1957 Italian GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Monza
* Location – Italy
* Corners – 7
* Laps – 87
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 2:30.000
* Road Circuit:
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 1:42.400 (Stuart Lewis-Evans)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 1:42.299 (Hermann Lang)
* Combined Circuit:
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 2:42.600 (Juan Manuel Fangio)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 2:41.781 (Giuseppe Farina)
* Pit Lane Length – 40 seconds
* Fuel Consumption – Medium
* Tyre Wear – Medium

## Qualifying

On their final ever grid are Maglioli (3rd), Perdisa (4th), Castellotti (7th), Gonzalez (12th), Simon (15th) and Leston (20th). It is a shame that both Paul England and Ottorino Volonterio missed their chance to have one final race in the series, but neither was able to set a lap in the time allowed.

Completing a clean sweep of Pole Positions (a feat that is incredibly unlikely to ever be repeated!) is Bob Gerard, who takes his 20th Pole ever and with it the outright record for Most Pole Positions in a row too (7). Musso lines up 2nd in an impressive session for BRM, who have the departing Maglioli in 3rd as well!

Perdisa is 4th in front of the partisan home crowd with the Ferrari's of von Trips and Hawthorn in 5th and 6th, from Castellotti, Collins, Behra and Brabham rounding out the top 10. Fangio returns to the series to book-end the Championship and lines up a solid 11th on his return, ahead of the Connaught duo of Gonzalez and Menditeguy, Piotti's Maserati, the departing Simon's BRM, Gould's Ferrari, Fairman's Vanwall, de Beaufort's Maserati, Gibson's BRM and Leston's Porsch completing the Top 20.

Also on the grid are Salvadori (albeit uncharacteristically far down in 21st), Flockhart (also some way off his usual placing in 22nd) and Scarlatti in 23rd overall.

## Grid

The main things to watch out for in this race are whether Gerard can claim his 4th win in a row this season or if one of the BRMs behind him can spring a surprise! Hawthorn could overhaul Collins for 2nd place in the Championship if he were to win the race and Collins finish outside the podium and there is a huge fight over 5th place that is currently held by Fangio, with Salvadori, von Trips and Maglioli all sparring over whether they can reach that position!

Gould v Gonzalez v Perdisa is another battle over who can finish inside the Top 10 - and with the latter duo both retiring at the end of the season the intensity between them will increase significantly as well!

It should be an exciting final round of the Championship, despite the fact that we already know who has won the overall title…

A development on the grid order, as Ron Flockhart gets given a grid penalty for a Technical Infringement, which drops him behind Scarlatti to the rear of the field…although given the pace differential it's hardly likely to bother the Cooper too much!

Not long to go before the final race of the season gets under-way…

## Race Commentary

*Lap 1* – A tight start sees Gerard edge ahead of the BRM duo – but by the tiniest of margins! Meanwhile Perdisa gets it all wrong going through the Lesmo’s, but manages to block the drivers behind him – and causes a HUGE concertina effect as a result, which benefits Collins (who goes around the outside of both Castellotti and Hawthorn to take 6th place) and Piotti (who does the same to pass the Connaught duo of Gonzalez and Menditeguy).

Simon meanwhile is blocking both Gould and Fairman initially – before capitalising on Menditeguy’s misfortune to move up to 14th place. De Beaufort manages to stall Gibson – causing the BRM to fall back behind Leston and Salvadori…and the Vanwall uses the opportunity to his advantage as he passes first Gibson, then Leston and then de Beaufort for 18th into the Parabolica for good measure! And, as expected, Flockhart moves past Scarlatti for 22nd place off the start – though every driver makes it through the 1st lap relatively unscathed…

*Lap 2* – The leading trio are separated by a single second (though Gerard does have the Fastest Lap of a 1:44.3), but behind them it could not be any closer as von Trips pressures Perdisa for 4th at the Lesmo’s again, and we again see the concertina effect all the way down to Flockhart in 22nd position! Those taking advantage this time around are Castellotti (passing Hawthorn for 7th place up the inside), Fangio (moving past team-mate Brabham and claiming a Top 10 place), Gould (who first of all follows Menditeguy past Simon as the BRM out-brakes himself at Lesmo 1, and then manages to pass the Connaught down through the Rettifilo Centro to claim 14th overall).

However with all this in-fighting the man making the most of the situation is again Roy Salvadori, who passes team-mate Fairman with ease after he slides wide (and loses spots to de Beaufort and Leston in the process too) and then proceeds to pass Simon, Menditeguy and even Gould into the Parabolica to go from 18th to 14th in just a single lap!!! Flockhart also continues his gradual comeback, as Gibson becomes his latest victim with a well-timed pass at Curva Grande.

