1956 Belgian Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1956)

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1956belgiangrandprix1.jpg

Peter Collins crosses the line to take his first Formula One victory.

Status: Partially Found

The 1956 Belgian Grand Prix was the fourth race of the 1956 Formula One Season. Occurring on 3rd June at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, the race was ultimately won by Lancia-Ferrari's Peter Collins, his first victory in Formula One.

Background

The 1956 Belgian Grand Prix was the seventh running of the event under the Formula One calendar,[1][2] with the race lasting 36 laps.[3] The 18th Belgian Grand Prix overall,[1] the event is typically held at Spa, although Nivelles and Zolder have also occasionally hosted the race.[2] After being left out of the Formula One calendar for the 2003 and 2006 Seasons, the race has been annually held at Spa-Francorchamps since 2007.[1]

Heading into the race, Ferrari were without driver Luigi Musso, as he was recovering from injuries sustained at a Nürburgring event.[4] Thus, the scarlet team fielded Belgian drivers Paul Frère and André Pilette to drive alongside Juan Manuel Fangio, Collins, and Eugenio Castellotti.[4] In qualifying, only Thursday proved viable for setting competitive times, as Friday occurred in the rain, and Saturday was plagued with windy conditions.[4] On Thursday, Fangio surprised onlookers by achieving a pole position with a time of 4:09.8, 10.8 seconds faster than the previous lap record and with an average speed of 203.490 kph.[4][3] In contrast, Maserati driver Stirling Moss' best time was 4:14.7, which was still enough for second, ahead of Collins in third.[3] Frère qualified eighth, whereas Pilette would line up 16th and last.[3] Only 15 would start however, as Mike Hawthorn, caught between a disagreement between Ferrari and Maserati over who the Brit would be driving at the event for, decided to withdraw so as not to upset either team.[4][3]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1956 Belgian Grand Prix commenced on 3rd June.[3] Fangio had a disastrous start that saw him drop from first to fifth, Moss taking the lead ahead of Collins, Castellotti, and Maserati driver Jean Behra.[4][3] By lap 2, Fangio had passed Behra, with him and Castellotti also overtaking Collins to be third and second respectively.[4] A lap later, Fangio passed Castellotti for second, and began to deplete Moss' 6.5-second lead.[4] Ultimately, Fangio moved back into first on lap 5, and by lap 10 was ten seconds in front.[4][3] Moss would then lose his car after his left rear wheel broke away.[5][4][3] He ran back to the pits and took over teammate Cesare Perdisa's car, who was already a lap down from Fangio in sixth.[4][5][3] Castellotti also retired on the same lap due to a transmission failure.[4][3] Fangio now led Collins by 30 seconds, and was seemingly set to win once more.[4][5] However, on lap 24, the Argentine retired following a broken transmission, enabling Collins to take the lead.[4][5][3]

Fangio decided not to take over Collins' car, allowing the Brit the opportunity to win his first Formula One event.[5][4] Meanwhile, Frère had climbed the order, overtaking Behra, the latter struggling with a failing engine, for second.[4] Behra nearly retired two laps before the end when his engine suddenly stopped, but was able to restart it.[4] Moss was able to move into third, but was considerably behind the Lancia-Ferraris.[4] Thus, Collins comfortably crossed the line to take his first victory and eight points in the Drivers' Championship.[4][5][3] Having set the fastest lap, he also gained another point.[3] Frère delighted the home fans by finishing second, while Moss took third, sharing 2.5 points each with Perdisa.[5][3][4] Vanwall's Harry Schell and Maserati's Luigi Villoresi finished in the final points positions of fourth and fifth respectively.[3] In the Drivers' Championship, Collins and Moss both were on 11 points, but by virtue of better results, Collins now led the Championship.[4]

Availability

The race reportedly received partial live coverage from Belgian outlets BRT and RTBF.[6] However, the broadcasts have yet to publicly resurface, having originated from an era where telerecordings were rare until video tape was perfected in the late-1950s.[7] Nevertheless, some footage can be found in some newsreels and documentaries.

Gallery

Videos

Silent British Pathé newsreel of the race.

Some footage of the race.

Belgavox newsreel of the race.

Images

  • Programme for the race.

    Programme for the race.

  • Moss leading the field

    Moss leading the field

  • Collins during the race.

    Collins during the race.

  • Frère during the race.

    Frère during the race.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ultimate Car Page listing all Belgian Grand Prix. Retrieved 13th Aug '22
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chase Your Sport detailing the history of the Belgian Grand Prix. Retrieved 13th Aug '22
  3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 Racing-Reference detailing the qualifying and race results of the event. Retrieved 13th Aug '22
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 Motorsport Magazine providing a detailed race report. Retrieved 13th Aug '22
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 ESPN providing a race summary. Retrieved 13th Aug '22
  6. ↑ List of Formula One television broadcasts noting BRT and RTBF provided some live coverage. Retrieved 13th Aug '22
  7. ↑ Web Archive article discussing how most early television is missing due to a lack of directly recording television. Retrieved 13th Aug '22
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