F1WRCR 1952 season - driver ratings up!

[tommykl]

You can run de Filippis for your team.

Great, thanks.

I'll announce details later in the week/at the weekend.

Nice's farewell race didn't go as planned, so I'd let her take a well-earned retirement.

OK. When can Pat Moss be expected to debut at the earliest?

I'd say 1956 for a one-off British Grand Prix, 1959 for a full time drive. Definitely not now, since, well she's not only not yet started racing, but is also only 18

And pasta, since Phoenix are now without a second driver, they might take Hawthorn as second pick, but if they don't, you get him for your chosen races.

[Bleu]

I'm looking to sign Andre Simon for seven races, all European ones except Germany.

Then I would like to get John Fitch for Sebring and I'm looking for an Australian driver to drive in Leyburn.

[tommykl]

I'm looking to sign Andre Simon for seven races, all European ones except Germany.

Then I would like to get John Fitch for Sebring and I'm looking for an Australian driver to drive in Leyburn.

Simon's good since Claes dropped him. Fitch's good results in the US and Argentine Grand Prix make him a good contender at Sebring, and take your time for the Australian driver, there's no limit on the entry list.

[Bleu]

I had a look on Australian drivers and I nominate Doug Whiteford for Australian Grand Prix.

Then I would like to run Tony Rolt for two British rounds.

[tommykl]

I had a look on Australian drivers and I nominate Doug Whiteford for Australian Grand Prix.

Then I would like to run Tony Rolt for two British rounds.

Since Maremmana decided to go for Eric Brandon instead, Rolt is free to race. As for Whiteford, he's under contract for Ecurie Australie, so he's not available.

[Bleu]

Lex Davison then.

[tommykl]

With 35 entries for Monaco already, I'll leave the entry list open until Sunday at noon CET. I'll start running pre-qualifying a bit later.

[tommykl]

So far, all entries are accepted, yes, even Rubirosa. For three reasons:

-RP official reason, he impressed in pre-qualifying given his inexperience, and his good results in A1.
-RP unofficial reason, well, the FIA is particularly fond of Dominican delicacies.
-Actual reason, we need a reject who will last the whole season

Otherwise, you have just under 18 hours if you want to enter the Monaco Grand Prix.

[pasta_maldonado]

So far, all entries are accepted, yes, even Rubirosa. For three reasons:

-RP official reason, he impressed in pre-qualifying given his inexperience, and his good results in A1.
-RP unofficial reason, well, the FIA is particularly fond of Dominican delicacies.
-Actual reason, we need a reject who will last the whole season

Otherwise, you have just under 18 hours if you want to enter the Monaco Grand Prix.

Quick question: As Samster's Alternate A1 Grand Prix is set in the same universe as this, can performances by a driver in that championship be taken into account?

[tommykl]

So far, all entries are accepted, yes, even Rubirosa. For three reasons:

-RP official reason, he impressed in pre-qualifying given his inexperience, and his good results in A1.
-RP unofficial reason, well, the FIA is particularly fond of Dominican delicacies.
-Actual reason, we need a reject who will last the whole season

Otherwise, you have just under 18 hours if you want to enter the Monaco Grand Prix.

Quick question: As Samster's Alternate A1 Grand Prix is set in the same universe as this, can performances by a driver in that championship be taken into account?

Eventually, yeah.

[Grovey]

Rudi Fischer will race at Monaco for International Racing Group. The Chassis is a Maserati that has been rebadged as IRG and the engine is a Porsche. (They are using this yeas as a test to see if they want a full time works entry in the future)

They will enter Monaco but the rest of their schedule depends on how competitive they are

[Samster]

So far, all entries are accepted, yes, even Rubirosa. For three reasons:

-RP official reason, he impressed in pre-qualifying given his inexperience, and his good results in A1.
-RP unofficial reason, well, the FIA is particularly fond of Dominican delicacies.
-Actual reason, we need a reject who will last the whole season

Otherwise, you have just under 18 hours if you want to enter the Monaco Grand Prix.

Quick question: As Samster's Alternate A1 Grand Prix is set in the same universe as this, can performances by a driver in that championship be taken into account?

Eventually, yeah.

Actually my A1 takes place in the real motorsport universe (or at least my slightly rewritten version) rather than tommykl's F1 hence why F1 drivers cannot compete if an A1 race takes place on the same weekend as a real F1 grand prix.

