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The1954 Formula One season was the eighth season ofFIAFormula One motor racing. It featured the fifthWorld Championship of Drivers, which was contested over nine races between 17 January and 24 October 1954. The season also included several non-championship races for Formula One cars.
Juan Manuel Fangio won his second Drivers' Championship, after previously winning it in1951.[1] After the first couple of races, he switched teams, going fromMaserati toMercedes-Benz, making him the only F1 driver in history to win a championship driving for more than one team in the same season.
After the championship had been run underFormula Two regulations for two seasons, the maximumengine displacement was increased to 2.5litres for 1954. This increased average power outputs attracted several new constructors. At the same time, some F2 constructors withdrew, while others intended to compete but could not get an F1 chassis ready in time.
ArgentinianOnofre Marimón suffered a fatal accident duringpractice for theGerman Grand Prix. Coming over one of the steep hills, he went straight through the corner at the bottom. His Maserati hit a ditch,somersaulted and landed on top of him. It was the first fatality during an F1 championship weekend.
In 1955, the movieThe Racers came out, the story of which was based on the life ofRudolf Caracciola. Real-life racing footage from the 1954 F1 season was used, including in-race shots from a camera car that started behind the drivers in theBelgian Grand Prix. This approach would be recreated in the 1966 filmGrand Prix.
The followingteams anddrivers competed in the 1954FIAWorld Championship of Drivers. The list does not include those who only contested theIndianapolis 500.
The maximum allowedengine displacement was increased from 2.0 to 2.5litres fornaturally-aspirated engines.[2][4][5] The limit forcompressed engines was set at 750cc,[6][7] as it had been since1952, but no constructor would build one before they were outright banned in1961.
The championship started off with theArgentine Grand Prix. Multiple constructors intended to compete, but none of their cars were ready yet. The grid consisted ofFerraris,Maseratis andGordinis, all of them adapting their1953 chassis for the new regulations.1950's championNino Farinaqualified onpole position - he is the oldest F1 driver in history to start on pole - ahead of teammateJosé Froilán González and local heroJuan Manuel Fangio in the Maserati. At the start, González fell back to fourth, but after a remarkable recovery drive, he took the lead on lap 15. A third of the way in, a rainstorm arrived and the leader spun off. Farina pitted for a newhelmetvisor and third Ferrari driverMike Hawthorn spun off as well. This left Fangio in a comfortable lead, until the track dried and he fell back to third behind González and Farina. A second period of rain caused the order to switch back around, putting Fangio ahead of the two Ferraris, but when the Maserati driver pitted for new tyres, he was back in third. Ferrari's team managerNello Ugolini protested his rivals'pit stop, claiming they had too manymechanics working on the car. Confident that the protest would be granted, he signalled the leading pair to bring the cars home and not fight the charging Fangio. So they did, and they finished second and third behind the home hero. But then theFIA rejected Ferrari's protest and upheld the results, granting Fangio his first home win.[8]
TheIndianapolis 500 was included in the Formula One championship, but no F1 drivers attended.Bill Vukovich won the race for the second year in a row.
In qualifying for theBelgian Grand Prix, Fangio broke his1951 lap record and started on pole position, ahead of González and Farina. TheArgentine was contracted byMercedes, but since their car was not ready yet, he was loaned to his former team. González was allowed into the lead when Fangio messed up the start, but when hisengine cut out on the opening lap, Farina was in front.Roberto Mieres's car burst into flames, as hisfuel filler cap had been left open andfuel had leaked onto theexhaust. The Maserati driver jumped out, escaping with burns on his back, and the drivers avoided his car. Fangio got up to second place by lap 2 and took the lead on lap 3. When his helmet visor broke on lap 10, he pitted to put on hisgoggles, but then recovered to pass Farina for the second time, just before the Ferrari engine cut out, sending theItalian out of the race. Hawthorn's exhaust pipe split, sending fumes into thecockpit and making him feel dizzy. He pitted and collapsed over thewheel, so the team dragged him out and González took over his car. The team only found out why the Brit was unwell when González pointed it out a lap later. Fangio took a comfortable win, ahead ofMaurice Trintignant (Ferrari) andStirling Moss (Maserati).[9]
In the Drivers' Championship,Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati/Mercedes) was in the lead with 17 points, ahead ofMaurice Trintignant (Ferrari) andBill Vukovich (Kurtis Kraft) with 8. Vukovich would not compete in any other rounds.
