1958 Portuguese GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Boavista
* Location – Portugal
* Corners – 12
* Laps – 50
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 4:00.000
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 2:32.370 (Mike Hawthorn)
* Lap Record (F1R) – N/A
* Pit Lane Length – 35 seconds\*
* Fuel Consumption – Medium
* Tyre Wear – Medium

Note that this season pit-stops will last longer than in previous seasons; this number represents the time it takes to travel down the pit-lane NOT including the time you will spend stationary.

## Qualifying

Gerard left it late this time - but sneaks in to take Pole Position in what promises to be a very exciting race at a new track for F1R…not least because there are 5 drivers from 5 different teams in the Top 5 positions on the grid!!! Behind Gerard (who has the distinction of taking Pole in every single country that F1R has ever officially raced in!) is title rival von Trips in 2nd position, which sets up a thrilling encounter in the race.

Herrmann in the Cooper has an outside shot at mouting a championship challenge still, and 3rd on the grid bolster his credentials in that regard, while Collins in the Vanwall has his best qualifying of the season in 4th with Musso a creditable 5th for BRM. Behind them are a trio of perennial point scorers this season in the shape of Salvadori 6th, Bonnier 7th and Gibson 8th, with Flockhart a strong 9th for Cooper from Gould in 10th for Ferrari.

Piotti didn't finish all his laps in 11th, so we will never know what he could have achieved - while championship contender Brabham has left himself a lot to do from back in 12th on the grid. Hill caps a strong day for BRM in 13th, with Fairman 14th for Vanwall, Gendebien a respectable 15th for Porsche with Connaught looking stronger than usual here as Emery lines up 16th and Moss 17th for the British marque!

Rounding out the Top 20 are the Vanwall of de Beaufort and the Porsche duo of Trintignant and Schell, while also making the grid are Chiron in 21st and Hawthorn in 23rd for OSCA, Marsh in 24th for Connaught, Behra in 25th for Cooper (after leaving too late to go out and complete his laps) and the returning Fangio in 27th - though he looks a shadow of his former self, he is at least on the grid for the 1st time since the French GP!

Finally, we see the resurgence of Lotus here (at last!), with Menditeguy 22nd, Scarlatti 25th and Bridger also not quite looking his old self back in 28th and last on the grid…

## Grid

Gerard makes it two consecutive Pole Positions, which bolsters his hopes of a 3rd consecutive F1R title (something no other driver has ever achieved!), while von Trips will keep him honest as he looks to maintain his newly acquired championship lead from 2nd on the grid. The man in 3rd in the championship is Brabham, who will need a great performance to challenge from 12th on the grid…it's a similar story for Bonnier (4th in the championship) starting from 7th - though Herrmann starting from 3rd will hope to fly the flag for Cooper and move up from 5th in the title race!

In the teams Ferrari and Maserati are separated by just 6 points in the fight for the title, while BRM and Cooper will continue their duel over 3rd place in the standings (which constitutes a 2 point gap right now) and in the competition between those yet to secure a point it seems Collins is best placed for Vanwall as he lines up 4th, while Connaught will look to convert their Top 20 places into the crucial 17th position needed to move off the bottom of the table!!!

## Race Commentary

*Lap 1* – Gerard gets away from the start-line without too much wheel-spin, while von Trips is busy defending from Herrmann with Collins also in close attendance! Musso meanwhile doesn’t get away well from the grid and loses places to Salvadori and Bonnier straight away…

Gibson is another BRM that struggles off the line, which costs him places to Flockhart (now 8th), Gould (now 9th) and Piotti (10th) – while there are no such issues for Hill’s BRM, as he leaps past Brabham off the start and takes his team-mate at Lidador later in the lap to move into 11th with Brabham following him through into 12th place and then comes Gibson in 13th overall.

Emery gets a great start for Connaught meanwhile, as he sails past Gendebien and Fairman up to 14th, while all eyes are on the battle between Menditeguy and Hawthorn as the Lotus defends rigorously from the OSCA…but perhaps too rigorously as they collide and spin out, which means both feel it necessary to pit and fix their respective damage!