Also I notice that Edgar Barth has been hired for this season which wouldn't be possible if this series was in the same universe as my A1 Grand Prix since he died during my 1951 season.

[tommykl]

Rudi Fischer will race at Monaco for International Racing Group. The Chassis is a Maserati that has been rebadged as IRG and the engine is a Porsche. (They are using this yeas as a test to see if they want a full time works entry in the future)

They will enter Monaco but the rest of their schedule depends on how competitive they are

OK, but I advise you to start with a chassis that isn't rebadged. When you rebadge a chassis, you lose all the performance points for it, so you're better off using a Maserati, trying to pick up some performance points for the entrant and the engine, then using your own chassis.

Quick question: As Samster's Alternate A1 Grand Prix is set in the same universe as this, can performances by a driver in that championship be taken into account?

Eventually, yeah.

Actually my A1 takes place in the real motorsport universe (or at least my slightly rewritten version) rather than tommykl's F1 hence why F1 drivers cannot compete if an A1 race takes place on the same weekend as a real F1 grand prix.

Also I notice that Edgar Barth has been hired for this season which wouldn't be possible if this series was in the same universe as my A1 Grand Prix since he died during my 1951 season.

I see. Then the fact that his entries are approved is now even more mysterious

[Grovey]

OK, had no idea. Thanks for that advice.

[tommykl]

The entry list is closed. Grovey, I'll run your car as Maserati-Porsche, OK?

Also, 20 drivers will not have to go through pre-qualifying. 8 of the 15 remaining drivers will make it through to qualifying.

These are the drivers who will go straight to qualifying:
Giuseppe Farina
Toulo de Graffenried
Dorino Serafini
Consalvo Sanesi
Robert Manzon
Maurice Trintignant
Troy Ruttman
André Pilette
Peter Whitehead
B. Bira
Nello Pagani
Rudi Fischer
Juan Manuel Fangio
Stirling Moss
Manfred von Brauchitsch
Harry Schell
Piero Taruffi
Giovanni Bracco
Johnny Claes
André Simon

Also, the race distances won't change this year, so it's still 400km for all races except Monaco, where the distance will be 315km to stick to the traditional 100-lap format. Therefore, these will be the number of laps for each race: 100 for Monaco, 114 for Donington, 29 for Spa, 79 for Rouen, 85 for Silverstone, 18 for the Nürburgring, 96 for Zandvoort, 64 for Monza, 48 for Sebring and 58 for Leyburn.

[tommykl]

May 16th 1952, Monaco Grand Prix prequalifying

So, a new season of Formula 1 has arrived, and already some safety changes have been made, with most cars now fitted with anti-roll bars. Giuseppe Farina is still the only champion after taking his second consecutive title, and is looking to net a third with the Alfa, but will be facing stiff competition from the Ferraris of de Graffenried and Sanesi, the Gordinis of Manzon and Sanesi and the Alfas of Fangio and Moss, with some outside competitors such as Pilette, Bira, Parnell or Whitehead also in with a shout. This could be the most competitive season yet.

34 drivers have gathered at Monaco to take part in the first race of the new season. With prequalifying (first introduced at Monza last season) now an integrant part of the race weekends, only 20 drivers are certain of taking part in qualifying, where they will be joined by eight other hopefuls, all looking to take one of the 20 places available on the grid.

2. B. Bira (Motorsport Bleu)
4. André Simon (Motorsport Bleu)
6. Louis Chiron (Scuderia Commesso)
8. Toulo de Graffenried (Scuderia Ferrari)
10. Dorino Serafini (Scuderia Ferrari)
12. Peter Whitehead (Scuderia Ferrari)
14. David Hampshire (Hampshire Racing Alliance)
16. Robert Manzon (Alexander Racing Team)
18. Consalvo Sanesi (Alexander Racing Team)
20. Johnny Claes (Claes Racing Developments)
22. Lance Macklin (Claes Racing Developments)
24. Harry Schell (Ferrari America)
26. Troy Ruttman (Ferrari America)
28. Luigi Villoresi (Leader)
30. José Froilan Gonzalez (Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing)
32. Piero Taruffi (Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing)
34. Piero Carini (Scuderia Aqua)
36. Alberto Ascari (Phoenix Racing Organisation)
38. Paul Frère (Officine Alfieri Maserati)
40. Onofre Marimon (Officine Alfieri Maserati)
42. Clemente Biondetti (Scuderia Maremmana)
44. Manfred von Brauchitsch (Scuderia Maremmana)
46. Eric Brandon (Scuderia Maremmana)
48. Aldo Gordini (Alexander Racing Team)
50. Maurice Trintignant (Bugatti Grand Prix)
52. Eugène Chaboud (Bugatti Grand Prix)
54. André Pilette (Ecurie Nationale Belge)
56. Nello Pagani (Redman Racing Team)
58. Giovanni Bracco (Scuderia Ambrosiana)
60. Porfirio Rubirosa (Scuderia Ambrosiana)
62. Giuseppe Farina (Alfa Romeo SpA)
64. Juan Manuel Fangio (Alfa Romeo SpA)
66. Stirling Moss (Alfa Romeo SpA)
68. Rudi Fischer (International Racing Group)