*Lap 3* – Musso is still just half a second behind Gerard (and the BRM takes the FL of a 1:44.0), as he looks keen to take his shot at a race win if possible! Meanwhile the blocking this lap is courtesy of Fangio stopping Brabham, and the concertina ripples down to the rear of the field – which is great timing for Gould, who does the classic pass round the outside at Lesmo 1 to avoid the queue of traffic, and moves past both Salvadori and Gonzalez into 13th as a result!

De Beaufort moves past Simon to take 17th place as those near the back continue to jockey for position in these early stages…

*Lap 4* – Gerard responds with a 1:43.9 that Musso is less than 1 tenth slower than! Castellotti holds up Hawthorn, but Behra isn’t close enough to capitalise – but the only significant on-track action this lap occurs when Gonzalez blocks Salvadori for 14th at Lesmo 1 and the man who gets caught out by the mini-concertina effect is de Beaufort, who is forced to swerve wide to avoid a collision with the car in front and drops behind both Simon and Leston as a result.

*Lap 5* – Gerard looks to have broken clear of Musso as he sets a 1:43.8 to take Fastest Lap and move over a second ahead of his rival. Perdisa is still under pressure from von Trips, but this time Collins isn’t close enough for a concertina to occur.

Gonzalez blocks Salvadori again but while Menditeguy uses the opportunity to close up, it’s not enough for him to claim the position with. Meanwhile de Beaufort seems to take one step forwards and have two steps backwards straight after, as a seemingly strong move on Leston sees him out-brake himself and let Fairman past into 19th place as a result!

*Lap 6* – The battle at the front is far from over – a 1:43.6 for Musso takes him back under a second from Gerard in the lead. Collins is under pressure from Castellotti and everyone down to Fangio in 10th overall, but no positions change hands at this stage. De Beaufort manages to get his race under-control and stops the rot, managing to keep both Flockhart and Gibson behind him this time around at least.

*Lap 7* – Fangio pushes Behra for 9th as the top 15 or so look to have settled into a rhythm, but there is no such calmness further back as Leston is frustrated by Simon and Fairman keeps de Beaufort behind him despite strong pressure from the Dutchman.

*Lap 8* – Gerard looks to stamp his authority on the race with a 1:43.5! Hawthorn again looks to make his way around Castellotti for 7th, but the Italian defends resolutely! De Beaufort again finds himself defending from Flockhart and Gibson – but neither is able to make an impression on him.

*Lap 9* – Musso refuses to let Gerard have it easy up front, as the Italian sets a new Fastest Lap of 1:43.3 (though Gerard also does a slightly slower than a 1:43.3) as the top two continue to sit within 1.5 seconds of one another. And with Maglioli only 5 seconds back it already looks a strong opportunity for BRM to get a great finish today!

*Lap 10* – A slightly faster 1:43.3 for Gerard ensures he reclaims the Fastest Lap, and with a 2 second advantage this may be the first time the Champion can breathe easy today!

*Lap 11* – Musso reclaims Fastest Lap with a 1:43.2 this time around, while Castellotti continues to frustrate Hawthorn over 7th place, and Leston holds up Fairman as the race settles into a much more sedate rhythm before the first stops take place.

*Lap 12* – Flockhart is held up by de Beaufort as he continues to apply the pressure to the car ahead of him. Up front Gerard sets a 1:43.1 as he reclaims Fastest Lap from his adversary and takes the gap out to 2.1 seconds between them.

*Lap 13* – Gerard again looks like he is stamping his authority on the race, as he becomes the only man under 1:43 with a 1:42.7 to gain 3 tenths on Musso in the space of a single lap…there is still close racing all the way down the field, but many drivers are really waiting for the best possible chance to overtake!

*Lap 14* – Musso does go below 1:43, but it’s “only” a 1:42.8 as he claws back just over one of his lost tenths to the leader. Meanwhile Leston blocks Fairman as he defends 18th place from his fellow Brit.

*Lap 15* – Gerard refuses to let Musso gain any further ground and a 1:42.4 is testament to the Champion’s will to win – despite the fact that he has the Championship already sewn up! Castellotti and Hawthorn continue to dual over 7th place, while Salvadori finds himself thwarted by Gonzalez in their battle for 14th overall.

*Lap 16* – Musso sets a 1:42.4 – but it’s marginally slower than Gerard’s the lap before. Von Trips pushes Perdisa but is still unable to make his way past the Maserati. Meanwhile Gould has been tracking Piotti and makes a lunge to the inside of Parabolica…but it’s to no avail and the Brit is forced to defend from Gonzalez and Salvadori as a result.