All of that plays into the hands of Behra in the Cooper, who moves up to 21st ahead of Scarlatti, Marsh and Chiron on the opening lap – while Hawthorn emerges from the pits ahead of Menditeguy to complete the overtaking manoeuvre, albeit not in the way he surely had planned!!!

*Lap 2* – Gerard sets a new Fastest Lap of a 2:34.9, as he keeps the pressure up on those behind him. Meanwhile another attempt by Herrmann on von Trips goes begging, which gives Collins a chance to overtake the Cooper…and he pulls wide at Conde to try to switch-back…but before he can do it, he finds Salvadori leaping past him up the inside into 4th place! Behind them Musso is blocking a whole host of cars and in that queue, it is Hill’s BRM that capitalises by diving past Piotti into 10th place.

Brabham has his hands full defending from Gibson, and the BRM should have maybe been a little more defensive himself as he opens the door for Emery to move past him into 13th for Connaught, with some impressive early pace!

De Beaufort also has a turn of pace about his Vanwall today, as he passes both Moss and Gendebien – though all of them fall victim to Behra’s Cooper, as the sheer pace of the Frenchman is enough to propel him into 16th position with de Beaufort 17th, Gendebien 18th, Trintignant 19th, Moss 20th and Schell 21st overall.

*Lap 3* – Herrmann sets a new Fastest Lap of a 2:34.8, which ramps up the pressure on von Trips in 2nd place. Meanwhile Bonnier may have underestimated how eagerly Collins wants a point, as the Vanwall shuts the door firmly in his face! In turn the Maserati moves over to prevent Musso coming through, which causes the BRM to out-brake himself and let not only Flockhart through but Gould as well!

Behind them everyone from Piotti down to Fairman are held up, and it is the latter who falls victim to Behra’s irresistible pace to let the Cooper into 15th overall. Meanwhile Gendebien allows Trintignant to slipstream past him into 18th, and in turn that allows Moss into 19th as well!

*Lap 4* – Von Trips may have expected to challenge Gerard at the front, but he is now 1.4 seconds behind (while Gerard sets another new FL of a 2:34.7) and occupied with holding up both Herrmann and Salvadori, which in turn is keeping Collins in the mix as well! Cooper’s pace is undeniable, as Flockhart continues to pressure Bonnier – albeit with no success as yet.

Meanwhile BRM try another slipstream manoeuvre with more success this time, as Hill moves past Musso and Gould to claim 8th overall! Musso even manages to defend his position from Piotti in the process as well…while further back Behra’s pace sees him pass the BRM of Gibson for 14th position here at Conde.

Trintignant is busy holding up Moss, who in turn prevents Gendebien from making further progress – which causes the Belgian to move over and allow his team-mate Schell to move back into the Top 20. Scarlatti meanwhile is busy holding up Fangio and Bridger at the back of the pack…

*Lap 5* – Collins sets the Fastest Lap of the race this time around, as the Vanwall driver shows himself to be more than a match for the more fancied Ferrari and Maserati drivers around him!

Bonnier is still being hounded by Flockhart, but the Cooper is himself under pressure from the on-rushing Hill in the BRM – and that pressure proves fatal as the Brits collide at Avenidas, which means both of them need to pit to fix their damage, which causes them to drop to 25th and 26th respectively!

That means Gould is up to 7th, Musso 8th, Piotti 9th, Brabham 10th, Emery an impressive 11th for Connaught, Behra 12th and gaining ground quickly on those ahead. Gibson is now 13th, while Fairman moves over to let de Beaufort through into what is now 14th and Trintignant defends from Moss over 16th place. Chiron is also pressuring Gendebien over 19th position, with the earlier collision this lap benefitting most of those in the race!

*Lap 6* – Gerard is back on the pace this lap, as he sets a 2:34.6 and continues to keep von Trips at bay! Piotti is pressuring Musso in the battle of the Luigi’s, but to no avail as yet. Meanwhile Emery should enjoy this while it lasts, as he moves out to try and pass Brabham in the Ferrari – but is not able to make the move stick and so now needs to watch out for the charge of Behra behind!