This season preview will be done team by team.

Scuderia Ferrari
Despite Alfa Romeo's Farina victory in the drivers' championship, Ferrari walked the constructors' title thanks to having equally competitive drivers and a reliable car that allowed them to win four of the last five races. Again, Ferrari will be a serious challenger for the title, with their four drivers being re-signed. De Graffenried and Serafini were second and third last season and will want to go that extra position better this season, while Parnell and Whitehead will once again be sharing the third car en route to hopefully consistent podium finishes. As for customer teams, they can still count on the increasingly competitive Ferrari America, who will be attending every race.

Alfa Romeo SpA
Last season, the Alfa was undoubtedly the quickest car over a single lap, with four poles and five fastest laps, but the Ferraris were nearly unbeatable in race trim. To top it off, the Alfa was woefully unreliable, and only Farina was able to consistently score podiums, five overall, which sealed him his second world title despite only winning one race. The other drivers were hit with consistent bad luck. Indeed, with 14 starts in between them, Moss and Fangio only finished three races, albeit two of them in the points, both of them in fourth place, with an additional three points brought by Pietsch, who drove for the team in Monaco. The team has worked on its reliability in the winter and are now aiming for the constructors' title, but this will be hindered by Jacques Swaters' decision to convert his Alfas to Bugattis, leaving Alfa without any customer team.

Garage Francorchamps (Bugatti Grand Prix, Ecurie Nationale Belge)
Things have changed at Francorchamps, and the official team name is now Garage Francorchamps, with Ecurie Nationale Belge now being a secondary team. The cars have changed as well, with the two Alfas from 1951 converted to Bugattis and entered as such by the Bugatti Grand Prix side, and Swaters' own Maserati now used full-time by the ENB side of the garage. Only the drivers have stayed the same, with Trintignant and Pilette driving the Bugattis (except at Monaco and Rouen, where Pilette will be driving the Maserati and will be replaced by Eugène Chaboud). The Maserati will otherwise be driven by guest drivers: Jacques Swaters, Paul Frère, Roger Laurent, Georges Berger, Jan Flinterman, Charles de Tornaco and Charles Van Acker. The team will be looking to take that elusive first win.

Alexander Racing Team
After being pipped to third place in the championship by ENB, ART are back with a vengeance, with the passing of Yves Giraud-Cabantous being a huge motivator. Manzon and Sanesi are back yet again to score consistent points and hopefully podiums. The new and improved Gordini looks like a promising car, and third in the constrcutors' championship should again be a formality. The Gordini partnership comes with drawbacks, with the hopeless Aldo Gordini driving in Monaco and Rouen. An as-of-yet unconfirmed third driver will join Sanesi and Manzon for a further five races.

Motorsport Bleu
The French team are coming off their most successful season yet. The ever inconsistent form was more marked last year, and Bira was able to take an emotional first win at the death against Pilette in Belgium, and Rudi Fischer scored an other podium in Germany, but no more points were scored. Is the Talbot-Lago beginning to show its age? In any case, the team is ready for their largest title challenge yet. Bira will again drive the full season, occasionally joined by André Simon (for seven rounds), Harry Schell (for five rounds, on loan from Ferrari America), Tony Rolt (for both British rounds), Günther Bechem, John Fitch and Lex Davison (for their respective home races).