*Lap 17* – Gerard sets an even faster 1:42.4, which takes his lead out to 3.1 seconds over Musso. Flockhart makes a move on de Beaufort for 20th position, but can’t make it work at the 2nd Lesmo…

*Lap 18* – Musso is roared on by the home crowd as he sets a 1:42.2 to take the gap back under 3 seconds…and von Trips has his best chance to pass Perdisa, but despite drawing alongside through the Rettifilo Centro the Ferrari is unable to make the move into Parabolica. Hawthorn is still held up by Castellotti, Flockhart is still frustrated by de Beaufort and we now see the 1st set of stops this time around as Leston is in from 18th and out in 22nd, while Scarlatti also stops at the back of the pack.

*Lap 19* – Gerard sets a blistering pace as – despite Musso’s 1:42.2 – it’s a 1:41.8 for the Champion and he pulls out a 3.3 second advantage…

*Lap 20* – A slightly better 1:41.8 for Gerard takes his lead out to 4.2 seconds just before the 1st round of pit-stops is expected for the leaders! Hawthorn has an incredible opportunity to pass Castellotti, but despite getting his nose ahead he is on the outside at Parabolica and ultimately runs out of room.

Behra blocks Fangio as their fight for 9th continues, but attention is turning to the pits where the mechanics are preparing themselves for the 1st set of stops!

*Lap 21* – As a whole host of drivers peel into the pits it is Maglioli who now leads the race, from Perdisa in 2nd, von Trips 3rd, Collins 4th, Castellotti 5th, Brabham 6th, Piotti 7th, Gould 8th, Gonzalez 9th, Salvadori 10th (who is being held up by the Connaught), Menditeguy 11th, de Beaufort 12th and Flockhart 13th.

Gerard is first out of the pits of those who stopped in 14th, with Gibson in 15th (though yet to stop), Musso out in 16th, Hawthorn out in 17th, Behra out in 18th, Fangio out in 19th, Simon out in 20th and Fairman out in 21st some 5 seconds ahead of Leston at the back of the main field.

*Lap 22* – Staying out again this lap are Perdisa (who now leads), Brabham (now 2nd), Piotti (now 3rd), Gonzalez (now 4th), Salvadori (up to 5th), Menditeguy (up to 6th) and Flockhart (up to 7th) with Gerard back up to 8th place despite having stopped once already!

Musso is back up to 9th (but 5 seconds behind Gerard) with Maglioli out in 10th, von Trips out in 11th, Collins out in 12th and Castellotti emerging in 13th position. Hawthorn is up to 14th with Behra 15th, Fangio 16th, Gould out in 17th, Simon 18th, Fairman 19th and de Beaufort rounding out the Top 20. Gibson’s stop sees him emerge in 22nd place behind Leston’s Porsche.

*Lap 23* – Everyone has now stopped aside from Piotti (who leads) and Menditeguy (who sits 2nd overall) – which means Gerard is up to 3rd, Musso 4th, Maglioli 5th and then Perdisa comes out in 6th after his stop. Von Trips is up to 7th ahead of Collins, Castellotti, Hawthorn and Brabham – who has managed to jump Behra and Fangio and move up to what will be 9th position once all the stops play out.

Fangio is now 13th from Gonzalez (who has overtaken Gould in these stops), Gould and Salvadori with a 7 second gap back to Simon in 17th, Flockhart 18th (who has gained 2 spots through these stops), Fairman 19th and de Beaufort 20th overall.

*Lap 24* – Gonzalez is under pressure from Gould as they go through Parabolica, and Salvadori finds himself horribly blocked as they round the final corner – all of which means that as Menditeguy exits the pit-lane from his stop he is able to come out ahead of Salvadori and take a net 1 place gain as a result!

*Lap 25* – Finally Piotti pits from the lead and thanks to that excellent strategic call he is able to leapfrog Brabham (and of course Behra and Fangio too) to emerge in 9th position. Hawthorn and Castellotti are still duelling over 7th place and Fangio finds himself slowed up by Behra, while Salvadori pressures Menditeguy to try and find a way through – but to no avail.

*Lap 26* – Gerard is 7 seconds ahead at the front and moving clear, though not at any drastic rate. Brabham holds up both Behra and Fangio, while Gonzalez is under pressure by Gould for 13th.

*Lap 27* – Hawthorn continues to try to push past Castellotti but can’t make the move stick. Salvadori is held up by Menditeguy again, as the race settles back into a rhythm after the 1st round of stops…

*Lap 28* – Gerard continues to be the fastest man on track, narrowly followed by Musso (in lap time at least), Maglioli and von Trips – in what is an otherwise quiet lap.

*Lap 29* – The Brabham/Behra/Fangio group are now losing ground to those behind chasing, which could prove crucial in the long run! Salvadori gets held up by Menditeguy yet again in their fight over 15th place.