Chiron gets blocked by Gendebien as they tussle over 19th at Avenidas, but neither is prepared to give any quarter to the other and thus they remain as they were at the start of the lap.

*Lap 7* – Herrmann’s pressure on von Trips is starting to relent and he is now more occupied with defending from Salvadori’s Ferrari. Musso meanwhile is holding up Piotti and Brabham which is allowing Emery to stay in touch, though he now has Behra challenging him for position and so is a little occupied!

Further back Vanwall try the slipstream to claim 13th from Gibson but only succeed in swapping de Beaufort with Fairman behind him. Finally, the man with the new Fastest Lap is Hill in the BRM, who sets a 2:34.5 from 26th position overall.

*Lap 8* – Just when it seemed like Herrmann was under real pressure, he seems to go up a gear and apply more pressure to von Trips, who is now some 2.3 seconds behind Gerard in front – because the Maserati sets an incredible fastest lap of a 2:34.2!!!

Gould is pressuring Bonnier for 6th, while Musso is holding up all those behind him – and the man who capitalises SENSATIONALLY is Emery in the Connaught, who passes Brabham for 10th place on this lap and the Ferrari is perhaps fortunate that Behra doesn’t manage to follow him through…!

Further back Gendebien slipstreams past Schell to claim 18th place, though it doesn’t lead to anything other than a switch in places for the Porsche team on this lap.

*Lap 9* – A quieter lap here, as the only action is Porsche switching Schell and Gendebien again – though if anything that seems to be brining Chiron closer than it is Moss up ahead!

*Lap 10* – Another Fastest Lap for Gerard of a 2:33.9 coupled with Herrmann’s pace is causing real headaches for von Trips – while everyone down to at least Collins in 5th place is still in real contention for the Podium today! Meanwhile Musso blocks everyone behind him again from 9th placed Piotti down to 12th placed Behra.

Fairman is being blocked by Gibson over 13th place, while Chiron is similarly stuck behind Gendebien in their fight over 19th position.

*Lap 11* – Ferrari are starting to pile on the pressure this lap (with the exception of their two championship contenders, neither of whom seem to be able to do much about their respective situations!), with Salvadori honing in on Herrmann and Gould having a look up the inside of Bonnier, though that ultimately comes to naught.

Brabham in fact has his hands full defending from Behra, while behind them Fairman continues to hassle Gibson over 13th with no luck as yet – similar to Chiron behind Gendebien over 19th place!

*Lap 12* – Salvadori tries to pass Herrmann but with no luck this time, while the battle of the Luigi’s has a 3rd element to it – as Emery continues his excellent form to try a pass, though it is ultimately unsuccessful…just like Behra’s latest attempt on Brabham for 11th place.

*Lap 13* – Salvadori tries again on Herrmann, but only half-heartedly as he is also forced to defend from Collins behind! Meanwhile Gould finally finds an opening with Bonnier, as the Ferrari moves past at Avenidas to claim 6th position and move to within 2 seconds of a points paying position…

Fairman v Gibson and Chiron v Gendebien are still living up to the status quo, but it is certainly a surprise to see a new Fastest Lap from none other than Ron Flockhart in the Cooper down in 25th overall – but with that sort of pace, maybe he won’t be there for long!!!

*Lap 14* – Salvadori will soon start to get frustrated if he gets held up by Herrmann for any longer, though a podium for the Cooper here would add some credit to his championship contender claims…so it’s maybe no surprise that he is holding onto it with such determination!

Emery meanwhile almost capitalises on the Luigi battle ahead to sneak through on Piotti, but falls just slightly short of his aim after the door gets closed in his face…but the Connaught is still in the mix nevertheless…

Behra continues to be thwarted by Brabham, while Moss gets blocked by Trintignant over 16th and Chiron is similarly stopped in his tracks by Gendebien – AGAIN!