Group Ultimate (Ferrari America, Team Ultimate)
Admittedly, the team owed its position in the entrants' championship to its 1-2 at Indianapolis, but saying that it's worthless is far from the truth. The main Ferrari customer team was on a rise in 1951, with Harry Schell scoring fifth place in Germany and almost another at Zandvoort before spinning out. This time, Group Ultimate, the team owner, decided to enter two separate teams. Ferrari America will carry on with Troy Ruttman completing a full season and Harry Schell driving half of the schedule. The second team will be Team Ultimate. The arrogant-looking name hides a serious project to launch the BMW engine in Formula One, with Group Ultimate creating its own car for the occasion. East German Formula 2 driver Edgar Barth will drive the car for eight rounds.

Jaguar - Aston Martin Racing
This team is pretty enigmatic. Their driver management left a lot to be desired at the start of 1951, with the sacking of all four drivers after their shameful quadruple-DNQ in Monaco being followed by a three-race absence. The decision to have Aston make the chassis and Jaguar the engine was a good one, and with attrition's help, Trintignant's guest drive at the team's home race yielded a podium finish. The team finished the season with Paul Pietsch and Mauri Rose, but both have left the team for this season. In return, the team has hired promising young Argentine José Froilan Gonzalez, who impressed in the Phoenix in the past two seasons, and seasoned veteran Piero Taruffi, who managed wonders in the under-everything Metcalf.

Scuderia Maremmana
In an interesting turn of events, Scuderia Maremmana, despite coming off the back of their most successful season yet, have decided to run a reduced schedule, perhaps due to their drivers' ill health. It's no secret that Clemente Biondetti is fighting cancer, and von Brauchitsch looks less motivated than before. With the same combination as last season, they should be competitive once again, but we fear that the team's fate is in the hands of defending British Formula 3 champion Eric Brandon, who makes his Formula 1 début at the age of 31.

Scuderia Aqua
A major surprise in the off-season was the near-folding of Team Metcalf GP just when Piero Taruffi was getting the car sorted out. Thankfully for the mechanics, the team was bought over by a mysterious Italian who renamed the team Scuderia Aqua. The team has to start nearly from scratch, as they are left with nothing from the original team. The Metcalf chassis and engine, deemed to uncompetitive, have been replaced by a spanking-new Maserati A6GCM, and with Taruffi gone to build up JAMR, Piero Carini has been hired to make his début. The team will compete only in Monaco and Italy while waiting for a better challenge in 1953.

Scuderia Ambrosiana
This team were one of the greatest surprises of last season. In a car that had no right to be called an F1 car and a woefully inexperienced driver in Giovanni Bracco, the Ambrosiana simply had a huge stroke of luck by finishing the Dutch Grand Prix in fifth place out of five finishers. The prize money allowed them to enter more cars in the final race, and Bracco promptly led it to an impressive eleventh place. This team is on the rise, and consistent top tens aren't out of the question for Bracco. As for the second driver, rumours are rife as to how Porfirio Rubirosa got his racing licence, but like it or not, he'll be there the whole year. And probably fail to prequalify at most races.

Redman Racing Team
After a promising start to the season, marked by fifth place at Monaco (the only points scored by a Maserati all season), Redman's season took a steep dive when Franco Rol rolled out at Reims, severely injuring himself and leaving him bedridden. It took some time to rebuild the team, but by Zandvoort, they were back with Louis Rosier. However, the Le Mans winner was past his prime, and was promptly fired. Rudi Fischer was initially supposed to drive the new Maserati, but the car will in fact be driven by Nello Pagani, who finished second in Italy after challenging for the win all race.

Claes Racing Developments
If you discount Rol's fifth place at Monaco, CRD was the leading Maserati team last season. In fact, only the top four teams scored more top tens than Claes and Simon, who finished there six times in six finishes. For some reason though, none of them were in the points, with Claes particularly frustrated by three sixth places, twice just seconds away from sweet points. Even more disappointingly, Simon has been fired to make way for Lance Macklin, who didn't particularly impress at Monza last season. also, Tony Bettenhausen will drive the first car in his home race, where Claes will take his first race off to lead the team in a more efficient way.

Phoenix Racing Organisation
The Ferrari engine was obviously a step up from the Maserati engine they used in 1950, as proven by Gonzalez' two top ten finishes in France and Germany. However, Gonzalez left to join the promising JAMR team, leaving Ascari alone at Phoenix. Stirling Moss was touted as a possible replacement, as was Mike Hawthorn, but none was confirmed in time, and Phoenix are now left with a single car to represent them at Monaco. No entries have been confirmed for the rest of the season, so their future may not be very bright.

