1956 Belgian Grand Prix
The Grand Prix of Belgium 1956 was held on June 3, 1956 held at the Circuit de Spa -Francorchamps at Spa and was the fourth round of the Formula 1 season 1956.
- 3.1 Start -up
- 3.2 race
- 4.1 Drivers' Championship
Reports
Background
Four days after the Indianapolis 500 of the Belgian Grand Prix took place. The first half of the season was dominated by the Italian team Ferrari and Maserati, in the drivers' standings led Jean Behra just ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.
Both top teams went with five riders at the start. Ferrari sat next to his regular driver Fangio, Peter Collins Castellotti and a two- car for the Belgian local heroes Paul Frère and André Pilette. For Brother this was his last Grand Prix participation. For Maserati in addition to the regular drivers Behra, Stirling Moss and Cesare Perdisa still Chico Godia and Mike Hawthorn entered the race. Hawthorn ran this race for Maserati, as the team BRM did not participate in the race. Also Gordini was missing in this Grand Prix, causing the driver's field of 15 drivers reported was relatively small again.
Vanwall was launched as the Grand Prix of Monaco with Maurice Trintignant and Harry Schell. Four riders started in addition to private cars, including Piero Scotti, who played his only Formula 1 Grand Prix in a Connaught Type B.
With Fangio took part in a former winner of the race. Fangio won the race in the previous two years and a total of three times. Ferrari had previously been twice successfully on this route, Maserati achieved a victory.
Training
The training was previously dominated as the Grand Prix of Argentina and the Grand Prix of Monaco by Fangio. He secured over five seconds ahead of the Moss third pole position of the season. Teammate Collins qualified in third place, behind the drivers' championship leader Behra was on the second Maserati. The first four positions were so evenly divided between Ferrari and Maserati.
Behind Castellotti on the grid to five qualified both Vanwall. The team thus confirmed his good performances in training the first two races of the season and showed that their car is competitive. Brother in Ferrari and Perdisa and Louis Rosier completed the top ten on the grid. Luigi Villoresi, who started in a Maserati for the Scuderia Centro Sud, qualified in eleventh place, Godia and Pilette placed on the last places with a large time interval to their respective teammates.
All training times, which resulted from the grid, were Thursday, went on the first day of practice. Two more training sessions on the following days brought no improvements of the times due to rain.
Race
The race started on a wet track, which began to dry but after the first few laps after down went no further rain on the track at race start. At the start Moss went in Maserati in leadership, Fangio lost several positions and dropped back to fifth position. Behind Moss were Collins, Castel Lotti and Behra.
Already in the first lap of the race on Fangio Behra, who did not keep the connection to the tip and thus developed a greater distance between the first four cars and the rest of the field. With Moss before Collins, Castel Lotti and therefore Fangio Maserati introduced to three Ferraris. Moss finished the first lap of the race with a lead of three seconds Castel Lotti, who overtook Collins. Godia crashed and retired the first driver out of the race.
In the second lap of the race Moss extended his lead on the Ferraris to five seconds, during which Fangio Collins outdated and thus was in third place. With a gearbox failure at Gould retired from the second Maserati. Fangio took another round to also Castellotti to overtake. Lying in second place he had at this point in the race just six seconds behind Moss.
In the next two laps Fangio decreased continuously the gap to leaders Moss and overtook him on lap five. This led Fangio before Moss, behind which Collins and Castellotti dueled for third place, Behra overtook Schell at the battle for fifth place behind the two is Trintignant and Brother dueled. Fangio extended his lead to round ten of eight seconds.
On lap ten, a number of failures began to affect the standings. Only Scotti turned out in his only race, then had to Castellotti due to a technical defect in his car up. Moss lost a wheel in his car and turned off the track, which Collins was advancing in second and Ferrari held a double guide. Moss lost the wheel immediately after the Eau Rouge corner, which allowed him to box run back and take the car from Perdisa. While also Trintignant retired with technical problems, Moss took the race in sixth position lying back on and had a lap behind the leader Fangio.
On lap 23, Fangio got in his car problems with the fuel transfer and fell in management of lying. Collins then took over for the first time in his career the lead and gave it no longer from to the end of the race. Behra and Brother dueled in the last third of the race for second place until Behra got engine problems and dropped back to seventh position. After he overtook Schell, Moss moved back to square by three and reached the car of his teammates Perdisas still a podium finish. The distance to the leaders, however, was so large that he no longer caught.
Collins won thus his first of three Formula 1 races and gave Ferrari the second win of the season. Brother secured in its final race in second place and thus completed a Ferrari one-two victory. Behind Moss came in third place finish, the points but told Perdisa.
With one lap behind Schell came in fourth place in the goal for the British Vanwall team, these were the first points. Villoresi secured fifth place, two points, Moss got an extra point for the fastest lap.
Due to the failure Fangio was in the driver standings to fourth place back, Behra lost his lead and was after the race in third place. Collins and Moss both had eleven points and led the drivers' championship together half of the season with one point ahead of Behra.
Message list
Comments
Classifications
Line-up
Race
Standings after the race
The first five of the race were 8, 6, 4, 3, 2 points. The driver with the fastest lap of the race also received 1 point. It included only the five best results from the eight races.