*Lap 30* – Not much to report on this lap…

*Lap 31* – Fangio is blocked by Behra again, and Gonzalez is now just 3.7 seconds behind them…meanwhile Flockhart holds up Fairman and de Beaufort resists pressure from Leston to get by him – all within just 2 seconds of one another!!!

*Lap 32* – Another attempt by Hawthorn goes begging, but despite all of this squabbling Collins is only a couple of seconds up the road from the pair of them. Behra is blocked by Brabham on this lap, but Fangio is too far back to capitalise – which keeps them safe from Gonzalez et al…for now!

*Lap 33* – Brabham holds up Behra and Fangio, meaning the gap to Gonzalez is back down to 4 seconds. Menditeguy continues to block Salvadori, which means Simon is now just 2 seconds behind them and Leston is unable to get past de Beaufort despite braving it around the outside at the Parabolica.

*Lap 34* – Hawthorn has some serious pace in his car but is being completely baulked by Castellotti (much to the home crowd’s delight). Salvadori challenges Menditeguy again, meaning Simon’s arrears are now just 1.6 seconds and Leston is again blocked by de Beaufort as the nature of the track means overtaking is rather challenging for the drivers!

*Lap 35* – Behra blocks Fangio once more as the drivers from Piotti in 9th to Fangio in 12th are separated by just a couple of seconds…all of which means Gonzalez and Gould are still gradually honing in.

*Lap 36* – Brabham blocks both Behra and Fangio, while Gonzalez and Gould’s progress is now halted by the Ferrari attempting to pass at Lesmo 1 – albeit unsuccessfully as the Connaught veers to the inside at the last minute. Salvadori is again held up by Menditeguy, meaning Simon is now just 1.2 seconds behind!

Fairman is right behind Flockhart, while the Porsche’s of Leston and Scarlatti both pit for the 2nd time…and now run in 22nd and 23rd overall.

*Lap 37* – Another lap for Hawthorn stuck behind Castellotti – and it’s looking ever more like the Ferrari will need to strike during the next round of pit-stops!

*Lap 38* – Gerard is up to a 12 second lead at the front and Musso must be hoping that the Championship Leader has pushed too hard too soon! Salvadori is blocked again by Menditeguy, and that has now brought Simon 0.3 seconds behind the pair of them – while Fairman is still being held up by Flockhart as they fight over 18th place.

*Lap 39* – Hawthorn is still pushing Castellotti, while Brabham has Behra and Fangio close up behind him – but Gonzalez is too busy watching Gould to be closer than 4.7 seconds behind that trio.

*Lap 40* – Gould is held up by Gonzalez again, while Menditeguy’s weaving to keep Salvadori behind him has caused Simon to catch up – but the BRM can only join the queue behind him…and Flockhart, Fairman and de Beaufort are all gaining ground as well!

*Lap 41* – Behra manages to stop Fangio getting by him at the 1st Lesmo corner, while the gap at the front is 13 seconds between Gerard and Musso with the next round of stops almost certainly around the corner…

*Lap 42* – No passing attempts on this lap, as the mechanics are preparing for the next set of stops in the pit-lane.

*Lap 43* – Gerard, Musso, Hawthorn, Behra, Fangio, Simon and Fairman all come into the pits this time around. That means Maglioli leads from Perdisa, von Trips, Collins and Castellotti – who has former race leader Gerard out right behind him! However, it’s worse for Musso who is behind Piotti in 7th and Brabham in 8th overall!!!

Gonzalez is in 10th now from Gould, Menditeguy, Salvadori, Flockhart and de Beaufort – with Gibson next, from the emerging group of Hawthorn, Behra, Fangio, Simon and Fairman (albeit with several seconds in between them).

*Lap 44* – Maglioli, von Trips, Collins, Castellotti, Gould, de Beaufort and Gibson all come in this time – which means Perdisa leads (though is yet to stop) from Gerard, Piotti (yet to stop), Brabham (yet to stop), Musso and Gonzalez (yet to stop). Maglioli comes out in 7th ahead of Menditeguy, Salvadori and Flockhart.

Von Trips emerges in 11th place, comfortably ahead of Collins and Castellotti. Hawthorn is next up, ahead of Behra, Fangio and Gould, who exits the pits in 17th overall. Simon is 18th, with de Beaufort out in 19th (who has managed to leap-frog Fairman in these stops), Fairman 20th, Gibson out in 21st and then the Porsche duo at the rear of the field.

*Lap 45* – Flockhart stops and comes out comfortably ahead of Simon to get a net gain of 1 place from this round of stops, meanwhile Leston manages to get ahead of Gibson for 21st with a brilliantly timed overtake around the outside at the 2nd Lesmo corner!!!