Officine Alfieri Maserati
Scuderia Platé-Varzi was one of the bigger disappointments of the second half of last year. After a promising start with two top tens, their form quickly declined, and they ended the season with six failures to make the grid in two races. With Maserati now buying the team out again, works status may help to lift the team back on its feet with the help of questionable signings Paul Frère and Onofre Marimon. A bold choice that might pay off.

Scuderia Commesso
After a frankly worthless start to 1951, Commesso picked up the pace by plonking a Ferrari engine in a Maserati, and it worked (more or less). By the end of the year, they were solid midfielders, and the high point of their season came in France, where Louis Chiron managed to haul the car up to ninth position, the team's best result to date. Chiron is still there, and at 52 years of age is ready for another full season of racing. He will be occasionally joined by a second driver, with Dries van der Lof, Tony Gaze and Ottorino Volonterio each doing some races in the second car.

Hampshire Racing Alliance
Despite his uncompetitive and sadly unreliable Alta, David Hampshire is soldiering on for a second season in which he'll take part in only the European rounds in order to leave an opportunity for young British drivers to start their F1 careers at their home race. Finishing races is a necessity now.

Bentley-BRM
Last year's Bentley was quite possibly one of the worst cars in the field, and it took a miracle for Geoff Richardson to qualify for the Dutch Grand Prix. Now, with a larger scale attack on Formula 1 and a merger with BRM, Richardson, Hawthorn and rookie Roy Salvadori have their work cut out for them.

All-Ireland Motorsport
After the epic fail that was the revolutionary Reatherson, Henry Reatherson himself has admitted that his car was useless. Instead, Joe Kelly will drive a slightly more competitive ERA with the same Maserati engine at the front. This just might be enough to make it out of pre-qualifying on a few occasions.

OSCA Automobili
Let's face it, the OSCA was fundamentally flawed at the hands of Jean Behra. Over the winter, the car can't have really gotten better. The three races the team will take part in will only serve to gather experience for 1953, should the team survive until then. On the upside, Felice Bonetto is a dependable hand who might help the team forwards.

Leader
No one knows where this team is from. Apparently, it is led by a mysterious Chinese businessman known only as the Leader, and he expects the cars to dominate the racing world in a matter of years. Yeah, right. I don't know how Luigi Villoresi got tempted to go there, maybe the Ferrari engines, but he'll be stuck there this season.

The Fighting Mongooses
This amusingly-named Welsh team are bringing another new British element to Formula One with the début of both the Cooper chassis and the Bristol engine. Jean Behra is to drive the car for the three races where the team is entered.

Birmingham Motorsports
The team created by two Brummie lottery-winners looks professional enough, but with only an Alta being available to them, rookie Ken Wharton will have a hard time in his first season of Formula One.

Erne Racing Development
This is another of the more mysterious entries for this season. When entering, ERD gave no information regarding their internal structure, but Argentine rookie Roberto Mieres will be driving an old customer Ferrari.

International Racing Group
After plenty of rumours about the identity of this entry, this entry was finally confirmed just days ago. This small team will run a customer Maserati with a Porsche engine which will serve as a test for an eventual works Porsche team. Rudi Fischer will drive the car in Monaco.

Ecurie Australie
This local Australian team already entered the Indianapolis 500 in 1950 with disappointing results, but now they'll be competing directly against the big boys. Doug Whiteford (in a Talbot-Lago-Talbot), Jack Brabham and David McKay (both in HWM-Altas) will all be looking to shine in their home race.

Maria Teresa de Filippis
Despite her disappointing performance in her home race last year, the woman driver is coming back this year to drive, in Belgium, Italy and the United States. Best of luck to her.

[pi314159]

De Filippis continues with the Maserati for 1952.

[Shadaza]

Excellent preview tommy.

Looking forward to another season of racing.

[pasta_maldonado]

Excellent preview tommy.

Looking forward to another season of racing.

I agree, that was an amazing preview, I daren't think how long that took you to write!

[tommykl]

Excellent preview tommy.

Looking forward to another season of racing.

I agree, that was an amazing preview, I daren't think how long that took you to write!

An hour or two, I think

Anyway, here are how the drivers did in qualifying. Not PA adjusted yet, though.

