1956 Formula One season
The 1956 Formula One season was the tenth season of FIA's Formula One motor racing. It featured the seventh World Championship of Drivers which was contested over eight races between 22 January and 2 September 1956. The season also included nine non-championship races for Formula One cars.
Juan Manuel Fangio driving for Ferrari won his third consecutive championship. It was his fourth in total, a record that would not be beaten until Michael Schumacher in 2002. Fangio's main rivals were his teammate Peter Collins and Maserati driver Stirling Moss.
None of the championship races were won by a British constructor. This would not happen again until 2006.
At 29 October, veteran racer Louis Rosier crashed in a sports car race at Montlhéry. He sustained head injuries and succumbed to them three weeks later.[1][2]
Teams and drivers[edit]
The following teams and drivers competed in the 1956 FIA World Championship. The list does not those who only contested the Indianapolis 500.
Team and driver changes[edit]
- Mercedes had withdrawn from all motorsport activities after the 1955 Le Mans disaster. Reigning champion Juan Manuel Fangio moved to Scuderia Ferrari, which had taken over the assets from Lancia. Fangio would go on to win the championship in the Lancia D50. Besides remaining driver Eugenio Castellotti, the squad was completed by Luigi Musso and Peter Collins, both coming from Maserati.
- Stirling Moss, 1955 runner-up and Fangio's teammate at Mercedes, had moved to rival team Maserati.
- Maurice Trintignant moved from Ferrari to Vanwall to replace Ken Wharton.
Mid-season changes[edit]
- Paco Godia joined the Maserati team from the Belgian Grand Prix on.
- Alfonso de Portago made his debut when he joined Scuderia Ferrari from the French Grand Prix on.
- For the first time since 1951, BRM used their own chassis, which made its debut at the British Grand Prix. It was also the championship debut for driver Tony Brooks.
Calendar[edit]
Round | Grand Prix | Circuit | Date |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Argentine Grand Prix | Autódromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, Buenos Aires | 22 January |
2 | Monaco Grand Prix | Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo | 13 May |
3 | Indianapolis 500 | Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Speedway | 30 May[a] |
4 | Belgian Grand Prix | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot | 3 June |
5 | French Grand Prix | Reims-Gueux, Gueux | 1 July |
6 | British Grand Prix | Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone | 14 July |
7 | German Grand Prix | Nürburgring, Nürburg | 5 August |
8 | Italian Grand Prix | Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Monza | 2 September |
Calendar changes[edit]
- The Swiss Grand Prix was removed from the calendar after the Swiss Government banned motor racing as a result of the 1955 Le Mans disaster. The French Grand Prix and the German Grand Prix were already cancelled in 1955, but were back on the calendar for 1956.
- The Dutch Grand Prix was supposed to have been held on 17 June but was cancelled due to the Suez Crisis.[3] The Spanish Grand Prix, like the French and German rounds, was supposed to return to the calendar, to be held on 28 October, but was cancelled due to the Suez Crisis.[4]
- The British Grand Prix was moved from Aintree Motor Racing Circuit to Silverstone Circuit, in keeping with the event-sharing arrangement between the two circuits.
Season summary[edit]
Fangio joined Ferrari after Mercedes-Benz, with whom he had won the 1954 and 1955 titles, withdrew from the sport. Ferrari acquired the folded Lancia team's D50 cars and put together a strong team containing Fangio, Eugenio Castellotti, Luigi Musso and Peter Collins. Fangio won the opening race after commandeering Musso's car after his own broke down. Collins and Fangio's teammate at Mercedes, Stirling Moss – now driving for Maserati provided the biggest challenge to his title defence, each winning two races. In an open season, the British Connaughts, Vanwalls and BRMs also showed some signs of promise.
Going into the final race of the season, Fangio had an eight-point lead over Collins and the consistent Jean Behra, driving for Maserati. The only way he could lose the title would be to score no points, with Collins winning and setting the fastest lap. (Because a driver could only count their best five scores, Behra could not win the title.) Fangio retired, and with Musso unwilling to share his car with Fangio, Collins had a great chance of winning his first title. In a remarkable act of sportsmanship, Collins instead chose to hand his car over to Fangio to allow the Argentine to finish second in the race and win his third title in a row.
Results and standings[edit]
Grands Prix[edit]
World Championship of Drivers standings[edit]
Championship points were awarded at each race on an 8–6–4–3–2 basis to the first five finishers, with an additional point awarded to the driver setting the fastest lap of the race. Points for shared drives were divided equally between the drivers, regardless of who had driven more laps. Only the best five-round results were counted.
|
|
- Italics indicate the fastest lap (One point awarded – point shared equally between drivers sharing fastest lap)
- Bold indicates pole position
- † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
- Only the best five results counted towards the championship. Numbers without parentheses are championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.
Non-championship races[edit]
The following non-championship races for Formula One cars were also held in 1956:
Race name | Circuit | Date | Winning driver | Constructor | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
IV Glover Trophy | Goodwood | 2 April | Stirling Moss | Maserati | Report |
VI Gran Premio di Siracusa | Syracuse | 15 April | Juan Manuel Fangio | Lancia-Ferrari | Report |
XI BARC Aintree 200 | Aintree | 21 April | Stirling Moss | Maserati | Report |
VIII BRDC International Trophy | Silverstone | 5 May | Stirling Moss | Vanwall | Report |
IX Gran Premio di Napoli | Posillipo | 6 May | Robert Manzon | Gordini | Report |
I Aintree 100 | Aintree | 24 June | Horace Gould | Maserati | Report |
I Vanwall Trophy | Snetterton | 22 July | Roy Salvadori | Maserati | Report |
IV Grand Prix de Caen | Caen | 26 August | Harry Schell | Maserati | Report |
I BRSCC Formula 1 Race | Brands Hatch | 14 October | Archie Scott Brown | Connaught-Alta | Report |
Notes[edit]
- ^ The Indianapolis 500 also counted towards the 1956 USAC Championship Car season, and was run for USAC Championship cars, but was not run to Formula One regulations.
References[edit]
- ^ "XIIe Coupe du Salon - Voitures Sport International". Retrieved 16 October 2022.
- ^ French Driver Dies, Los Angeles Times, October 30, 1956, Page C4.
- ^ "Grand Prix Cancelled". Autosport. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
- ^ "Grand Prix Cancelled". Autosport. Retrieved 23 January 2016.