*Lap 15* – The Luigi battle is holding up everyone from Emery in 10th down to Behra in 12th – while one man putting his free air to great use is Gerard in the lead, who sets a new Fastest Lap of a 2:33.7 to move his lead over von Trips out to nearly 5 seconds…and if the German isn’t careful he might end up losing out here!

*Lap 16* – Behra’s best chance yet to pass Brabham comes and goes after the Cooper out-brakes himself after the long run into Avenidas, which allows the Ferrari to gratefully reclaim the position! Up front von Trips at last trims his arrears, as he is fastest on track – but it’s still a 4.8 second gap at the front…

*Lap 17* – All of a sudden Emery’s sudden increase in pace becomes clear as he comes in for a scheduled stop that looks far too early to get him to the end of the race! That promotes Brabham to 10th, Behra 11th and still pressuring, the Gibson v Fairman battle now contested over 12th, with de Beaufort waiting in the wings in what is now 14th.

Moss is now the leading Connaught in 16th and he is piling the pressure on Trintignant as it stands to move to 15th place overall. Schell is 17th, from the Chiron v Gendebien battle and then Marsh into the Top 20 for Connaught also! Scarlatti is 21st, Fangio 22nd, Bridger 23rd, Flockhart up to 24th, Hill up to 25th and Emery out in 26th place overall…

All of that almost overshadows the fact that, for the second time this race, it is Peter Collins for Vanwall who takes Fastest Lap after an impressive 2:33.6 to ramp the pressure up on Salvadori ahead!

*Lap 18* – And the Vanwall does an even faster 2:33.6 to move to within 2 tenths of his prey and keep Gould some 2.7 seconds back despite some strong pace from the Ferrari! Musso is still fending off Piotti, with Brabham starting to home in on the pair of them in his newly acquired 10th position.

Chiron meanwhile also elects to pit on this lap for a scheduled stop, which also more than likely indicates a 2-stop strategy – one that looks misplaced at best given how little progress the OSCA has made during this stint! Hill also comes in, though given that he has stopped once already one wonders if he will now try to make it to the race end…

…all of that means Marsh is now 19th, Scarlatti 20th, Fangio 21st, Bridger 22nd, Flockhart just 4 seconds behind in 23rd, Emery up to 24th, Chiron out in 25th narrowly ahead of team-mate Hawthorn and Menditeguy’s Lotus – with Hill out in 28th and last overall.

*Lap 19* – Just when you think Gerard may have been beaten to the Fastest Lap, he sets a 2:33.4 to increase his lead to 5.8 seconds over von Trips! It’s an astonishing pace…but can he keep it up all race long!?!

*Lap 20* – Herrmann continues to stalk von Trips, with Salvadori keeping a watching brief over the duo ahead of him and staying ready to pounce whenever an opportunity arises! Fairman meanwhile continues to harass Gibson, but the BRM driver holds fast to his 12th place, just like Trintignant keeps hold of 15th from the advances of Moss.

Further back Flockhart’s impressive pace is enough to see him past both Bridger and Fangio in the space of just a single straight! OSCA meanwhile elect to switch Hawthorn and Chiron around, as despite his earlier misadventure the former seems the more likely shot to challenge those ahead right now…

*Lap 21* – Gerard continues to dominate this race with an incredible 2:33.1 that will be tough for anyone to beat! Von Trips is having to contend with everyone down to Collins in 5th applying pressure, as they look for a crucial opening to allow them to improve their respective positions…

*Lap 22* – Behra once more gets a run on Brabham, but just cannot seem to control his braking into Avenidas, as another chance goes begging for the Cooper – who has had his nose ahead a couple of times now! Fairman is still stuck behind Gibson, with no way through until the pit-stops it would seem…

*Lap 23* – …and speaking of pit-stops none of the 1-stoppers are in yet, but the pits are certainly buzzing with activity as final preparations are being made! Back on-track Piotti v Musso and Behra v Brabham have a similar ending, while you certainly can’t fault Emery’s pace – as the Connaught breezes past Bridger for 23rd overall and behind them Menditeguy looks to hustle Chiron out of 26th place…though without success thus far…

