Belgian GP 1951

Belgian GP, 1951

After Switzerland, there was a three week gap before the next European round of the 1951 Formula 1 World Championship was held at Spa.

A head-to-head battle between Alfa Romeo and Ferrari was on, with both teams fielding three cars. The rest of the field were the usual outclassed Talbot Lagos and Maseratis.

On the front row of the 3-2-3 grid were Juan-Manuel Fangio and Giuseppe Farina with Gigi Villoresi's Ferrari. The second row was an all-Ferrari affair with Alberto Ascari and Piero Taruffi, while Consalvo Sanesi was back on row three with Louis Rosier in the fastest of the Talbot Lagos - which was nearly 10secs a lap slower than the slowest Alfa.

The race saw an exciting battle at the front before Farina got ahead and Fangio moved up to run second. During the first pit stops Fangio had a wheel jam on the hub and dropped to the back of the field, leaving Farina to win by nearly three minutes, despite having to pit for a second time. Ascari was second with Villoresi third. The trio finished two laps ahead of Rosier.

Giuseppe Farina Alfa Romeo 159 36 2h45m46.200s  
Alberto Ascari Ferrari 375 36 2h48m37.200s  
10 Luigi Villoresi Ferrari 375 36 2h50m08.100s  
14 Louis Rosier Talbot Lago-Talbot T26C-DA 34  
22 Yves Giraud-Cabantous Talbot Lago-Talbot T26C 34  
24 Andre Pilette Talbot Lago-Talbot T26C 33  12 
16 Johnny Claes Talbot Lago-Talbot T26C-DA 33  11 
26 Pierre Levegh Talbot Lago-Talbot T26C 32  13 
Juan-Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 159 32  
18 Louis Chiron Talbot Lago-Talbot T26C 28 Engine 
Consalvo Sanesi Alfa Romeo 159 11 Radiator 
12 Piero Taruffi Ferrari 375 Mechanical 
20 Philippe Etancelin Talbot Lago-Talbot T26C-DA Transmission 10