1. José Froilan Gonzalez - 89
2. Eric Brandon - 91
3. David Hampshire - 93
4. Lance Macklin - 95
5. Clemente Biondetti - 98
6. Piero Carini - 100
=. Alberto Ascari - 100
8. Aldo Gordini - 102
9. Onofre Marimon - 103
10. Eugène Chaboud - 105
11. Luigi Villoresi - 107
12. Porfirio Rubirosa - 110
13. Paul Frère - 114
=. Louis Chiron - 114

[FantometteBR]

Tommy knows how to do previews...

Let's hope Frére and Marimón can give some good results for the season

[FMecha]

Since I'm to this series, can you elaborate those numbers mean, Tommy?

[tommykl]

Since I'm to this series, can you elaborate those numbers mean, Tommy?

That's how drivers perform according to how good they should be. It's raw performance not taking into account how good the driver, the chassis, the engine or the entrant are supposed to be. I use it to determine who's impressive and who isn't. 100 is average, anything lower is a good performance, anything higher is a bad performance. In your case, Carini was just average.

[tommykl]

Pre-qualifying results

1. José Froilan Gonzalez (Aston Martin-Racing) - 1:49.2
2. Clemente Biondetti (Ferrari-Jaguar) - 1:50.2
3. Eric Brandon (Ferrari-Jaguar) - 1:50.5
4. Alberto Ascari (Phoenix-Ferrari) - 1:50.7
5. David Hampshire (Alta) - 1:50.9
6. Aldo Gordini (Gordini) - 1:50.9
7. Lance Macklin (Maserati) - 1:51.1
8. Eugène Chaboud (Bugatti) - 1:51.5
9. Louis Chiron (Maserati-Ferrari) - 1:51.6
10. Piero Carini (Maserati) - 1:51.7
11. Onofre Marimon (Maserati) - 1:52.3
12. Luigi Villoresi (Leader-Ferrari) - 1:52.4
13. Paul Frère (Maserati) - 1:52.8
14. Porfirio Rubirosa (Ambrosiana-Maserati) - 1:52.9

[RonDenisDeletraz]

Well, bathplug.

[Londoner]

Don't expect that Hampshire will actually qualify for the race, but you never know with Monaco.

[FantometteBR]

That's going to be a very long season, I hope so

[Aerospeed]

Good to know Gonzalez does his job!

[DanielPT]

For those who now look at the Pre-qualifying hoping for improvements, I remind you that there 2 brand new costumer Alfa Romeos waiting for someone to take them!

[pycku]

Leader statement:
Argh, Team LEADER was well beaten, but we will return stronger than ever! Until then - prepare for sabotages!

As for our strange chinese owner - the owls are not what they seem...

[pi314159]

For those who now look at the Pre-qualifying hoping for improvements, I remind you that there 2 brand new costumer Alfa Romeos waiting for someone to take them!

OSCA are continuing to run their own car, but de Filippis would replace the old Maserati with a new Alfa if possible.

[tommykl]

Qualifying without PA.

1. José Froilan Gonzalez - 80
2. Peter Whitehead - 85
=. Giovanni Bracco - 85
4. Eric Brandon - 87
5. Alberto Ascari - 90
6. Giuseppe Farina - 91
7. André Simon - 96
8. Dorino Serafini - 98
=. Manfred von Brauchitsch - 98
10. Rudi Fischer - 99
11. Juan Manuel Fangio - 100
12. Consalvo Sanesi - 101
13. Johnny Claes - 102
=. Piero Taruffi - 102
=. Nello Pagani - 102
16. Harry Schell - 103
=. David Hampshire - 103
18. Toulo de Graffenried - 104
=. Troy Ruttman - 104
=. Maurice Trintignant - 104
=. Lance Macklin - 104
22. Robert Manzon - 105
23. B. Bira - 108
=. Aldo Gordini - 108
25. Clemente Biondetti - 111
26. Eugène Chaboud - 113
27. Stirling Moss - 115
28. André Pilette - 116

Any predictions?

[pasta_maldonado]

Gonzalez wi;ll be in the top 5, maybe even on pole, but it all depends on how good the Jaaaaaaag is around Monaco.

[DanielPT]

For those who now look at the Pre-qualifying hoping for improvements, I remind you that there 2 brand new costumer Alfa Romeos waiting for someone to take them!

OSCA are continuing to run their own car, but de Filippis would replace the old Maserati with a new Alfa if possible.

I am good with this. But tommykl needs to acknowledge it, of course.

[tommykl]

For those who now look at the Pre-qualifying hoping for improvements, I remind you that there 2 brand new costumer Alfa Romeos waiting for someone to take them!