*Lap 24* – We now see the first of the 1-stoppers make a scheduled stop, led in by Gould’s Ferrari, then Piotti’s Maserati, Schell’s Porsche and the fast-recovering Cooper of Flockhart. All of that means Bonnier is now 6th, Musso 7th, Brabham released in 8th from Behra 9th, Gibson 10th, Fairman 11th, de Beaufort 12th, Trintignant 13th, Moss 14th, Gendebien 15th, Marsh 16th and Scarlatti into 17th overall.

Gould and Piotti emerge in 18th and 19th respectively, with Emery capitalising to move past Fangio and back into the Top 20 where his pace certainly warrants him being! Fangio is up to 21st from Bridger 22nd, Schell out in 23rd, Hawthorn 24th, Chiron 25th, Menditeguy close behind in 26th, Flockhart out in 27th and Hill still bringing up the rear in 28th and last position.

*Lap 25* – Gerard leads a whole host of drivers into the pits on this lap, including Salvadori, Musso, Behra, de Beaufort, Gendebien and Bridger – all of whom have no troubles pitting…unlike Connaught, who have both Moss and Marsh in at the same time, which costs the latter around 20 seconds!

All of those stops really shake up the order, as von Trips now leads from Herrmann in 2nd, Collins now 3rd, Bonnier 4th, Brabham 5th, Gibson 6th, Fairman 7th, Trintignant 8th and then comes Gerard out in 9th with a strong amount of clear air ahead of him! Scarlatti is incredibly up to 10th for Lotus (albeit yet to stop), from Salvadori out in 11th, Gould up to 12th, Musso out in 13th and Behra out in 14th, which has moved him ahead of the luckless Piotti now 15th overall.

Emery is back up to 16th from de Beaufort 17th, Fangio 18th, Moss 19th and Gendebien retaining his Top 20 place by the skin of his teeth under pressure from team-mate Schell in 21st. That only leaves Chiron 22nd, Menditeguy 23rd, Marsh out in 24th after his longer stop, Flockhart up to 25th, Hill up to 26th, Bridger out in 27th and Hawthorn out in 28th behind the Porsche duo…

*Lap 26* – The pits are a hive of activity this lap, as von Trips, Herrmann, Collins, Bonnier, Fairman, Trintignant, Scarlatti, Fangio and Menditeguy (though far enough behind Scarlatti that it makes no difference) all come in this time around…which means that Brabham now leads from Gibson in 2nd, Gerard in a comfortable 3rd place, with Herrmann crucially emerging from the pits JUST ahead of von Trips who is now 5th overall (or a net 3rd place).

Salvadori is up to 6th from Collins 7th, Gould 8th, Bonnier just behind in 9th, Musso 10th, Behra now 11th, Piotti 12th, Emery 13th, Fairman out in 14th, de Beaufort 15th, Trintignant out in 16th, Moss 17th, Gendebien 18th, Schell 19th, Chiron into the Top 20, Marsh 21st, Scarlatti out in 22nd, Flockhart 23rd, Hill 24th, Fangio out in 25th, Bridger 26th, Hawthorn 27th and Menditeguy out in 28th overall.

*Lap 27* – Brabham and Gibson both come in, which means that we have now had all the stops bar those doing 2 stops (which looks likely to be Emery and Chiron – and possibly Hill too, given how early he pitted!).

That means Gerard now leads by 5.5 seconds from Herrmann, von Trips, Salvadori, Collins, Gould and then comes Brabham, who has made up 3 positions by staying out longer and moved into 7th place. Bonnier is now 8th, Musso 9th, Behra 10th, Piotti 11th, Emery 12th and Gibson out in 13th overall.

*Lap 28* – Emery is fastest man on track down in 12th, but with another stop to go that is unlikely to see him move into the Top 10. Speaking of the Top 10, Behra is right behind Musso and applying pressure to ensure Piotti doesn’t make his way into that group!