*Lap 46* – Several more stops this lap, as Perdisa, Brabham, Gonzalez and Salvadori all come in – which gifts Gerard the race lead again, from the fast-moving but yet-to-stop Piotti in 2nd (thereby preserving the Maserati 1-2), Musso up to 3rd from Maglioli 4th, Menditeguy 5th (though yet to stop) and then Perdisa who emerges in 6th place overall.

Von Trips is 7th, ahead of Collins, Castellotti and Hawthorn rounding out the Top 10 for Ferrari. Brabham comes out in acres of space in 11th, while Gonzalez emerges in 14th (after a slow stop) where he was before – right behind Behra and Fangio! Salvadori comes out in 16th behind Gould, which means he effectively holds station as well.

*Lap 47* – The conditions look to have forced almost all of the field onto the same 3 stop strategy (which the exception of a couple of Porsche drivers towards the rear!), and we now see the final 2nd stops with both Piotti and Menditeguy coming in. They slot back into 9th and 15th respectively, which is where they were before this round of stops anyway!

Speaking of those Porsche’s trying a different strategy, the fastest man on track right now is Les Leston down in 21st position – though time will tell if he is fast enough to make an additional stop work for him!

*Lap 48* – Musso is narrowing the gap to Gerard and takes a further 0.5 seconds out of the leader on this lap – though with over 11 seconds to catch up it will take a while for the BRM to reel in the Champion…

Von Trips in 5th is markedly faster than Perdisa, and with only 1.5 seconds to catch the Ferrari will be hunting down his quarry in the next few laps. Collins in 6th looks to have taken the life out his tyres too quickly, and Castellotti is now less than a second behind him and travelling much more quickly!

*Lap 49* – 10.5 seconds is the lead gap, with von Trips under a second behind Perdisa and Castellotti now right on the rear of Collin’s Vanwall!

*Lap 50* – Perdisa manages to veer across the front of von Trips at Lesmo 1 to retain his 4th place, while Castellotti’s strong move round the outside at Parabolica on Collins comes to naught as the Brit edges the Italian out and forces him to pull back or risk going flying into a group of spectators!

Meanwhile further back Gould has a look up the inside of Gonzalez, but rather telegraphs the move and thus can’t make further progress. Flockhart also has a crack at Salvadori but is unable to find a way through.

*Lap 51* – Von Trips out-brakes himself trying to overtake Perdisa and will need to work to make up the lost ground now, while Castellotti makes a similarly clumsy attempt on Collins – all of which is now bringing Hawthorn into contention (now just 1.3 seconds behind).

Gould being held up by Gonzalez may be some kind of cunning Connaught tactic, as Menditeguy is gaining on the pair of them fairly rapidly!

*Lap 52* – While all the attention has been on the on-track squabbles, Musso has been taking some significant chunks out of Gerard’s lead and is now just 7.8 seconds behind the leader! The same cannot be said of Maglioli, who is on the same pace as both Gerard in 1st and Perdisa in 4th right now.

Gould makes another failed attempt at a pass on Gonzalez, while Flockhart does similar with Salvadori. Leston is still homing in on the cars ahead of him and is now just 2 seconds behind Fairman for a spot in the Top 20!

*Lap 53* – Castellotti looks to be struggling to make a convincing move against the veteran Collins, which means Hawthorn is now less than a second behind the pair of them! Gould’s most convincing move yet on Gonzalez looks like a good effort up the inside at Rettifilo Centro, but that becomes the outside at Parabolica, and he can’t quite hold the place.

Flockhart challenges Salvadori for 16th again, but to no avail.

*Lap 54* – The gap at the front is just 5.9 seconds as Musso, encouraged by being able to now see his prey down the Rettifilo straight, is the only man on track in the 1:44s (everyone else is in the 1:45s, or even 1:46s!). Meanwhile Gould slings one up the inside at the 1st Lesmo and looks to have the position won – but he gets over-confident in the 2nd Lesmo and slides wide, which allows Gonzalez to reclaim the position…and that brings Menditeguy to just 1 second behind this pair.

Finally, the Porsche duo of Leston and Scarlatti both pit this time around, which drops Leston back to 22nd behind Gibson and ensures that Scarlatti drops a further lap down on the leaders.

*Lap 55* – Perdisa continues to hold up von Trips, but there’s no danger to the Ferrari as Collins in 6th is too busy defending from Castellotti to gain on the pair up ahead. Gould is again thwarted by Gonzalez in his attempts to move into 13th place.

Salvadori is now struggling to stay ahead of the chasing pack, as he now has Flockhart, Simon, de Beaufort and Fairman behind him as it stands!!!

