1950 Belgian GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Spa-Franchorchamps
* Location – Belgium
* Corners – 13
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 5:00.000
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 4:34.100 (Giuseppe Farina)
* Lap Record (F1R) – None
* Pit Lane Length – 30 seconds
* Weather – N/A
* Temp – 15°C
* Fuel Consumption – Medium
* Tyre Wear – None

## Qualifying 1

The Top 5 stay the same, but the big mover at the end of the session is Bira who pops in a good lap time to surpass Walker et al. Schell and Fangio also qualify, though the Argentinean only gets in by the skin of his teeth as he crashes at Les Combes…but by virtue of coming out on track in the session he will still be around for Q2

**Qualifying 1 Results**

* 1st – Paul Pietsch [F] – 4:29.230 (4)
* 2nd – Jose Froilan Gonzalez [F] – 4:29.560 (4)
* 3rd – Maurice Trintignant [E] – 4:30.550 (3)
* 4th – Yves-Girard Cabantous [A] – 4:30.600 (6)
* 5th – Nello Pagani [SA] – 4:30.650 (3)
* 6th – Prince Bira [EP] – 4:30.800 (3)
* 7th – Peter Walker [A] – 4:30.800 (2)
* 8th – Bob Gerrard [EP] – 4:30.900 (4)
* 9th – Luigi Fagioli [F] – 4:31.160 (4)
* 10th – Piero Taruffi [AR] – 4:31.800 (3)
* 11th – Toulo de Graffenried [SA] – 4:31.900 (3)
* 12th – Harry Schell [E] – 4:31.900 (1)
* 13th – Louis Rosier [T] – 4:33.850 (1)
* 14th – Juan Manuel Fangio [AR] - DNF
* 15th – Alberto Ascari [F] - No Time Set
* 16th – Dorino Serafini [E] - No Time Set
* 17th – Reg Parnell [SA] - No Time Set
* 18th – Joe Kelly [A] - No Time Set
* 19th – Franco Rol [E] - No Time Set
* 20th – Joe Fry [EP] - No Time Set
* 21st – Toni Branca [E] - No Time Set

## Qualifying 2

On his final lap Pietsch pushes hard enough to topple Bira and Pagani, who had both set late laps to overthrow Gonzalez' long reign at the top also! Fagioli comes in 5th, ahead of last time's race winner Gerrard and championship leader de Graffenried! 14 drivers will line up on the grid for the Belgian GP…the order for which will be revealed in a moment…

**Qualifying 2 Results**

* 1st – Paul Pietsch [F] – 4:28.780 (5)
* 2nd – Prince Bira [EP] – 4:29.100 (4)
* 3rd – Nello Pagani [SA] – 4:29.150 (3)
* 4th – Jose Froilan Gonzalez [F] – 4:29.220 (6)
* 5th – Luigi Fagioli [AR] – 4:29.300 (4)
* 6th – Bob Gerrard [EP] – 4:29.500 (4)
* 7th – Toulo de Graffenried [SA] – 4:29.900 (6)
* 8th – Yves-Girard Cabantous [A] – 4:29.900 (8)
* 9th – Maurice Trintignant [E] – 4:29.950 (3)
* 10th – Louis Roiser [T] – 4:30.350 (3)
* 11th – Peter Walker [A] – 4:30.800 (1)
* 12th – Piero Taruffi [AR] – 4:31.300 (4)
* 13th – Juan Manuel Fangio [AR] – 4:31.400 (3)
* 14th – Harry Schell [E] – 4:32.250 (1)

## Race Commentary

*Lap 1* - As they get away from the lights Bira passes Pole-sitter Pietsch, as the German fails to get the necessary traction to get away quickly enough! Pietsch also loses out to both Fagioli and Gerrard; the Brit gets an amazing launch off the line to pass no less than 4 cars before L'Eau Rouge is over! Fagioli is no slouch either, as he leaves Gonzalez and Pagani trailing in his wake…

De Graffenried and Cabantous both get away well, with Pagani slotting in just behind them…in 8th there is a real surprise as the best start of the day must go to the unfancied Schell of ERA, who powers past a total of 6 cars to sit just 3 places outside the points at the end of the 1st lap.

Taruffi does well to be inside the Top 10 at the end of this lap, with Gonzalez joining him after a nightmare start that almost sees him caught up with Fangio's accident; the Argentinean puts a wheel on the grass in the midst of L'Eau Rouge, spins and must subsequently retire from proceedings. Rounding out the field are Trintignant, Rosier and Walker in positions 11, 12 and 13 respectively.

*Lap 5* - And the rain comes down in Spa…tipping down violently and causing the corners to become slick and unpredictable. Gonzalez is first to fall foul of this weather, as he careens off the track at Les Coombes before coming back on and side-swiping Trintignant! The Frenchman is forced to pit for the damage, though his pit crew elect not to fuel him up as it is so long until his next scheduled stop.

The carnage doesn't stop there though! On lap 3 Fagioli, who has been slipping backwards since his good start, has a light coming together with Taruffi…both Alfa Romeo's seem to have slight turning issues, but nothing that will stop them from racing out there!

