1954 Spanish GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Pedralbes
* Location – Spain
* Corners – 6
* Laps – 80
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 2:30.000
* Lap Record (Real Life) – N/A
* Lap Record (F1R) – N/A
* Pit Lane Length – 25 seconds
* Fuel Consumption – Low
* Tyre Wear – Medium

## Qualifying 1

The championship contenders have a varied time in Q1, as Herrmann manages 3rd place less than 1 second off the provisional pole sitter. Meanwhile Gerard and Volonterio struggle in comparison, with the former in 10th and the latter in 11th place with both now needing a strong performance in Q2 to have a hope in the race.

As for the top dogs in this session, Berger and Lang ensures it is a Maserati 1-2-3, whilst Kling and Whitehead sandwich Marimon in between the two Mercedes for places 4 through 6. Farina is 7th for Maserati ahead of surprise package Whitehouse for Vanwall who takes an incredible 8th place ahead of Moss and the aforementioned Mercedes pairing.

Outside the top 10 we find the Cooper and Lancia drivers scrapping over the minor placings, with Nuckey 12th, Collins 13th, Villoresi 14th and de Graffenried 15th. The top 20 is rounded out by Vanwall and Ferrari drivers, from Mantovani 16th, Salvadori 17th, Menditeguy 18th, Taruffi 19th and the Lancia of Maglioli rounding out the top 20.

Also qualifying through Q1 are Helfrich's Cooper, Pollet's Gordini, Parnell's Connaught, Wacker's Klenk, Pilette's HWM, Hawthorn's Ferrari and Fangio's Connaught. Dropping out are the usual suspects from Connaught and Gordini (including Ascari), as well as the HWM's of Flockhart and Rosier, Behra's Vanwall, Brandon's Klenk, the Ferrari's of Musso and Godia, and the Cooper's of Manzon and Schell too.

**Qualifying 1 Results**

## Qualifying 2

Maserati take a 1-2 in the 2nd qualifying session as Berger leads Moss, whilst their team-mate and championship contender Herrmann is a lowly 14th place! Meanwhile Farina is 5th for the Italian marque, with Lang 7th and Marimon a poor 26th position and last of all the runners after issues with his car near the start of the session!

Mercedes have a slightly better time of it overall, with Kling 4th, Whitehead 8th and the two championship combatants Gerard and Volonterio in 11th and 13th place respectively.

But the surprise package is Vanwall here, as Whitehouse puts in a stunning performance to claim 3rd place with Salvadori 6th and Menditeguy further back in 17th place overall.

And so the other teams represented are Cooper who have Villoresi rounding out the top 10, Helfrich in 12th and Nuckey in 15th place. Ferrari also have a representative in the top 10 as Mantovani takes 9th place, and complete the top 20 with Taruffi and have Hawthorn in 22nd too.

Lancia are a little further back with Maglioli 16th, Collins 18th and de Graffenried 19th, Connaught are 21st and 23rd with Parnell and Fangio, Klenk and HWM both have 1 representative each with Wacker in 24th and Pilette in 25th respectively.

**Qualifying 2 Results**

## Overall Qualifying Results

The grid will form up mostly as the Q2 results, but with a few exceptions. Lang will start in 4th place after his Q1 result is better than his Q2 performance, which knocks Kling down to 5th, Farina to 6th and Salvadori into 7th place.

Herrmann also improves on his position from Q2, and will start in 11th place, which knocks Gerard down to 12th and Helfrich to 13th place. Marimon's Q1 performance sees him in 14th position, which shifts Volonterio down to 15th and Nuckey into 16th place - and though Collins, de Graffenried, Taruffi, Wacker and Pilette all fail to improve on their Q1 times they all start in the same position minus 1 place for Marimon's improvement.

## Race Commentary

*Lap 1* - As the drivers line up at a hot Pedralbes circuit for the championship show-down the crowd await with baited breath the spectacle around the cramped and tight streets of the Spanish town…and the flag waves, and we are GO!

Berger gets a good start with no wheel-spin, whilst Lang's start gives him the opportunity to slingshot down the inside of Moss at the 1st corner and pass Whitehouse, who slightly bogs down off the start-line and loses a place to his team-mate Salvadori too.

Whitehead moves up to 6th, but the best start surely goes to Marimon, who catapults his way from 14th to 7th place by the end of the lap. Farina drops to 8th, with Kling moving into 10th place behind the fast-starting Volonterio, who is currently first out of the championship contenders.

Villoresi and Nuckey are 11th and 12th for Cooper, with Gerard down to 13th place after a mediocre start for the defending champion that sees him only just ahead of the Lancia duo of de Graffenried and Collins. Herrmann is the big loser at the start for Maserati, as he runs wide at Paso a Desnivel to avoid the Ferrari of Mantovani who now has team-mate Taruffi for company thanks to the chaos caused at the 1st corner.

