The 1955 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Aintree on 16 July 1955. It was race 6 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers. British driver Stirling Moss led a Mercedes 1–2–3–4 domination of the race, to win his first Formula One race narrowly ahead of his illustrious Argentine teammate Juan Manuel Fangio. Several people, including Moss, believed that the Argentine allowed his British protégé to claim his debut win in front of his home crowd. This was, however, at Moss’ inquiry, consistently denied by Fangio, who claimed that Moss “was simply faster that day.”
Subsequent to the race, the German, Swiss and Spanish Grands Prix were cancelled, in the wake of the Le Mans disaster. With only one Championship round therefore remaining (the Italian Grand Prix some 2 months later), Fangio’s points advantage over Moss was sufficient to secure his third World Drivers’ Championship.
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1955 British Grand Prix | ||
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Race details | ||
Date | 16 July 1955 | |
Official name | 8th RAC British Grand Prix | |
Location | Aintree Circuit, Liverpool, England | |
Course | Permanent racing facility | |
Course length | 4.828 km (3.000 mi) | |
Distance | 90 laps, 434.52 km (270.00 mi) | |
Weather | Hot, dry. | |
Attendance | 75,000-100,000 | |
Pole position | ||
Driver |
| Mercedes |
Time | 2:00.4 | |
Fastest lap | ||
Driver | Stirling Moss | Mercedes |
Time | 2:00.4 | |
Podium | ||
First |
| Mercedes |
Second |
| Mercedes |
Third |
| Mercedes |
Lap leaders |
Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | Stirling Moss | Mercedes | 2:00.4 | — |
2 | 10 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Mercedes | 2:00.6 | +0.2 |
3 | 2 | Jean Behra | Maserati | 2:01.4 | +1.0 |
4 | 14 | Karl Kling | Mercedes | 2:02.0 | +1.6 |
5 | 50 | Piero Taruffi | Mercedes | 2:03.0 | +2.6 |
6 | 6 | Roberto Mieres | Maserati | 2:03.2 | +2.8 |
7 | 30 | Harry Schell | Vanwall | 2:03.8 | +3.4 |
8 | 8 | André Simon | Maserati | 2:04.0 | +3.6 |
9 | 4 | Luigi Musso | Maserati | 2:04.2 | +3.8 |
10 | 16 | Eugenio Castellotti | Ferrari | 2:05.0 | +4.6 |
11 | 22 | Robert Manzon | Gordini | 2:05.0 | +4.6 |
12 | 16 | Mike Hawthorn | Ferrari | 2:05.4 | +5.0 |
13 | 18 | Maurice Trintignant | Ferrari | 2:05.4 | +5.0 |
14 | 36 | Tony Rolt | Connaught-Alta | 2:06.6 | +6.2 |
15 | 28 | Ken Wharton | Vanwall | 2:08.4 | +8.0 |
16 | 46 | Lance Macklin | Maserati | 2:08.4 | +8.0 |
17 | 32 | Kenneth McAlpine | Connaught-Alta | 2:09.6 | +9.2 |
18 | 24 | Hermano da Silva Ramos | Gordini | 2:10.6 | +10.2 |
19 | 38 | Leslie Marr | Connaught-Alta | 2:11.6 | +11.2 |
20 | 44 | Roy Salvadori | Maserati | 2:11.6 | +11.2 |
21 | 34 | Jack Fairman | Connaught-Alta | 2:11.6 | +11.2 |
22 | 48 | Horace Gould | Maserati | 2:11.8 | +11.4 |
23 | 26 | Mike Sparken | Gordini | 2:12.6 | +12.2 |
24 | 42 | Peter Collins | Maserati | 2:13.4 | +13.0 |
25 | 40 | Jack Brabham | Cooper-Bristol | 2:27.4 | +27.0 |
Source: |
Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 12 | Stirling Moss | Mercedes | 90 | 3:07:21.2 | 1 | 9 |
2 | 10 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Mercedes | 90 | +0.2 | 2 | 6 |
3 | 14 | Karl Kling | Mercedes | 90 | +1:11.8 | 4 | 4 |
4 | 50 | Piero Taruffi | Mercedes | 89 | +1 Lap | 5 | 3 |
5 | 4 | Luigi Musso | Maserati | 89 | +1 Lap | 9 | 2 |
6 | 16 | Mike Hawthorn Eugenio Castellotti | Ferrari | 87 | +3 Laps | 12 | |
7 | 26 | Mike Sparken | Gordini | 81 | +9 Laps | 23 | |
8 | 46 | Lance Macklin | Maserati | 79 | +11 Laps | 16 | |
9 | 28 | Ken Wharton Harry Schell | Vanwall | 72 | +18 Laps | 15 | |
Ret | 18 | Maurice Trintignant | Ferrari | 59 | Overheating | 13 | |
Ret | 6 | Roberto Mieres | Maserati | 47 | Engine | 6 | |
Ret | 40 | Jack Brabham | Cooper-Bristol | 30 | Engine | 25 | |
Ret | 32 | Kenneth McAlpine | Connaught-Alta | 30 | Oil Pressure | 17 | |
Ret | 42 | Peter Collins | Maserati | 28 | Clutch | 24 | |
Ret | 24 | Hermano da Silva Ramos | Gordini | 26 | Oil Pressure | 18 | |
Ret | 44 | Roy Salvadori | Maserati | 23 | Gearbox | 20 | |
Ret | 48 | Horace Gould | Maserati | 22 | Brakes | 22 | |
Ret | 30 | Harry Schell | Vanwall | 20 | Throttle | 7 | |
Ret | 36 | Tony Rolt Peter Walker | Connaught-Alta | 19 | Transmission | 14 | |
Ret | 38 | Leslie Marr | Connaught-Alta | 18 | Brakes | 19 | |
Ret | 20 | Eugenio Castellotti | Ferrari | 16 | Transmission | 10 | |
Ret | 8 | André Simon | Maserati | 9 | Gearbox | 8 | |
Ret | 2 | Jean Behra | Maserati | 9 | Oil Leak | 3 | |
Ret | 22 | Robert Manzon | Gordini | 4 | Transmission | 11 | |
DNS | 34 | Jack Fairman | Connaught-Alta | Engine | 21 | ||
Source: |
Pos | Driver | Points | |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 33 | |
2 | Stirling Moss | 22 | |
3 | Maurice Trintignant | 11 1⁄3 | |
4 | Nino Farina | 10 1⁄3 | |
5 | Bob Sweikert | 8 | |
Source: |
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