Chiron is taking some risks in trying to pass Schell, while Flockhart continues his comeback with a great pass on Scarlatti over 22nd position. Further back Hawthorn makes a half-hearted attempt to pass Bridger for 26th position, but to no avail.

*Lap 29* – Chiron finally makes the move on Schell to claim 19th position overall, while Hawthorn caps a great lap for OSCA as he first passes Bridger for 26th, before Fangio moves over at Dom Alfonso to take 25th position.

*Lap 30* – Behra pulls out to pass Musso for 9th, but the BRM is holding firm and refusing to budge – particularly given that this whole group is not that far behind the points paying positions…or even the Podium for that matter! Meanwhile Chiron is really hooking up the pace on his strategy and makes quick work of Gendebien, while at the back Lotus switch around Bridger and Menditeguy for 27th overall.

*Lap 31* – Von Trips looks to be in free-fall right now, as he is now 1.5 seconds behind Herrmann and has his team-mate Salvadori gaining ground quickly on him too. Meanwhile Behra is blocked again by Musso for 9th place, while Menditeguy near the back moves ahead of Fangio for 26th position overall.

*Lap 32* – Herrmann is keeping the pressure on Gerard and has the gap under 6 seconds now, while Emery is now on the back of the group vying for the points – though will surely be coming in for a 2nd time shortly! Chiron pits this time around, which promotes Gendebien to 18th, Schell 19th, Marsh 20th, Flockhart 21st, Scarlatti 22nd, Hill 23rd and then it’s Chiron in 24th position overall.

*Lap 33* – In an otherwise quiet lap it is Flockhart and Hill further back that are moving up and starting to make ground on those ahead…

*Lap 34* – A big lap here, as Herrmann is starting to move quickly to close the gap on Gerard – and he has him down to 4.7 seconds as it stands…with a gain of around 1 second per lap right now! Gould is another starting to make good ground on those in the points paying positions, while further back Emery pits for the final time to drop from 12th to 21st, which promotes Gibson, Fairman, de Beaufort, Trintignant, Moss, Gendebien, Schell, Marsh and Flockhart ahead of him.

*Lap 35* – The gap at the front is down to 3.7 seconds, as Herrmann continues to push closer and gain ground on Gerard! Behra continues to pressure Musso over 9th, but he is still unable to find the crucial gap to get him past after several laps of trying…

*Lap 36* – 2.7 seconds is the gap at the front, with the likes of Herrmann, von Trips, Salvadori, Collins (though only just), Gould, Brabham, Bonnier, Musso, Behra (who is relentlessly applying pressure to the BRM ahead), Piotti, Gibson, Fairman, de Beaufort, Flockhart, Emery and Hill all faster than Gerard right now!

*Lap 37* – 2.3 seconds is the gap now, with von Trips starting to gain on Herrmann and closing the gap to under 2 seconds himself! Gould meanwhile is the fastest man on track and is now just 1.4 seconds behind Collins, which is helping keep him ahead of Brabham and Bonnier behind – who are both still within striking distance!

*Lap 38* – The gap at the front is now just 1.8 seconds with von Trips 3.6 seconds behind overall and now fastest man on track – and any one of the Top 4 looking like a possible winner at this stage! Gould is less than a second behind Collins in the points, while Hill is pressuring Scarlatti over 22nd place right now.

*Lap 39* – Herrmann is down to 1.2 seconds behind, with von Trips now 2.9 seconds back and Salvadori 6.3 seconds off the lead. Hill pulls off a great move on Scarlatti at Rodrigues to claim 22nd place and start to attack the space between him and the Top 20.

*Lap 40* – Herrmann is now less than 1 second back, with von Trips 2.5 seconds behind as well! Gould meanwhile is pressuring Collins for the final points paying position, as he seeks to deprive the Vanwall of their 1st points of the season!