*Lap 56* – Collins blocks Castellotti again, and while Gould is still unable to pass Gonzalez that has now meant that Menditeguy is less than half a second behind the Ferrari! Salvadori has once again blocked the train behind him, but it is surely only a matter of time before we see some overtaking within that group…

*Lap 57* – The lead gap is down to 4.1 seconds, while the usual battles continue to rage on track as von Trips pressures Perdisa for 4th, Gould goes wide and actually is forced to move over to block Menditeguy – and that means the Salvadori group are now just 1.7 seconds behind the two Connaught’s and the Ferrari!!!

*Lap 58* – 3 seconds is the lead gap, while Collins now has both Castellotti and Hawthorn in close attendance! Another solid attempt by Gould to pass Gonzalez goes without incident, as the Connaught closes the door into the 1st Lesmo.

Flockhart is once again held up by Salvadori, and that almost allows Simon to move ahead of the Cooper in the process!

*Lap 59* – Perdisa holds up von Trips again, but we finally have a pass for 14th as Gould times his approach to Parabolica to perfection and surprises Gonzalez by diving up the inside to block-pass the Connaught! Gould’s next target will be team-mate Brabham, who is some 13 seconds up the road right now.

*Lap 60* – 2 seconds is the gap at the front, as Musso is closing up brilliantly – though catching is one thing but passing is very much another! Meanwhile Perdisa continues to keep von Trips behind him, which could be crucial later in the race for Maglioli in 3rd…and Collins is again forced to defend from both Castellotti and Hawthorn! Salvadori is still defending from Flockhart et al, and the Cooper is again forced to do his own defending from Simon – as the BRM looks eager to make his way past!!!

*Lap 61* – Collins continued defence from Castellotti and Hawthorn is starting to let Piotti gain on that group – and the Italian is now just 7 seconds behind them with Brabham and Behra both gaining ground too…while on this lap it is Flockhart on the defensive, as he again keeps Simon in his wheel tracks as far as possible!

*Lap 62* – Musso has a 1st look up the inside of Gerard, but the Champion isn’t about to give up a race victory without a fight and closes the door in firm fashion to send a message to the BRM driver behind him. Both von Trips and Castellotti need to be more patient in their respective battles…but they are both struggling not to go for a gap when they see it!

Meanwhile Simon is fortunate that he had pulled enough of a gap back to de Beaufort, as the Frenchman runs wide at the 2nd Lesmo but manages to re-join the track in time to keep the Dutchman behind him.

*Lap 63* – Von Trips and Perdisa are the fastest men on track – and as they aren’t fighting against each other for once they managed to take the gap to Maglioli down to just 4.6 seconds. The final stops are looming for most drivers and will the heat of the day start to take its toll on those less fit drivers in the field?!?

*Lap 64* – Gerard holds up Musso again, but he has a significant amount of time to try and make the pass work as his team-mate/rear-gunner Maglioli is some 26 seconds behind with a further 3.9 seconds back to the advancing Perdisa in 4th…meanwhile Castellotti continues to niggle away at Collins, though without much luck. Flockhart continues to fight with Salvadori, but they have rather dropped Simon this lap so there are no consequences for the Cooper of another failed overtake.

*Lap 65* – The top two pit, but thanks to some sterling work by the Maserati squad Gerard manages to get out ahead of Musso. They emerge in 4th and 5th to give Maglioli the lead from Perdisa and von Trips. Hawthorn, Behra and Fangio all pit for what is likely the final time this lap, and they come out in 16th, 18th and 19th respectively – while Simon and Fairman also pit to emerge in 20th and 21st respectively a lap down.

*Lap 66* – Maglioli, von Trips, Collins, Castellotti, Gould, de Beaufort and Gibson all pit on this lap. That means Perdisa leads from Gerard, with Musso attacking the erstwhile leader – but without any luck on this lap. Piotti is up to 4th with Brabham 5th and Maglioli out in 6th ahead of von Trips in 7th overall.

Gonzalez is now 8th, from Menditeguy 9th and Salvadori desperately defending his newly found Top 10 place from Flockhart! In the pits the Cooper team do some incredible work to get Castellotti out in front of Collins and to help him make the pass and secure the net 6th place from the Vanwall.

Hawthorn will be next up to challenge Collins, with Behra and Fangio not far back either. Gould is out in 17th with de Beaufort out in 18th and that is significant, as he has made a net gain by leaping ahead of Simon through the pit-stops! Gibson re-joins in 22nd, behind Leston – though the Porsche is yet to pit of course…

*Lap 67* – Brabham and Flockhart both pit from 5th and 11th, managing to emerge in 13th and 17th respectively in an otherwise quiet lap…

*Lap 68* – Musso keeps pushing Gerard, but he is simply unable to push past the Maserati. Collins is holding up Hawthorn now, as Castellotti looks to use his new-found freedom to improve his position ASAP! Leston is yet to stop for the final time but is simply unable to make further progress with Fairman the latest driver blocking his path.