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The long-awaitedMercedes team arrived for theFrench Grand Prix and their drivers were quickest of all from the get-go. Championship leaderJuan Manuel Fangio could finally say goodbye toMaserati and was joined byGermansKarl Kling andHans Herrmann. Fangio's seat was taken up by1952 and1953 championAlberto Ascari, whose new employerLancia did not have their cars ready yet. Teammate andmentorLuigi Villoresi was loaned to Maserati likewise. Fangio and Kling set the fastest times inqualifying, putting their silver-coloured streamlinedW196s at the front of the grid. In the opening laps,González was the only one to stay with the leading pair, but hisFerraris overheated, so his focus shifted to keeping the third Mercedes of Herrmann behind. On lap 13, the Ferrariengine gave up. TeammateMike Hawthorn retired with similar issues, before Herrmann broke the lap record but then stopped in a cloud of smoke. Fangio and Kling did their laps at a comfortable pace, most straights running side-by-side, only upping their pace for the final sprint. Coming out of the last corner, Fangio managed to take the win by just a couple of yards.Robert Manzon in a private Ferrari finished third out of just six finishers.[10]
Fangio was again atpole position for theBritish Grand Prix, but the Mercedes' streamlined bodywork gave them less of an advantage at theSilverstone Circuit, compared toReims two weeks ago. The Ferraris of González and Hawthorn, and the private Maserati ofStirling Moss completed the four-wide front row. González took the lead at the start and created a gap of some five seconds, while Moss and Hawthorn were in a fierce fight. Rain fell and there were several accidents. Fangio went off and damaged the nose of his car, but kept putting pressure on his countryman in front, until his pace was hindered by technical trouble and he fell back to fourth. González scored a win to be proud of, ahead of Ferrari teammate Hawthorn andOnofre Marimón for Maserati, as with 10 laps to go, Moss's back axle had failed. Fangio finished fourth on a lap down. Seven drivers set the fastest lap, as it was not measured any more precise than in whole seconds, so they all received an extra championship point.[11]
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TheGerman Grand Prix was given the honorary title ofGrand Prix of Europe. Four Mercedes cars arrived, with three of them carrying open-wheeled bodywork, the team seemingly having learned from their defeat in Britain.Practice was overshadowed by the fatal accident of Marimón, one of the more popular and younger drivers on the grid, and the Maserati works team withdrew from the race. Fangio scored his third pole position in a row, ahead of Hawthorn and Moss, but it was González who took the lead at the start. Hawthorn fell back behind the fast-starting Mercedes ofLang and Herrmann. Fangio passed his countryman going into lap 2 and Moss retired with dramatic technical failing. Hawthorn retired as well, giving way to the fourth Mercedes of Kling, who had started last. Herrmann retired with a fuel leak, but when González dropped off the pace, the other Mercedes were sitting in a dominant 1–2–3. Lang, however, spun off and Kling was putting unnecessary pressure on Fangio. Hawthorn took over González's car, before Kling pitted a broken rearsuspension. Fangio upheld Mercedes's honour with a win, ahead of the two Ferraris of Hawthorn/González andMaurice Trintignant, with Kling in fourth.[12]
Fangio had the opportunity to clinch the championship in theSwiss Grand Prix. All he had to do was prevent González from winning and his lead in points would be large enough. González started on pole but immediately lost the lead to Fangio. Moss, who had been promoted to the Maseratiworks team, started third and was eager to put the Ferrari another place down. Hawthorn had started down in sixth but was lapping two seconds faster than the leader, and managed to overtake both González and Moss. In quick succession, Moss, Hawthorn, Trintignant and Kling retired, removing all excitement from the race. Fangio led González home by almost a minute, while Herrmann finished a lap down.[13]
In the Drivers' Championship,Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati/Mercedes) stood on 42 points and he had done enough to secure his second title.José Froilán González (Ferrari) was currently in second with 23 points andMaurice Trintignant (Ferrari) third with 15.