*Lap 41* – Gerard raises the pace slightly – though that only means the gap is cut to 0.3 seconds over Herrmann and 2.3 over von Trips, with Salvadori looking odds on to be 4th at the flag if he keeps up his current pace. Gould has another attempt on Collins go begging, with the Vanwall grittily holding onto 5th – though Brabham, Bonnier, Musso, Behra and Piotti are all definitely starting to line up behind him for that final points position!

*Lap 42* – Herrmann at last challenges Gerard for the lead but finds himself being blocked at Avenidas despite a faster closing speed into the corner, while Collins only JUST maintains his 5th position with a swoop across the track at the last minute to deny Gould…which means that 5th to 11th are now only covered by 3 seconds overall!

Flockhart and Marsh are weaving violently and dangerously across the track in their battle – and it’s a miracle they don’t collide with one another, though they do keep their respective places as it stands.

*Lap 43* – Another attempt by Herrmann takes place – perhaps misguidedly – at Circunvalacao, where there is just no way past Gerard…and both of them need to watch out for von Trips, who is now just 1.3 seconds back! Meanwhile it’s heartbreak for Vanwall, as Collins misses the 1st braking point he has all race long to slide wide at Conde – and as he re-joins to vigorously defend his position, he spears into the side of Gould’s Ferrari to cause them both to sustain damage!

That means Brabham leaps up into 5th place with Bonnier 6th, Gould managing to remain in 7th, Musso up to 8th, Behra 9th and defending strongly from Piotti in 10th – with Collins seemingly a spent force down in 11th overall considering the damage he has incurred. Marsh meanwhile continues to block Flockhart for 19th in a surprising show of resilience by the Connaught!!!

*Lap 44* – Herrmann makes the move! This could be his 2nd race victory of the season, as he out-drags Gerard at Avenidas – though for the championship the next defence Gerard wages is potentially even more crucial, given that he is only 0.4 seconds ahead of his championship rival von Trips now!

Gould continues to lose ground with his damage, as he cedes 7th to Musso, 8th to Behra and 9th to Piotti – with Gould now 10th overall. Flockhart finally makes good on his pressure on Marsh, with a strong attack at Conde that at last yields him the 19th position – though that has certainly cost him a significant amount of time in the process…

*Lap 45* – Von Trips has a go at Gerard on the run down to Avenidas but the Maserati is wise to the move and defends his line without hesitation. Gibson is the latest man to overhaul Collins, with the BRM now up to 11th overall – further back Menditeguy is being blocked by Hawthorn over 25th place.

*Lap 46* – In what could be a crucial moment in the Championship von Trips pulls out of Gerard’s slipstream on the long run down to Avenidas – and though the Maserati does defend initially, von Trips gets the better exit and manages to drive around the outside at Conde to move into 2nd position just 1.2 seconds behind Herrmann…this race is not over yet!!!

Behind them the main battles on track are Brabham gaining on Salvadori (though 6.4 seconds is a big gap to make up in 4 laps – and he has Bonnier in even closer pursuit of him!), Gibson catching the ailing Gould for 10th, Fairman also gaining ground on the Ferrari now he is the lead Vanwall after Collins moves over for him and then near the back Hill’s tyres completely giving up the ghost as he is hauled in by Scarlatti and Chiron – with Menditeguy still pressuring Hawthorn over 25th position.

*Lap 47* – Von Trips is faster than Herrmann…but 1 tenth per lap won’t do much to a 1.1 second cushion with 3 laps left, as Cooper look a strong favourite to take another race win this season! Bonnier meanwhile pressures Brabham for 5th, which could be vital for the Ferrari drivers hopes of remaining in the title hunt…

Meanwhile Gould may be damaged, but he is no push-over, as he swerves to keep Gibson behind him for one more lap at least! Further back Scarlatti makes the easiest passing move of his life, as he comfortably takes 22nd from Hill to allow Chiron to have a crack at the BRM next time around. Hawthorn again defends from Menditeguy, as their battle looks like it will go down to the wire!

