# 1955 Monaco Grand Prix

43°44′4.74″N 7°25′16.8″E﻿ / ﻿43.7346500°N 7.421333°E﻿ / 43.7346500; 7.421333
The 1955 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on 22 May 1955. It was race 2 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers and was given an honorary name, Grand Prix d'Europe. The 100-lap race was won by Ferrari driver Maurice Trintignant after he started from ninth position. Eugenio Castellotti finished second for the Lancia team and Maserati drivers Jean Behra and Cesare Perdisa came in third.

## Race report

Stirling Moss had been signed by Mercedes for the new season and Maserati had replaced him with Jean Behra. The Silver Arrows of Fangio and Moss dominated, running 1–2 until half distance, trailed by Ascari and Castellotti. At the halfway mark, Fangio retired with transmission trouble, giving the lead to Moss. Almost a lap ahead, a seemingly sure win for Moss was ended on Lap 80 when his Benz's engine blew. The new leader, Ascari, miscalculated the chicane coming out of the tunnel, and his Lancia crashed through the barriers into the harbour. Ascari had to swim to safety. Maurice Trintignant, in a Ferrari 625 thought to be uncompetitive, inherited the lead and scored his first Formula One victory.
Mercedes driver Hans Herrmann injured himself in practice and was replaced by André Simon.
This race marked the Grand Prix debut for Cesare Perdisa. It was the only Grand Prix appearance for Ted Whiteaway. This was the last Grand Prix appearance for Alberto Ascari; he was killed four days later testing a Ferrari sports car at Monza.
It was the first win for Maurice Trintignant and Englebert tyres. It was also the first podium and points for Eugenio Castellotti and Cesare Perdisa, and the first win for a French Formula One driver.

## Entries

| Team | No | Driver | Car | Engine | Tyre |
| Daimler Benz AG | 2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Mercedes-Benz W196 | Mercedes M196 2.5 L8 | C |
| Daimler Benz AG | 4 | André Simon | Mercedes-Benz W196 | Mercedes M196 2.5 L8 | C |
| Daimler Benz AG | 4 | Hans Herrmann | Mercedes-Benz W196 | Mercedes M196 2.5 L8 | C |
| Daimler Benz AG | 6 | Stirling Moss | Mercedes-Benz W196 | Mercedes M196 2.5 L8 | C |
| Equipe Gordini | 8 | Robert Manzon | Gordini T16 | Gordini 23 2.5 L6 | E |
| Equipe Gordini | 10 | Jacques Pollet | Gordini T16 | Gordini 23 2.5 L6 | E |
| Equipe Gordini | 12 | Élie Bayol | Gordini T16 | Gordini 23 2.5 L6 | E |
| Vandervell Products | 18 | Mike Hawthorn | Vanwall VW 55 | Vanwall 254 2.5 L4 | P |
| Stirling Moss Ltd | 22 | Lance Macklin | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | D |
| E.N. Whiteaway | 24 | Ted Whiteaway | HWM 53 | Alta GP 2.5 L4 | D |
| Scuderia Lancia | 26 | Alberto Ascari | Lancia D50 | Lancia DS50 2.5 V8 | P |
| Scuderia Lancia | 28 | Luigi Villoresi | Lancia D50 | Lancia DS50 2.5 V8 | P |
| Scuderia Lancia | 30 | Eugenio Castellotti | Lancia D50 | Lancia DS50 2.5 V8 | P |
| Scuderia Lancia | 32 | Louis Chiron | Lancia D50 | Lancia DS50 2.5 V8 | P |
| Officine Alfieri Maserati | 34 | Jean Behra | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | P |
| Officine Alfieri Maserati | 36 | Roberto Mieres | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | P |
| Officine Alfieri Maserati | 38 | Luigi Musso | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | P |
| Officine Alfieri Maserati | 40 | Cesare Perdisa | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | P |
| Scuderia Ferrari | 42 | Nino Farina | Ferrari 625 F1 | Ferrari 555 2.5 L4 | E |
| Scuderia Ferrari | 44 | Maurice Trintignant | Ferrari 555 | Ferrari 555 2.5 L4 | E |
| Scuderia Ferrari | 46 | Harry Schell | Ferrari 555 | Ferrari 555 2.5 L4 | E |
| Scuderia Ferrari | 48 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari 555 | Ferrari 555 2.5 L4 | E |
| Scuderia Ferrari | 48 | Paul Frère | Ferrari 555 | Ferrari 555 2.5 L4 | E |
| Source: ||||||

