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The 1954 Formula One season was the eighth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the fifth World 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 in 1951.[1] After the first couple of races, he switched teams, going from Maserati to Mercedes-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 under Formula Two regulations for two seasons, the maximum engine displacement was increased to 2.5 litres for 1954. This increased average power outputs by 150%[2] and 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.
Argentinian Onofre Marimón suffered a fatal accident during practice for the German 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 movie The Racers came out, the story of which was based on the life of Rudolf 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 the Belgian. This approach would be recreated in the 1966 film Grand Prix.
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1954 FIA World Championship of Drivers. The list does not include those who only contested the Indianapolis 500.
The maximum allowed engine displacement was increased from 2.0 to 2.5 litres for naturally-aspirated engines.[3][5][6] Average power outputs increased by around 150%.[2] The limit for compressed engines was set at 750 cc,[7][8] as it had been since 1952, but no constructor would build one before they were outright banned in 1961.
The championship started off with the Argentine Grand Prix. Multiple constructors intended to compete, but none of their cars were ready yet. The grid consisted of Ferraris, Maseratis and Gordinis, all of them adapting their 1953 chassis for the new regulations. 1950's champion Nino Farina qualified on pole position - he is the oldest F1 driver in history to start on pole - ahead of teammate José Froilán González and local hero Juan 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 new helmet visor and third Ferrari driver Mike Hawthorn spun off as well. This left Fangio in a comfortable lead, until the track died 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 manager Nello Ugolini protested his rivals' pit stop, claiming they had too many mechanics 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 the FIA rejected Ferrari's protest and upheld the results, granting Fangio his first home win.[9]
The Indianapolis 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 the Belgian Grand Prix, Fangio broke his 1951 lap record and started on pole position, ahead of González and Farina. The Argentine was contracted by Mercedes, 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 his engine cut out on the opening lap, Farina was in front. Roberto Mieres's car burst into flames, as his fuel filler cap had been left open and fuel had leaked onto the exhaust. 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 his goggles, but then recovered to pass Farina for the second time, just before the Ferrari engine cut out, sending the Italian out of the race. Hawthorn's exhaust pipe split, sending fumes into the cockpit and making him feel dizzy. He pitted and collapsed over the wheel, 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 of Maurice Trintignant (Ferrari) and Stirling Moss (Maserati).[10]
In the Drivers' Championship, Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati/Mercedes) was in the lead with 17 points, ahead of Maurice Trintignant (Ferrari) and Bill Vukovich (Kurtis Kraft) with 8. Vukovich would not compete in any other rounds.
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The long-awaited Mercedes team arrived for the French Grand Prix and their drivers were quickest of all from the get-go. Championship leader Juan Manuel Fangio could finally say goodbye to Maserati and was joined by Germans Karl Kling and Hans Herrmann. Fangio's seat was taken up by 1952 and 1953 champion Alberto Ascari, whose new employer Lancia did not have their cars ready yet. Teammate and mentor Luigi Villoresi was loaned to Maserati likewise. Fangio and Kling set the fastest times in qualifying, putting their silver-coloured streamlined W196s at the front of the grid. In the opening laps, González was the only one to stay with the leading pair, but his Ferraris overheated, so his focus shifted to keeping the third Mercedes of Herrmann behind. On lap 13, the Ferrari engine gave up. Teammate Mike 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.[11]
Fangio was again at pole position for the British Grand Prix, but the Mercedes' streamlined bodywork gave them less of an advantage at the Silverstone Circuit, compared to Reims two weeks ago. The Ferraris of González and Hawthorn, and the private Maserati of Stirling 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 and Onofre 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.[12]
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The German Grand Prix was given the honorary title of Grand 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 of Lang 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 rear suspension. Fangio upheld Mercedes's honour with a win, ahead of the two Ferraris of Hawthorn/González and Maurice Trintignant, with Kling in fourth.[13]
Fangio had the opportunity to clinch the championship in the Swiss 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 Maserati works 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.[14]
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 and Maurice Trintignant (Ferrari) third with 15.
Even with the championship in the bag, Juan Manuel Fangio showed no signs of slowing down going into the Italian Grand Prix. He scored another pole position for Mercedes, ahead of Alberto Ascari, now with Ferrari, since Lancia were still not ready, and Stirling Moss for Maserati. At the start, Fangio lost the lead to fourth-starting teammate Karl Kling and the Silver Arrows with their streamlined bodywork looked set to repeat their feat in Reims. However, Kling made a slight mistake on lap 5, bringing him down to fifth, and José 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 and Luigi Villoresi joined the scrap. The latter had overworked his clutch 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 teammate Sergio Mantovani had been fighting for second place with Mike Hawthorn, but that Maserati ran into trouble as well. Fangio won the race, just like last year, ahead of Hawthorn and Umberto Maglioli, who had taken over the car from González.[15]
The season closed with the Spanish Grand Prix and Lancia joined the grid with their D50s. 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) and Harry 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 broken gearbox, before Trintignant retired from the lead with similar issues. Hawthorn could relax and he brought his Ferrari home to win, ahead of Maserati's Luigi Musso, who had overtaken Fangio's Mercedes six laps from the end, to make it three different constructors on the podium.[16]
In the Drivers' Championship, Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati/Mercedes) gathered 42 points and won his second title, ahead of José Froilán González (Ferrari) with 25 points and Mike 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:
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.
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