 |
| 2 | 6 | José Froilán González | Ferrari | 70 | +54.28 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 20 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 70 | +1:45.54[5] | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 2 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 68 | +2 laps | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | 24 | Felice Bonetto | Alfa Romeo | 68 | +2 laps | 8 | 2 |
| 6 | 26 | Toulo de Graffenried | Alfa Romeo | 66 | +4 laps | 6 | |
| 7 | 28 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 64 | +6 laps | 20 | |
| 8 | 34 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 63 | +7 laps | 13 | |
| 9 | 14 | Robert Manzon | Simca-Gordini | 63 | +7 laps | 9 | |
| 10 | 44 | Paco Godia | Maserati | 60 | +10 laps | 17 | |
| Ret | 4 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 48 | Ignition | 5 | |
| Ret | 16 | André Simon | Simca-Gordini | 48 | Engine | 10 | |
| Ret | 36 | Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 37 | Accident | 15 | |
| Ret | 8 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 30 | Wheel | 7 | |
| Ret | 12 | Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini | 25 | Engine | 11 | |
| Ret | 38 | Georges Grignard | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 23 | Engine | 16 | |
| Ret | 32 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 7 | Accident | 14 | |
| Ret | 30 | Louis Chiron | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 4 | Ignition | 12 | |
| Ret | 18 | Prince Bira | Maserati-OSCA | 1 | Engine | 19 | |
| DNS | 46 | Juan Jover | Maserati | 0 | Engine | 18 | |
Source:[6] | |||||||
| Pos | Driver | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 31 (37) |
| 2 | Alberto Ascari | 25 (28) |
| 3 | José Froilán González | 24 (27) |
| 4 | Nino Farina | 19 (22) |
| 5 | Luigi Villoresi | 15 (18) |
| Source:[7] | |||
| Previous race: 1951 Italian Grand Prix | FIA Formula One World Championship 1951 season | Next race: 1952 Swiss Grand Prix |
| Previous race: 1935 Spanish Grand Prix | Spanish Grand Prix | Next race: 1954 Spanish Grand Prix |