*Lap 48* – Von Trips has the gap below a second now but barring a major slip from Herrmann the German 1-2 is going the way of the Cooper. Meanwhile Gould’s defence of 10th place is short-lived as he finds himself unable to cope with Gibson’s straight-line speed advantage and now must contend with the fast approaching Fairman in the Vanwall…

If Scarlatti’s pass on Hill was easy then Chiron’s is ludicrously simple, as the BRM is really on its last legs at the moment! In fact, even the Hawthorn v Menditeguy fight (which sees the Lotus pass the OSCA…but then out-brake himself and lose the spot) could well catch up to the Brit!!!

*Lap 49* – 7 tenths is the gap at the front as von Trips tries every trick in the book to haul Herrmann in…but it looks like it will be too little too late! The points’ positions now look rather set as Bonnier’s tyres seem to have given up the ghost after being behind Brabham for so long. One driver not giving up the ghost is Gould however, who defends valiantly from Fairman to keep the Vanwall behind for one lap at least!

Behind them Collins moves over to let de Beaufort through into 13th, while further back it is a great lap for Lotus as Menditeguy FINALLY overtakes Hawthorn for 25th and then adds the scalp of Hill to that feat to move into 24th on the same lap!

*Lap 50* – Hans Herrmann takes his 2nd victory of the season to announce himself as an outside challenger in the title race (and move up to 3rd in the all-time list for race wins)! With no chance of losing points to dropped scores he may be one to watch in the final couple of races…while 2nd place for von Trips marks a good days work (though he will now start to drop scores) whereas Gerard in 3rd won’t be dropping any scores anytime soon but he will be disappointed not to have kept at least von Trips behind him at the end. He can console himself with the point for Fastest Lap again though…

Points for Salvadori and Brabham is testament to the Ferrari’s pace today, with Bonnier, Musso, Behra (a solid 8th after starting right near the back of the grid!), Piotti and Gibson all close to the Ferrari duo but never able to apply enough pressure to overhaul them.

Gould’s defence of 11th proves ineffective in the end, as Fairman passes him on the final lap to secure the Vanwall’s best result in the last four races! Following them are de Beaufort, the struggling Collins, Trintignant, a season’s best for Moss in 16th, Gendebien, Schell, the luckless Flockhart in 19th and Marsh a strong 20th for Connaught in his best result since Round 3 in Zandvoort!

Emery’s pace was fantastic today – but his strategy left a lot to be desired and thus he ends up 21st, with Scarlatti 22nd, Chiron 23rd, Menditeguy 24th, Hawthorn 25th (after a comfortable last lap pass) and Hill 26th with barely any tyres left whatsoever!!!

*1 LAP DOWN* – Fangio looked likely to take 27th position but a late lunge by Bridger sees the Brit take the place and consign the Argentine to 28th and last – though this is the 1st race of the season without any retirements from those who started it! The last time that happened? The 1956 British Grand Prix…

Watch this space for the next race, which will be the Italian Grand Prix at Monza…the penultimate race of the season!

## Milestones

* 30th race entry for Ron Flockhart
* Salvadori moves up to 4th in Most Starts ever, at the expense of Toulo de Graffenried
* Fangio, Menditeguy and Moss move up to 8th, 9th and 10th in Most Starts ever, at the expense of José Froilán González
* Moss up to 2nd and Trintignant up to 3rd in most Races without a Win, both at the expense of José Froilán González
* Emery and de Beaufort up to 9th and 10th in Most Races without Points, at the expense of André Pilette
* Thanks to his victory Herrmann moves into 3rd on the all-time list ahead of both Paul Pietsch and Peter Whitehead.
* This is the 1st ever Portuguese GP – so no-one has ever taken a Win, Pole or Fastest Lap here!
* Gerard is now over 300 career points!!!
* Points finish for Salvadori moves him into 4th for Most Points Finishes ever, at the expense of Giuseppe Farina
* A 2nd consecutive points finish for von Trips, Gerard and Brabham here
* Pole for Gerard is the 5th time he has managed Consecutive Pole Positions
* Podium for von Trips and Gerard is their 2nd consecutive podium finishes