## Classification
### Qualifying

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Time | Gap |
| 1 | 2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Mercedes | 1:41.1 | |
| 2 | 26 | Alberto Ascari | Lancia | 1:41.1 | +0.0 |
| 3 | 6 | Stirling Moss | Mercedes | 1:41.2 | +0.1 |
| 4 | 30 | Eugenio Castellotti | Lancia | 1:42.0 | +0.9 |
| 5 | 34 | Jean Behra | Maserati | 1:42.6 | +1.5 |
| 6 | 36 | Roberto Mieres | Maserati | 1:43.7 | +2.6 |
| 7 | 28 | Luigi Villoresi | Lancia | 1:43.7 | +2.6 |
| 8 | 38 | Luigi Musso | Maserati | 1:44.3 | +3.2 |
| 9 | 44 | Maurice Trintignant | Ferrari | 1:44.4 | +3.3 |
| 10 | 4 | André Simon | Mercedes | 1:45.5 | +4.4 |
| 11 | 40 | Cesare Perdisa | Maserati | 1:45.6 | +4.5 |
| 12 | 18 | Mike Hawthorn | Vanwall | 1:45.6 | +4.5 |
| 13 | 8 | Robert Manzon | Gordini | 1:46.0 | +4.9 |
| 14 | 42 | Nino Farina | Ferrari | 1:46.0 | +4.9 |
| 15 | 48 | Piero Taruffi | Ferrari | 1:46.0 | +4.9 |
| 16 | 12 | Élie Bayol | Gordini | 1:46.5 | +5.4 |
| 17 | 14 | Louis Rosier | Maserati | 1:46.7 | +5.6 |
| 18 | 46 | Harry Schell | Ferrari | 1:46.8 | +5.7 |
| 19 | 32 | Louis Chiron | Lancia | 1:47.3 | +6.2 |
| 20 | 10 | Jacques Pollet | Gordini | 1:49.4 | +8.3 |
| DNQ | 22 | Lance Macklin | Maserati | 1:49.4 | +8.3 |
| DNQ | 24 | Ted Whiteaway | HWM-Alta | 1:57.2 | +16.1 |
| Source: ||||||

### Race

| Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
| 1 | 44 | Maurice Trintignant | Ferrari | 100 | 2:58:09.8 | 9 | 8 |
| 2 | 30 | Eugenio Castellotti | Lancia | 100 | + 20.2 | 4 | 6 |
| 3 | 34 | Jean Behra Cesare Perdisa | Maserati | 99 | + 1 lap | 5 | 2 2 |
| 4 | 42 | Nino Farina | Ferrari | 99 | + 1 lap | 14 | 3 |
| 5 | 28 | Luigi Villoresi | Lancia | 99 | + 1 lap | 7 | 2 |
| 6 | 32 | Louis Chiron | Lancia | 95 | + 5 laps | 19 | |
| 7 | 10 | Jacques Pollet | Gordini | 91 | + 9 laps | 20 | |
| 8 | 48 | Piero Taruffi Paul Frère | Ferrari | 86 | + 14 laps | 15 | |
| 9 | 6 | Stirling Moss | Mercedes | 81 | + 19 laps | 3 | |
| Ret | 40 | Cesare Perdisa Jean Behra | Maserati | 86 | Spun off | 11 | |
| Ret | 26 | Alberto Ascari | Lancia | 80 | Accident | 2 | |
| Ret | 46 | Harry Schell | Ferrari | 68 | Engine | 18 | |
| Ret | 36 | Roberto Mieres | Maserati | 64 | Transmission | 6 | |
| Ret | 12 | Élie Bayol | Gordini | 63 | Transmission | 16 | |
| Ret | 2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Mercedes | 49 | Transmission | 1 | 1 |
| Ret | 8 | Robert Manzon | Gordini | 38 | Gearbox | 13 | |
| Ret | 4 | André Simon | Mercedes | 24 | Engine | 10 | |
| Ret | 18 | Mike Hawthorn | Vanwall | 22 | Throttle | 12 | |
| Ret | 14 | Louis Rosier | Maserati | 8 | Fuel leak | 17 | |
| Ret | 38 | Luigi Musso | Maserati | 7 | Transmission | 8 | |
| DNQ | 22 | Lance Macklin | Maserati | | | | |
| DNQ | 24 | Ted Whiteaway | HWM-Alta | | | | |
| DNQ | 4 | Hans Herrmann | Mercedes | | Driver injured | | |
| Source: ||||||||

