The 1951 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 17 June 1951 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was race 3 of 8 in the 1951 World Championship of Drivers
Report
Despite there being just 13 starters, representing three makes of car, the race attracted a record crowd. There were a further three entries, including two Maseratis, which did not attend the event. Juan Manuel Fangio had a new suspension with special wheels, which had to be concave to make room for the brake drums. These proved an expensive novelty. At his first pit stop, they jammed and his stop lasted over 14 minutes. Giuseppe Farina's Alfa Romeo dominated, holding off the Ferraris of Alberto Ascari and Luigi Villoresi. A quick stop of 39 seconds for wheel change and refuelling preserved his lead until the finish.
This would eventually prove to be the only Grand Prix in Fangio's entire Formula 1 career, barring retirements, that he finished outside of the top four. He scored a point for posting the fastest lap of the race, which meant that despite having ended up in ninth place (at the time, only the top five finishers scored points, alongside the holder of the fastest lap, regardless of position), he kept his record of scoring points towards the World Championship in 100% of the Grands Prix in which he saw the chequered flag.
Entries No Driver Entrant Constructor Chassis Engine Tyre 2 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo SpA Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159B Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s 4 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159A Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s 6 Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo 159 Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s 8 Alberto Ascari Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 10 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 12 Piero Taruffi Ferrari Ferrari 375 Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 14 Louis Rosier Ecurie Rosier Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 16 Johnny Claes Ecurie Belge Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 18 Louis Chiron Ecurie Rosier Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 20 Philippe Étancelin Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C-DA Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 22 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 24 André Pilette Ecurie Belge Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 26 Pierre Levegh Pierre Levegh Talbot-Lago Talbot-Lago T26C Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 28 Prince Bira Ecurie Siam Maserati-OSCA Maserati 4CLT-48 OSCA V12 30 José Froilán González Enrico Platé Maserati Maserati 4CLT-48 Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s 32 Reg Parnell G. A. Vandervell Ferrari Ferrari 375 tw Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 Sources:
Classification Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Time 1 2 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 4:25 2 4 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 4:28 3 10 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 4:29 4 8 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 4:30 5 12 Piero Taruffi Ferrari 4:32 6 6 Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo 4:36 7 14 Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago-Talbot 4:45 8 22 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-Lago-Talbot 4:52 9 18 Louis Chiron Talbot-Lago-Talbot 5:01 10 20 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago-Talbot 5:04 11 16 Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago-Talbot 5:09 12 24 André Pilette Talbot-Lago-Talbot 5:16 13 26 Pierre Levegh Talbot-Lago-Talbot 5:17 28 Prince Bira Maserati – 30 José Froilán González Maserati – 32 Reg Parnell Ferrari–Source:
Race Pos No Driver ConstructorLapsTime/Retired Grid Points 1 4 Nino Farina Alfa Romeo 36 2:45:46.2 2 8 2 8 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 36 + 2:51.0 4 6 3 10 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 36 + 4:21.9 3 4 4 14 Louis Rosier Talbot-Lago-Talbot 34 + 2 Laps 7 3 5 22 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot-Lago-Talbot 34 + 2 Laps 8 2 6 24 André Pilette Talbot-Lago-Talbot 33 + 3 Laps 12 7 16 Johnny Claes Talbot-Lago-Talbot 33 + 3 Laps 11 8 26 Pierre Levegh Talbot-Lago-Talbot 32 + 4 Laps 13 9 2 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 32 + 4 Laps 1 1 18 Louis Chiron Talbot-Lago-Talbot 28 Engine 9 6 Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo 11 Radiator 6 12 Piero Taruffi Ferrari 8 Transmission 5 20 Philippe Étancelin Talbot-Lago-Talbot 0 Transmission 10 Notes – 1 point for fastest lap
Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 4 1 Nino Farina 12 1 2 Juan Manuel Fangio 10 1 3 Lee Wallard 9 8 4 Alberto Ascari 6 2 5 Piero Taruffi 6Source:
References