83rd, Fangio Triumphs in Epic Battle: Victory Amid British Dominance at Silverstone
It was another mid-Fifties victory for Juan Manuel Fangio, but this wasn’t the Argentine at his most dominant – he even lost time with an early spin at Becketts.
1956 British GP
July 14, Silverstone
For much of the afternoon, indeed, it was an uplifting race for the home crowd.
By the end of lap 14, Jenks noted, “The situation was unique, for the first four places were occupied by British drivers and a British car was in the lead. Back in the field, more British cars and drivers were really sorting out the Continentals.” One was Archie Scott Brown, making his only world championship F1 start and running well until his Connaught suffered stub-axle failure.
That leading quartet? Mike Hawthorn (BRM), Stirling Moss, Roy Salvadori and Brooks, but the balance of power soon changed. Moss’s Maserati passed Hawthorn at Copse on lap 16, as Fangio demoted Brooks, and Moss then pulled away. Brooks’s BRM later somersaulted, but he was thrown clear and suffered relatively mild injuries.
A failed universal joint forced Hawthorn out and Salvadori lost time after stopping to fix a broken retaining strap (before eventually retiring with low fuel pressure). That promoted Fangio to a distant second – although the gap closed when the leader pitted for oil. Moss then lost power, but was still able to keep Fangio at bay until further loss of revs prompted another stop.
Fangio thus inherited the lead, while Moss continued at reduced pace until his gears went AWOL. That left second to the shared Lancia– Ferrari of Peter Collins and Fon de Portago – the first time a Spaniard had appeared on the F1 world championship podium… and also the last prior to the invention of Fernando Alonso. SA
1st Juan Manuel Fangio (Lancia-Ferrari)
2nd Alfonso de Portago/Peter Collins (Lancia-Ferrari)
3rd Jean Behra (Maserati 250F )
Winner’s time & speed 2hr 59min 47.0sec, 98.661mph
Pole position Stirling Moss (Maserati), 1min 41.0sec, 104.329mph