1951 Belgian Grand Prix

1951 Belgian Grand Prix
Race 3 of 8 in the 1951 Formula One season
Race details
Date	17 June 1951
Official name	XIII GROTE PRIJS VAN BELGIE
Location	Spa-Francorchamps, Spa, Belgium
Course	Grand Prix Circuit
Course length	14.12 km (8.774 miles)
Distance	36 laps, 508.320 km (315.864 miles)
Weather	Sunny, Mild, Dry
Pole position
Driver	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo
Time	4:25.0
Fastest lap
Driver	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo
Time	4:22.1
Podium
First	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo
Second	Alberto Ascari	Scuderia Ferrari
Third	Luigi Villoresi	Scuderia Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 1951 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 17 June 1951 at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. It was the third round of the 1951 World Drivers' Championship.

Race report

Despite there being just 13 starters representing 3 makes of car, the race attracted a record crowd. There were a further 3 entries, including 2 Maseratis, which did not attend the event. 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. Farina's Alfa Romeo dominated, holding off the Ferraris of Ascari and Villoresi. A lightning stop of 39 seconds for wheel change and refuelling preserved his lead until the finish.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo	4:25.0	–
2	4	Nino Farina	Alfa Romeo	4:28.0	+ 3.0
3	10	Luigi Villoresi	Ferrari	4:29.0	+ 4.0
4	8	Alberto Ascari	Ferrari	4:30.0	+ 5.0
5	12	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	4:32.0	+ 7.0
6	6	Consalvo Sanesi	Alfa Romeo	4:36.0	+ 11.0
7	14	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	4:45.0	+ 20.0
8	22	Yves Giraud-Cabantous	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	4:52.0	+ 27.0
9	18	Louis Chiron	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	5:01.0	+ 36.0
10	20	Philippe Étancelin	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	5:04.0	+ 39.0
11	16	Johnny Claes	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	5:09.0	+ 44.0
12	24	André Pilette	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	5:16.0	+ 51.0
13	26	Pierre Levegh	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	5:17.0	+ 52.0
DNA	28	Prince Bira	Maserati	–	–
DNA	30	Jose Froilan Gonzalez	Maserati	–	–
DNA	32	Reg Parnell	Ferrari	–	–

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/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
Ret	18	Louis Chiron	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	28	Engine	9
Ret	6	Consalvo Sanesi	Alfa Romeo	11	Radiator	6
Ret	12	Piero Taruffi	Ferrari	8	Transmission	5
Ret	20	Philippe Étancelin	Talbot-Lago-Talbot	0	Transmission	10

Notes

• First Grand Prix: André Pilette

Drivers' Championship standings after the race

	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	6

• Note: Only the top five positions are listed. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship.

References

Unless otherwise indicated, all race results are taken from "The Official Formula 1 website". Retrieved 2007-06-05.