# 1951 Spanish Grand Prix

The 1951 Spanish Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 October 1951 at Pedralbes Circuit. It was the eighth and final race of the 1951 World Championship of Drivers.
This race was determined by tyre choice – Ferrari chose a 16-inch rear wheel, whilst Alfa Romeo settled for the 18 inch, which proved to be the better of the two options. Juan Manuel Fangio led Alberto Ascari by two points before the race. Ascari led the race from José Froilán González, but the Ferraris suffered numerous tread problems. Piero Taruffi threw a tyre tread on lap 6 and was followed on lap 7 by Luigi Villoresi, Ascari on lap 8 and Gonzalez on lap 14. The Ferraris were forced to stop frequently to change tyres and Fangio comfortably won the race and his first drivers' title, after Ascari finished 4th was not able to overhaul Fangio's total. After the race, Alfa Romeo announced that due to lack of finances, they would not be competing in the 1952 season.

## Entries

| No | Driver | Entrant | Constructor | Chassis | Engine | Tyre |
| 2 | Alberto Ascari | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 375 | Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 | P |
| 4 | Luigi Villoresi | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 375 | Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 | P |
| 6 | José Froilán González | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 375 | Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 | P |
| 8 | Piero Taruffi | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | Ferrari 375 | Ferrari Type 375 4.5 V12 | P |
| 10 | Peter Whitehead | Peter Whitehead | Ferrari | Ferrari 375 | Ferrari 375 F1 4.5 V12 | P |
| 12 | Maurice Trintignant | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s | E |
| 14 | Robert Manzon | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s | E |
| 16 | André Simon | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Simca-Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s | E |
| 18 | Prince Bira | Prince Bira | Maserati-OSCA | Maserati 4CLT-48 | OSCA V12 | P |
| 20 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 159M | Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s | P |
| 22 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 159M | Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s | P |
| 24 | Felice Bonetto | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 159M | Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s | P |
| 26 | Toulo de Graffenried | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo 159M | Alfa Romeo 1.5 L8s | P |
| 28 | Louis Rosier | Ecurie Rosier | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C-DA | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 30 | Louis Chiron | Ecurie Rosier | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 32 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 34 | Philippe Étancelin | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C-DA | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 36 | Johnny Claes | Ecurie Belge | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C-DA | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 38 | Georges Grignard | Georges Grignard | Talbot-Lago | Talbot-Lago T26C-DA | Talbot 23CV 4.5 L6 | D |
| 40 | Reg Parnell | BRM Ltd. | BRM | BRM P15 | BRM 15 1.5 V16s | D |
| 44 | Paco Godia | Scuderia Milano | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT-48 | Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s | P |
| 46 | Juan Jover | Scuderia Milano | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT-48 | Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s | P |
| 48 | Toni Branca | Antonio Branca | Maserati | Maserati 4CLT-48 | Maserati 4 CL 1.5 L4s | P |
| Sources: |||||||
    ^1 — Peter Whitehead and Reg Parnell both withdrew from the event prior to practice.
    ^2 — Juan Jover qualified in the #46 Maserati, although he did not start the race. Joaquin Palacio had been entered in car #46, but he withdrew prior to practice.
    ^3 — Toni Branca withdrew from the event prior to practice. Chico Landi had also been entered in car #48, but he too withdrew from the Grand Prix before practice.