Even with the championship in the bag,Juan Manuel Fangio showed no signs of slowing down going into theItalian Grand Prix. He scored anotherpole position forMercedes, ahead ofAlberto Ascari, now withFerrari, sinceLancia were still not ready, andStirling Moss forMaserati. At the start, Fangio lost the lead to fourth-starting teammateKarl Kling and theSilver Arrows with their streamlined bodywork looked set to repeat their feat inReims. However, Kling made a slight mistake on lap 5, bringing him down to fifth, andJosé Froilán González, second in the championship, managed to get alongside Fangio, before Ascari went passed all of them. González retired, so the old rivals Fangio and Ascari were free to fight. And so they did for more than twenty laps, until Maserati drivers Moss andLuigi Villoresi joined the scrap. The latter had overworked hisclutch and soon dropped back, but Moss took the lead. Ascari suddenly retired with engine failure, which gave Moss the opportunity to stretch his lead, until on lap 68, his oil pressure dropped and he needed to pit. The oil was topped off, but on the next lap, it was streaming from the bottom of the car and he needed to retire. His teammateSergio Mantovani had been fighting for second place withMike Hawthorn, but that Maserati ran into trouble as well. Fangio won the race, just like last year, ahead of Hawthorn andUmberto Maglioli, who had taken over the car from González.[14]
The season closed with theSpanish Grand Prix and Lancia joined the grid with theirD50s. This meant that Ascari could finally try the car and he did so with success, scoring his first pole position of the year. The front row was completed by Fangio (Mercedes), Hawthorn (Ferrari) andHarry Schell (private Maserati). The latter took the lead at the start, ahead of Hawthorn and Ascari, while Fangio fell back to sixth. Ascari was in front on lap 3 and was drawing away, until on lap 9, his clutch gave out. Teammate Villoresi had already stopped on the first lap, so both Lancias had been quick but brittle.Maurice Trintignant joined the pack and took the lead. Moss joined as well, but before long retired with a failing oil pump. Schell spun off while leading on lap 29, and then retired with a brokengearbox, before Trintignant retired from the lead with similar issues. Hawthorn could relax and he brought his Ferrari home to win, ahead of Maserati'sLuigi Musso, who had overtaken Fangio's Mercedes six laps from the end, to make it three different constructors on the podium.[15]
In the Drivers' Championship,Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati/Mercedes) gathered 42 points and won his second title, ahead ofJosé Froilán González (Ferrari) with 25 points andMike Hawthorn (Ferrari) with 24.
Points were awarded to the top five classified finishers, with an additional point awarded for setting the fastest lap, regardless of finishing position or even classification. Only the best five results counted towards the championship. Shared drives result in half points for each driver if they finished in a points-scoring position. If more than one driver set the same fastest lap time, the fastest lap point would be divided equally between the drivers. Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored. Points were awarded in the following system:
| Position | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | 5th | FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Race | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
| Source:[16] | ||||||
The following is a summary of the races for Formula One cars staged during the 1954 season that did not count towards the 1954 World Championship of Drivers.
| Race name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Constructor | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 IVGran Premio di Siracusa | Syracuse | 11 April | Nino Farina | Ferrari | Report |
 XVPau Grand Prix | Pau | 19 April | Jean Behra | Gordini | Report |
 VILavant Cup | Goodwood | 19 April | Reg Parnell | Ferrari | Report |
| IIIGrand Prix de Bordeaux | Bordeaux | 9 May |  José Froilán González | Ferrari | Report |
| VIBRDC International Trophy | Silverstone | 15 May | José Froilán González | Ferrari | Report |
| VIIGran Premio di Bari | Bari | 22 May | José Froilán González | Ferrari | Report |
| IICurtis Trophy | Snetterton | 5 June | Roy Salvadori | Maserati | Report |
| XIIIGran Premio di Roma | Castelfusano | 6 June | Onofre Marimón | Maserati | Report |
 XXIVGrand Prix des Frontières | Chimay | 6 June |  Birabongse Bhanudej | Maserati | Report |
| ICornwall MRC Formula 1 Race | Davidstow | 7 June | John Riseley-Prichard | Connaught-Lea Francis | Report |
| IBARC Formula 1 Race | Goodwood | 7 June | Reg Parnell | Ferrari | Report |
| IICrystal Palace Trophy | Crystal Palace | 19 June | Reg Parnell | Ferrari | Report |
| IVGrand Prix de Rouen-les-Essarts | Rouen | 11 July | Maurice Trintignant | Ferrari | Report |
| IIIGrand Prix de Caen | Caen | 25 July | Maurice Trintignant | Ferrari | Report |
| IAugust Cup | Crystal Palace | 2 August | Reg Parnell | Ferrari | Report |
| IICornwall MRC Formula 1 Race | Davidstow | 2 August | John Coombs | Lotus-Lea Francis | Report |
| IInternational Gold Cup | Oulton Park | 7 August | Stirling Moss | Maserati | Report |
| II RedeX Trophy | Snetterton | 14 August | Reg Parnell | Ferrari | Report |
| XXIIICircuito di Pescara | Pescara | 15 August | Luigi Musso | Maserati | Report |
| IIIJoe Fry Memorial Trophy | Castle Combe | 28 August | Horace Gould | Cooper-Bristol | Report |
| VCircuit de Cadours | Cadours | 12 September | Jean Behra | Gordini | Report |
 IGrosser Preis von Berlin | AVUS | 19 September | Karl Kling | Mercedes | Report |
| VIIGoodwood Trophy | Goodwood | 25 September | Stirling Moss | Maserati | Report |
| IDaily Telegraph Trophy | Aintree | 2 October | Stirling Moss | Maserati | Report |