Lap 4 is where it all goes wrong for some serious contenders, as Pietsch gets it all wrong at Masta where Schell - who is finding it difficult to cope with being so far up the field - must swerve violently to avoid him. He clips the side of the recovering German, before being run into by the unlucky Walker…and so the latter must retire from the race on the spot. The other 2 limp back to the pits, where Pietsch emerges ahead of Trintignant having fueled to the end of the race in a bold strategy. Schell has also added fuel, meaning he is likely to have to stop once less in the remainder of the race too.

And so that leaves Gerrard in the driving seat today, with Pagani just holding on to the Brit…Rosier sits 3rd as he has driven very consistently (if not particularly quickly) in the wet and thus put himself in front of the less stable Bira, Gonzalez and Fagioli. 2 drivers who have found conditions tough to cope with are De Graffenried and Cabantous, but the two should find their feet in the coming laps and move back up the field soon…

*Lap 10* - Gerrard is looking incredibly strong today…though even he is not impervious to the weather, as he almost loses it at Malmedy on Lap 8, but holds it together albeit with some degradation on his tyres now. His pitstop is coming soon though, so it's unlikely to affect him too much.

Fagioli has really got some pace here, and though his car is damaged he is up to 2nd place at the moment! That said, his pit and that of 3rd place Prince Bira are also soon to come…meaning that 4th place Pagani is likely to move up; the Italian is looking very strong today and has overhauled Rosier since his pitstop too.

The lone Talbot of Rosier will be pitting soon too, meaning he will also cede his position to Pietsch and Trintignant sooner rather than later…Gonzalez has been being pusued by Graffenried since the Swiss's pitstop took place and there is almost light at the end of the tunnel for the Scuderia Ambrosiana driver now.

Cabantous may be in last place as it stands, but having made his scheduled pitstop he is now looking more accustomed to the conditions and can be expected to move up the field in the coming laps, one would expect.

*Lap 15* - The leaders pit, with it all going wrong for Gerrard in the stop as his mechanics seem to take an age to get him back on track…as a result he drops down to 5th place. This moves Pietsch into the lead, with Trintignant ever present behind him in 2nd…Pagani may have lost position to the 2 ahead of him, but he has moved up to 3rd overall as a result of those ahead of him pitting.

The big mover in these laps is de Graffenried, who finally finds his rhythm to take 4th place…likewise Cabantous is up to 9th now as he also seems to have settled down. Bira's pit sees him come out in 6th behind Gerrard but ahead of Gonzalez, who is still yet to pit…Fagioli has a poor stop also to drop him down to 8th overall.

But this drop in places in nothing compared to Rosier, who is down from 5th to 10th after really feeling the pain of pushing his tyres hard in the early laps of the race. Taruffi and Schell are in 11th and 12th and look set to stay near the back unless they can produce a miracle in the 2nd half of the race!

*Lap 20* - Pagani is up to 1st as the heavier fuel loads for Pietsch and Trintignant begin to tell…de Graffenried is up to 2nd also, though both must pit once more at least. As such Pietsch and Trintignant are now 3rd and 4th, ahead of Fagioli (who has been in almost every position at some point this race!!!), Bira and Gerrard. Difficulty lies ahead for the last two who both must pit once more, but their newer tyres and lighter fuel loads may yet save them in the final laps of the race.

Gonzalez has finally made his scheduled stop and is now 8th, Rosier is back ahead of Cabantous and both must pit once more as points looks a tough ask for either at this stage.

*Lap 25* - De Graffenried passes Pagani, with a move that could be telling for both the overall result and championship. Pietsch holds on to 3rd, but is within striking distance of the leading pair…as is Fagioli who has gone past Trintignant in the last 5 laps.

Gerrard has set another fastest lap and is into 6th place, just outside the points now, with Bira still just behind him. Schell is the only driver in the field with a pitstop still to make, and so that should see Gonzalez, Taruffi and Cabantous move up as a result. Rosier now looks almost certain to finish 12th overall.

*Lap 35* - In the final few laps there is a thrilling battle between the top 3, with positions changing over and over again…de Graffenried makes a big mistake with a few laps to go, as he is clearly pushing harder than the other two are, and he is thus out of contention for the win. That said, it is a deserved 3rd place for the championship leader.

Piestch puts some serious pressure on Pagani, but it seems that the Italian will hold strong until the very last lap when the German sneaks up the inside at Holowell to carry his advantage through until the line and claim yet another victory.

In to 4th is Gerrard, who will take the point for Fastest Lap also….incredible bad luck in the middle of the race cost him an almost certain podium today, and the same can be said for Bira who ends up outside the points with Trintignant taking the final point here in Belgium.

Further down Fagioli could just not sustain the pace he was running before, and a spin at the Masta Kink put paid to his hopes of points. Behind him Taruffi and Cabantous end the race strongly, as Schell drops back to where he started behind Rosier and the erratic Gonzalez.