*Lap 69* – Perdisa pits from the lead, with Gerard now back into the race lead ahead of Musso and Piotti (who is yet to pit) – and as the Italian in the Italian car comes out of the pits he sees Maglioli in his rear-view mirror and moves over quickly to defend the position and effectively gain a podium position as a result of staying out for those few laps longer!!!

Gonzalez blocks team-mate Menditeguy, as the Argentine duo squabble for what will be the final time thanks to the former’s impending retirement. Meanwhile Salvadori also comes into the pits to promote Castellotti into 9th and Collins back inside the Top 10. Salvadori comes out in 16th again, with Flockhart still behind him after some smart work by the Vanwall team in the pits.

Leston meanwhile may be yet to pit on his alternative 4 stop strategy, but he is at least having some fun in his lighter car – as he drives around the outside of both Fairman and Simon at Parabolica in what has to be the move of the race so far!!!

*Lap 70* – Gerard continues to defend from Musso, and with Perdisa now up to 3rd you have to wonder whether 22 seconds will be enough of a lead from the leading duo if they keep fighting like this!!! Piotti pits from 3rd and the Maserati mechanics are really on it here, as he emerges comfortably ahead of Castellotti, Collins and Hawthorn in what is now 7th place!

Gonzalez pits to emerge in 15th between Gould and Salvadori as before, while Leston couldn’t be any closer to de Beaufort at this point!

*Lap 71* – Leston pits from 19th to emerge in 22nd and will now try to bridge the 30 second gap to Gibson ahead of him. Simon blocks Fairman for what is now 19th, though the Vanwall will need to be more inventive than that if he is to surprise the BRM…

*Lap 72* – Another lap for Musso to be thwarted by the obstinate Gerard, which means Perdisa in 3rd is now just 20 seconds behind the pair of them. Meanwhile Scarlatti pits from last place, meaning Menditeguy is the only man on track yet to pit – and surely he must come in soon?!?

*Lap 73* – Musso is blocked by Gerard again, while the inevitable befalls Menditeguy as his failure to come into the pits results in him running out of fuel on the back straight. And that will be great news for Gibson who is into the Top 20, Leston up to 21st and it will eventually put Scarlatti up to 22nd as a result!

*Lap 74* – Perdisa is not making the progress he needs to be able to catch the leading duo, despite the fact that Musso is still harassing Gerard every lap without fail, as he tries to force a mistake from the leader! Meanwhile it’s a case of so near yet so far for Flockhart, who is starting to let de Beaufort into the frame for 15th position.

*Lap 75* – It looks like a straight fight for the race win between Gerard and Musso, with the latter continuing to make every effort to pass the Maserati. Meanwhile de Beaufort is only 1.4 seconds behind the Salvadori-Flockhart battle as a result of their squabbling.

*Lap 76* – Von Trips has been catching Maglioli for 4th, while Musso has managed to sit on Gerard’s tail this lap rather than making an overtaking manoeuvre…

At the back Simon blocks Fairman in the fight for 18th place, as the race nears its conclusion.

*Lap 77* – Musso tries hard this time to put together a move that Gerard can’t defend from, but doesn’t anticipate such a tigerish defence from the Champion, as the Maserati shuts the door firmly on the BRM at the 1st Lesmo and almost causes a collision in the process!

Maglioli keeps blocking von Trips in their fight over 4th as it looks like the Top 5 are now confirmed given that Piotti is over 20 seconds back with just 10 laps remaining.

*Lap 78* – Musso is getting desperate and tries to pass up the inside at Rettifilo Centro, with no luck whatsoever! Hawthorn is pushing Collins for 8th place, and Salvadori’s blocking of Flockhart has allowed de Beaufort to close to within 1 second of that pair…

*Lap 79* – Musso decides to hang back and time his next effort for the following lap in what is an otherwise quiet lap.

*Lap 80* – Musso manages to pull level with Gerard, but he is on the outside at Parabolica and there’s no hope of pass there…though that doesn’t stop von Trips trying the same thing in his desperation to make a pass on Maglioli for 4th overall.

*Lap 81* – Musso is starting to run out of laps, as another passing attempt goes begging…

*Lap 82* – And another attempt at the 1st Lesmo is unsuccessful, as the BRM is struggling to offer enough of an attacking move to gain the lead that looked nailed on earlier! Collins blocking of Hawthorn now has Brabham just 0.3 seconds behind the pair of them as this battle looks like it’s about to explode into action…

*Lap 83* – Von Trips again is unable to make his move stick, given that Maglioli knows this lap like the back of his hand! Meanwhile Fairman runs badly wide as he tries to apply pressure to Simon for 18th overall.

*Lap 84* – It’s another Musso dive at the 1st Lesmo, but Gerard looks to have the measure of the BRM with time running out. It’s a rare respite for Collins this lap, as Hawthorn is too busy defending from Brabham to offer an attacking option!