## Classification
### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
| 1 | 2 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 2:10.59 | – |
| 2 | 22 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 2:12.27 | + 1.68 |
| 3 | 6 | José Froilán González | Ferrari | 2:14.01 | + 3.42 |
| 4 | 20 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 2:14.94 | + 4.35 |
| 5 | 4 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 2:16.38 | + 5.79 |
| 6 | 26 | Toulo de Graffenried | Alfa Romeo | 2:16.40 | + 5.81 |
| 7 | 8 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 2:16.80 | + 6.21 |
| 8 | 24 | Felice Bonetto | Alfa Romeo | 2:21.80 | + 11.21 |
| 9 | 14 | Robert Manzon | Simca-Gordini | 2:23.81 | + 13.22 |
| 10 | 16 | André Simon | Simca-Gordini | 2:24.60 | + 14.01 |
| 11 | 12 | Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini | 2:25.25 | + 14.66 |
| 12 | 30 | Louis Chiron | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:30.32 | + 19.73 |
| 13 | 34 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:31.00 | + 20.41 |
| 14 | 32 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:32.18 | + 21.59 |
| 15 | 36 | Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:34.46 | + 23.87 |
| 16 | 38 | Georges Grignard | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:35.58 | + 24.99 |
| 17 | 44 | Paco Godia | Maserati | 2:37.45 | + 26.86 |
| 18 | 46 | Juan Jover | Maserati | 2:41.99 | + 31.40 |
| 19 | 18 | Prince Bira | Maserati-OSCA | 2:45.99 | + 35.40 |
| 20 | 28 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 2:46.78 | + 36.19 |

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 22 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Alfa Romeo | 70 | 2:46:54.10 | 2 | 9 |
| 2 | 6 | José Froilán González | Ferrari | 70 | +54.28 | 3 | 6 |
| 3 | 20 | Nino Farina | Alfa Romeo | 70 | +1:45.54 | 4 | 4 |
| 4 | 2 | Alberto Ascari | Ferrari | 68 | +2 laps | 1 | 3 |
| 5 | 24 | Felice Bonetto | Alfa Romeo | 68 | +2 laps | 8 | 2 |
| 6 | 26 | Toulo de Graffenried | Alfa Romeo | 66 | +4 laps | 6 | |
| 7 | 28 | Louis Rosier | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 64 | +6 laps | 20 | |
| 8 | 34 | Philippe Étancelin | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 63 | +7 laps | 13 | |
| 9 | 14 | Robert Manzon | Simca-Gordini | 63 | +7 laps | 9 | |
| 10 | 44 | Paco Godia | Maserati | 60 | +10 laps | 17 | |
| Ret | 4 | Luigi Villoresi | Ferrari | 48 | Ignition | 5 | |
| Ret | 16 | André Simon | Simca-Gordini | 48 | Engine | 10 | |
| Ret | 36 | Johnny Claes | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 37 | Accident | 15 | |
| Ret | 8 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 30 | Wheel | 7 | |
| Ret | 12 | Maurice Trintignant | Simca-Gordini | 25 | Engine | 11 | |
| Ret | 38 | Georges Grignard | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 23 | Engine | 16 | |
| Ret | 32 | Yves Giraud-Cabantous | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 7 | Accident | 14 | |
| Ret | 30 | Louis Chiron | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 4 | Ignition | 12 | |
| Ret | 18 | Prince Bira | Maserati-OSCA | 1 | Engine | 19 | |
| DNS | 46 | Juan Jover | Maserati | 0 | Engine | 18 | |
| Source: ||||||||

#### Notes

* ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

## Championship permutations

* Three drivers were fighting for the championship going into the race: Fangio on 27 points, Ascari on 25 points and González on 21 points.
** Fangio would finish ahead of Ascari in the Championship if:
*** Fangio finished ahead of Ascari, or
*** Ascari finished 3rd or lower
** Fangio would finish ahead of González in the Championship if:
*** González failed to win with the fastest lap or
*** Fangio scored at least one point with González winning with the fastest lap
** Ascari would win the championship if he either:
*** won, or
*** finished 2nd with Fangio 3rd or lower
** González needed to win, and set the fastest lap, with Ascari finishing third or lower and Fangio not scoring at all to win the Championship.

## Championship standings after the race
### Drivers' Championship standings

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| | 1 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 31 (37) |
| | 2 | Alberto Ascari | 25 (28) |
| | 3 | José Froilán González | 24 (27) |
| | 4 | Nino Farina | 19 (22) |
| | 5 | Luigi Villoresi | 15 (18) |
| Source: ||||
* Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 4 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.