OSCA are continuing to run their own car, but de Filippis would replace the old Maserati with a new Alfa if possible.

I am good with this. But tommykl needs to acknowledge it, of course.

I don't see the problem, since those races haven't happened yet

[tommykl]

May 17th 1952, Monaco Grand Prix qualifying

1. Peter Whitehead (Ferrari) - 1:47.6
2. José Froilan Gonzalez (Aston Martin-Jaguar) - 1:48.0
3. Giuseppe Farina (Alfa Romeo) - 1:48.2
4. Giovanni Bracco (Ambrosiana-Maserati) - 1:48.7
5. Dorino Serafini (Ferrari) - 1:49.0
6. Juan Manuel Fangio (Alfa Romeo) - 1:49.2
7. André Simon (Talbot-Lago-Talbot) - 1:49.4
8. Alberto Ascari (Phoenix-Ferrari) - 1:49.4
9. Manfred von Brauchitsch (Ferrari-Jaguar) - 1:49.5
10. Consalvo Sanesi (Gordini) - 1:49.5
11. Toulo de Graffenried (Ferrari) - 1:49.6
12. Eric Brandon (Ferrari-Jaguar) - 1:49.9
13. Robert Manzon (Gordini) - 1:50.0
14. Harry Schell (Ferrari) - 1:50.1
15. Piero Taruffi (Aston Martin-Jaguar) - 1:50.2
16. Troy Ruttman (Ferrari) - 1:50.2
17. Nello Pagani (Maserati) - 1:50.3
18. Johnny Claes (Maserati) - 1:50.3
19. Maurice Trintignant (Bugatti) - 1:50.4
20. B. Bira (Talbot-Lago-Talbot) - 1:50.5
21. Rudi Fischer (Maserati-Porsche) - 1:50.8
22. Stirling Moss (Alfa Romeo) - 1:51.0
23. Aldo Gordini (Gordini) - 1:51.4
24. Clemente Biondetti (Ferrari-Jaguar) - 1:51.4
25. André Pilette (Maserati) - 1:51.4
26. Lance Macklin (Maserati) - 1:51.8
27. David Hampshire (Alta) - 1:51.8
28. Eugène Chaboud (Bugatti) - 1:52.2

Ferrari and Alfa start the season strongly with four of their six cars in the top ten and de Graffenried 11th, with only Moss disappointing with a shocking performance to fail to qualify. Of course, we also have some surprises, such as Gonzalez plonking the Aston-Jaguar on the front row of the grid and Taruffi also qualifying, as well as Giovanni Bracco putting the Ambrosiana on the second row.

Other good surprises are Ascari getting the Phoenix to another top ten grid slot and Eric Brandon getting to within half a second of his much more experienced team mate von Brauchitsch to take twelfth spot, while Biondetti again disappointed by failing to qualify for the race. Other disappointments were Chaboud and Pilette failing to qualify, something the Belgian outfit hadn't done since Monaco last year. With Trintignant barely scraping onto the grid, the street circuit is turning into a bogey track for ENB.

The first race of the 1952 season will soon be underway, and already the season looks like it will be close.

[Aerospeed]

Well, Gonzalez just got a contract extension to '53...

[tommykl]

Now, I haven't run the race yet, but I've determined the raw data for each driver. Here's their performance over the whole 100 laps, with negative points being the best.

1. José Froilan Gonzalez - -48
2. André Simon - -35
3. Eric Brandon - -25
4. Alberto Ascari - -21
5. Giuseppe Farina - -10
6. Robert Manzon - -8
7. B. Bira - 7
8. Consalvo Sanesi - -6
=. Troy Ruttman - -6
10. Toulo de Graffenried - -4
11. Harry Schell - 7
12. Piero Taruffi - 10
13. Johnny Claes - 14
14. Manfred von Brauchitsch - 18
15. Juan Manuel Fangio - 41
16. Maurice Trintignant - 42
17. Peter Whitehead - 43
18. Dorino Serafini - 45
19. Giovanni Bracco - 49
20. Nello Pagani - 66

Now, I haven't determined who will retire from the race, so this is just how well they would have done had they lasted the whole race, with grip places and PA not taken into account. This could change tremendously when it comes to the race results.

[Salamander]

Holy crap, Gonzalez is on fire!

[Samster]

4th for Bracco! 4th?