*Lap 85* – Von Trips best chance at passing Maglioli comes and goes, as the German does get past into Rettifilo Centro, but is unable to hold the position as he is forced to the outside at Parabolica.

*Lap 86* – On the penultimate lap Musso looks like he is out of ideas, and a pass round the outside at the 2nd Lesmo was never going to come off…while Brabham tries to overhaul Hawthorn without much luck either.

Salvadori blocking Flockhart looks like it won’t hinder the Cooper too much, as de Beaufort hasn’t managed to keep pace well enough to affect that duo.

*Lap 87* – Gerard fends off a final lap attempt by Musso to overtake him, to claim his 5th win and 4th hat-trick of the season!!! Musso’s 2nd place means that he book-ends the season with points finishes – and takes his 1st podium ever in the process!

Perdisa claims his 2nd points finish in a row with 3rd here, which is his 2nd podium ever in the process. However, he has already announced his F1R retirement to focus on sportscar racing instead, so this will be his final ever race in the series.

Maglioli holds onto 4th place from von Trips, despite the Ferrari’s final lap dive up the inside at the 1st Lesmo, which is ultimately unsuccessful. And that completes a distinguished career for the BRM driver, who ends his time in F1R with this performance.

Piotti finishes a decent 6th (his best result of the season), ahead of Castellotti 7th (in his final ever GP), Collins a solid 8th after a strong defensive driving display, Hawthorn 9th and Brabham 10th as the Ferrari’s manage to battle without crashing into each other!

Behra comes home 11th ahead of the returning Fangio 12th, Gould 13th, Gonzalez 14th (who is taking a break from F1R for the foreseeable future), Salvadori 15th, Flockhart 16th, de Beaufort 17th, Simon 18th (in his final ever F1R race) and Fairman 19th overall.

*1 LAP DOWN* – Gibson rounds out the Top 20 a lap down, with Leston 21st in his final ever race in the series.

*4 LAPS DOWN* – Scarlatti comes home at last, after a tough race that does at least see him claim two consecutive race finishes for the first time in his career.

## Milestones

* 40th race entry for José Froilán González
* 20th race entry for Jack Brabham, Eugenio Castellotti, Jack Fairman, Luigi Musso, Cesare Perdisa and André Simon
* Collins and Hawthorn up to 2nd and 3rd respectively in Most Race Entries (at the expense of Toulo de Graffenried)
* Moss into Top 10 for Most Race Entries (at the expense of Alberto Ascari)
* Trintignant up to 6th in Most Races without a Win (at the expense of Piero Taruffi)
* 20th race start for Jean Behra, Jack Brabham, Jack Fairman and Cesare Perdisa
* 10th race start for Horace Gould
* Win for Gerard means he has won 50% of his races, and goes top of the % wins category (at the expense of Ken Wharton)
* Win for Gerard makes it 4 in a row – which is a new record for Most Consecutive Wins!
* Win for Gerard is his 3rd victory in Italy (after 1950 and 1951), other winners here are Paul Pietsch (1952 – Retired), Roy Salvadori (1953), Hermann Lang (1954 – Retired), Giuseppe Farina (1955 – Retired) and Wolfgang von Trips (1956)
* Hat-Trick for Gerard is his 11th hat-trick ever
* Points finish for Gerard is his 40th points finish ever
* Points finish for Maglioli moves him into the Top 10 (at the expense of Élie Bayol)
* Podium finish for Perdisa moves him into 6th in most points without a win
* Points finish for von Trips moves him into the Top 10 in Most Points without being World Champion (at the expense of Franco Rol)
* Points finish for Gerard extends his record for Most consecutive Top 5 finishes to 14 in total
* FL for Gerard makes it his 5th Fastest Lap in a row, which breaks his own record
* Gerard achieves 4th Fastest Lap in Italy (which is a new record for Most FL’s at one track) after 1950, 1952 and 1956. Others to set a FL at the Italian GP are Peter Whitehead (1951 – Retired), Roy Salvadori (1953), Hermann Lang (1954 – Retired) and Giuseppe Farina (1955 – Retired)
* Pole for Gerard is his 20th Pole Position ever!
* Pole for Gerard is his 7th consecutive Pole Position, which is a brand-new record!
* Pole for Gerard here is his 3rd Pole at the Italian GP ever (after 1950 and 1951). Other Polesitters here are Peter Whitehead (1952 – Retired), Roy Salvadori (1953), Luigi Villoresi (1954 – Retired), Giuseppe Farina (1955 – Retired) and Toulo de Graffenried (1956 – Retired).
* Podium for Gerard is the 2nd time he has managed the feat of 7 consecutive podiums