The 1953 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 23 August 1953 at Bremgarten Circuit. It was race 8 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used. World Champion Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari won the race, the last race win and finish of his career.
The race marked the brief return of Grand Prix-era legend Hermann Lang. He was given a chance to participate in Formula 1 racing driving for Officine Alfieri Maserati after one of their team drivers was injured. He raced in two World Drivers' Championship events overall—one in 1953 and one in 1954—and his result here, a fifth-place finish, was his best result.
This race was the last time an Italian driver won a World Championship Grand Prix using Italian Pirelli tyres until Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.
Entries +TeamNoDriverCarEngineTyre Ecurie Francorchamps2 Jacques SwatersFerrari Tipo 500Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 Escuderia Bandeirantes4 Chico LandiMaserati A6GCMMaserati A6 2.0 L6 Equipe Gordini6 Jean BehraGordini Type 16Gordini 20 2.0 L68 Maurice Trintignant44 Fred Wacker Ecurie Rosier10 Louis RosierFerrari Tipo 500Ferrari 500 2.0 L4 Louis Chiron12 Louis ChironOSCA 20OSCA 2000 2.0 L6 HW Motors14 Paul FrèreHWM 53Alta GP 2.5 L416 Lance Macklin18 Albert Scherrer Ken Wharton20 Ken WhartonCooper T23Bristol BS1 2.0 L6 Élie Bayol22 Élie BayolOSCA 20OSCA 2000 2.0 L6 Scuderia Ferrari24 Nino Farina Ferrari Tipo 500Ferrari 500 2.0 L426 Mike Hawthorn28 Luigi Villoresi46 Alberto Ascari Officine Alfieri Maserati30 Felice BonettoMaserati A6GCMMaserati A6 2.0 L632 Juan Manuel Fangio34 Hermann Lang36 Onofre Marimón Ecurie Espadon38 Peter HirtFerrari Tipo 500Ferrari 500 2.0 L440 Max de TerraFerrari 212 F1Ferrari 166 2.0 V12 Emmanuel de Graffenried42 Toulo de GraffenriedMaserati A6GCMMaserati A6 2.0 L6
Classification Qualifying Pos No Driver Constructor Time Gap 1 32 Juan Manuel Fangio Maserati 2:40.1 — 2 46 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 2:40.7 + 0.6 3 24 Nino Farina Ferrari 2:42.6 + 2.5 4 8 Maurice Trintignant Gordini 2:43.8 + 3.7 5 36 Onofre Marimón Maserati 2:44.5 + 4.4 6 28 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 2:44.6 + 4.5 7 26 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 2:48.1 + 8.0 8 42 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 2:49.9 + 9.8 9 20 Ken Wharton Cooper-Bristol 2:51.5 + 11.4 10 30 Felice Bonetto Maserati 2:52.0 + 11.9 11 34 Hermann Lang Maserati 2:54.8 + 14.7 12 6 Jean Behra Gordini 2:55.0 + 14.9 13 2 Jacques Swaters Ferrari 2:55.1 + 15.0 14 10 Louis Rosier Ferrari 2:55.4 + 15.3 15 16 Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 2:57.1 + 17.0 16 14 Paul Frère HWM-Alta 2:57.9 + 17.8 17 38 Peter Hirt Ferrari 3:01.5 + 21.4 18 18 Albert Scherrer HWM-Alta 3:07.4 + 27.3 19 40 Max de Terra Ferrari 3:21.1 + 41.0 20 4 Chico Landi Maserati 3:29.1 + 49.0 21 12 Louis Chiron OSCA No time — 22 22 Élie Bayol OSCA No time — 23 44 Fred Wacker Gordini No time —
Race Pos No Driver Constructor Laps Time/Retired Grid Points 1 46 Alberto Ascari Ferrari 65 3:01:34.40 2 9 2 24 Nino Farina Ferrari 65 + 1:12.93 3 6 3 26 Mike Hawthorn Ferrari 65 + 1:35.96 7 4 4 32 Juan Manuel Fangio Felice Bonetto Maserati 64 + 1 Lap 1 1.51.5 5 34 Hermann Lang Maserati 62 + 3 Laps 11 2 6 28 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 62 + 3 Laps 6 7 20 Ken Wharton Cooper-Bristol 62 + 3 Laps 9 8 40 Max de Terra Ferrari 51 + 14 Laps 19 9 18 Albert Scherrer HWM-Alta 49 + 16 Laps 18 4 Chico Landi Maserati 54 Gearbox 20 42 Toulo de Graffenried Maserati 49 Transmission 8 36 Onofre Marimón Maserati 46 Engine 5 8 Maurice Trintignant Gordini 43 Axle 4 6 Jean Behra Gordini 37 Oil Pressure 12 30 Felice Bonetto Juan Manuel Fangio Maserati 29 Engine 10 16 Lance Macklin HWM-Alta 29 Engine 15 38 Peter Hirt Ferrari 17 Engine 17 14 Paul Frère HWM-Alta 1 Engine 16 2 Jacques Swaters Ferrari 0 Spun Off 13 10 Louis Rosier Ferrari 0 Spun Off 14 12 Louis Chiron OSCA 0 Did not start 22 Élie Bayol OSCA 0 Did not start 44 Fred Wacker Gordini 0 Did not start Notes – Includes 1 point for fastest lap
Shared drives (Fangio and Bonetto switched cars) Car #32: Fangio (12 laps) then Bonetto (52 laps). They shared the points for 4th place. Car #30: Bonetto (12 laps) then Fangio (17 laps)
Championship standings after the race Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Alberto Ascari 34.5 (46.5) 2 Nino Farina 24 (26) 3 Juan Manuel Fangio 20.5 4 Mike Hawthorn 19 (24) 5 José Froilán González 13.5 (14.5)Source:
References