#### Notes

* ^1 – 1 point for fastest lap

## Shared drives

** Car #34: Jean Behra (42 laps) and Cesare Perdisa (57 laps). They shared the 4 points for third place.
** Car #48: Piero Taruffi (50 laps) and Paul Frère (36 laps).
** Car #40: Cesare Perdisa (40 laps) and Jean Behra (46 laps).

## Summary

* Formula 1 debut for Cesare Perdisa, who shared third place drive with Jean Behra, and Ted Whiteaway, who failed to quality
* Juan Manuel Fangio broke the track record that had stood since 1937, when Rudolf Caracciola turned a lap in 1:46.5 in a 5.6-litre Mercedes W125, running the circuit in 1:41.1 on the first day of practice in his Mercedes W196.
* Alberto Ascari matched Fangio's time in his Lancia D50 during the Saturday practice, though the order had been set on the first day of practice in a singular exception to the policy of the time of all practice laps counting towards grid position.
* In practice, Mercedes youngster Hans Herrmann crashed into a harbour wall and suffered injuries that took him out for the rest of the season.
* Ascari was driving the number 26 car, the same number that had been on the P2 Alfa Romeo his father, Antonio Ascari, had been driving when killed in the 26 July 1925 French Grand Prix. The superstitious Ascari was between Mercedes drivers Fangio and Stirling Moss in the numbers 2 and 6 respectively.
* Andre Simon's was the first Mercedes to leave the race, with engine failure. Of the other Mercedes, Fangio left the race with transmission problems on lap 50, leaving Stirling Moss in first and Ascari in second. Lap 80 saw Moss taken out by a minor problem in his car's sophisticated valve train, leaving Ascari in first. Ascari never made it past the pits to see that, however: his Lancia didn't make the chicane (possibly losing traction on oil from Moss's engine failure) and he flipped over the barrier and into the harbour. His Lancia was craned out of 25 feet of water while he spent the night in the hospital.
* Later events indicate that he probably should have kept his superstitions up and taken this as an omen, but his motivation wouldn't quit and four days later he was back in the cockpit at Monza, where he was killed in a bizarre accident testing a Ferrari on the 26th of the month. There are no definite explanations for either of Ascari's accidents, but the Monza incident was, apart from possible undetected brain injuries after the Monaco crash, probably caused by an improperly-sized tire – 7.00x16 rather than 6.50x16 – combined with an imperfect track surface.
* Mercedes also had not seen the last of their troubles – after all three cars left contention with mechanical problems at Monaco, the worst accident in racing history involved a Mercedes.
* Louis Chiron's start made him the oldest driver to start a Grand Prix (55 years, 292 days).

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

| | Pos | Driver | Points |
| 1 | 1 | Maurice Trintignant | 11 1⁄3 |
| 1 | 2 | Juan Manuel Fangio | 10 |
| 1 | 3 | Nino Farina | 6 1⁄3 |
| 10 | 4 | Eugenio Castellotti | 6 |
| 1 | 5 | José Froilán González | 2 |
| Source: ||||
* Note: Only the top five positions are included.