This chaos is instigated by Maglioli running into the back of Helfrich at Paso a Desnivel and this causes both of them to retire on the spot. Meanwhile Parnell is up inside the top 20 for Connaught just behind Menditeguy in the Vanwall, with Hawthorn, Fangio, Wacker and Pilette bringing up the rear.

*Lap 2* - The track has had very little running and so there is a real lack of grip out there! Salvadori runs wide at the 1st corner, causing Whitehouse and particularly Whitehead to take avoiding action, which allows Marimon to pass all of them there.

He is pursued out of the corner by none other than Villoresi, who uses a superb exit from the final corner of the previous lap to power past Kling, Volonterio and Farina on the start/finish straight - and he goes on to overtake Marimon too, at the entry into Paso de Manuel Girona, to claim 4th place!

Farina loses ground to Nuckey's Cooper too, but the Maserati does get a good exit from the 2nd corner to pass Whitehead, who also loses ground to Kling, Volonterio and Gerard in the early part of the lap.

However the big mover on this lap is championship leader Herrmann, who drags Mantovani in his wake. The pair of them take advantage of the chain of cars moving slowly down the Avenida de la Victoria and pass Collins, de Graffenried, Gerard, Volonterio, Kling and Whitehead.

Further back Hawthorn passes Parnell to move into the top 20 on this lap as well, with positions switching mostly down to the caterpillar effect of a queue of cars bunching up behind one another.

*Lap 3* - The man on the move this lap is Whitehead, whose exit from Avinguda Diagonal is flawless, and so he accelerates past the likes of Gerard (who loses a place to Collins too) and Volonterio, who slipstreams behind his fast-moving team-mate to move past Kling, Farina and Mantovani.

Whitehead isn't done there though, as he also gets the better of Nuckey and Whitehouse out of the 1st turn as well! Herrmann gains a couple of places again and now finds himself nearly in the points ahead of Marimon in 7th, but behind Salvadori's Vanwall who inherits the final points paying position for the moment.

*Lap 4* - Herrmann is under pressure from Marimon, and it's clear that the Maserati team are not under any team orders at all as the championship leader runs wide at Avenida de la Victoria and loses places to the aforementioned Argentinean and Whitehead's Mercedes too.

Volonterio gets the better of Nuckey at the 1st corner, whilst an error by Mantovani sees him fall behind Farina and Kling. Herrmann is not the only championship contender faltering, as Gerard finds himself bested by de Graffenried's Lancia in a slip-streaming contest.

Pilette runs wide at Calle de Numancia and damages his car in the process, which really puts paid to any hope the HWM driver had of gaining on those in the top 20.

*Lap 5* - A real scrap in the midfield, as 2 of the championship contenders get up close and personal! Volonterio glides past Whitehouse's Vanwall before going head to head with Herrmann into the first corner, where the Mercedes manages to muscle his way past - including a slight touch of wheels too!

That touch causes the Maserati to miss a gear and this lets Whitehouse through - though a small consolation for Herrmann is that Whitehead makes a big error at Avenida de la Victoria to drop down behind all of the aforementioned group.

Farina takes Nuckey at Calle de Numancia, whilst Collins slings one up the inside of Mantovani and Gerard begins his own comeback trail with a pass on de Graffenried that he follows up by also taking Mantovani as well.

*Lap 6* - A quieter lap, as the driver's start to get used to the terrain beneath the cars. Meanwhile Farina is pushing forward, with passes on Whitehead, Herrmann and Whitehouse over this lap that move him into 8th place.

*Lap 7* - Farina continues his onslaught, as he manages to get the better of Volonterio at Focas de Tordera of all places, but as they reach the next corner they prove that 2 into 1 doesn't really go and as they each aim for the 1 turning point they touch and get a really sluggish exit from Avenida de la Victoria and find themselves overtaken by none other than Whitehead!

The Mercedes driver had already passed both Whitehouse and Herrmann on this lap, as the train of cars from Moss in 3rd place to de Graffenried in 16th are separated by a mere 12 seconds or so!

*Lap 8* - Another brilliant lap for Whitehead sees the Mercedes driver slipstream past Marimon, Salvadori and Villoresi to claim 4th place, whilst Marimon has another tough lap as he loses a place to Farina as well.

*Lap 9* - Berger continues to extend his lead over Lang, who likewise is pulling away from Moss - the 3rd Maserati has enough on his plate to deal with right now though, as Whitehead gains over 3 seconds on him in the space of a single lap!

Meanwhile Whitehouse is the man on the move; the Vanwall takes Volonterio and Marimon on the run down to Paso a Desnivel and for good measure gets the better of Farina to claim 7th place. Also advancing is Gerard, who must be acutely aware of the fact that he is losing ground in the championship race right now…and he slings a desperate move down the inside of Collins at the last corner to move past him - but Kling is now a full 5 seconds up the road!

*Lap 10* - Lang takes a big chunk out of Berger's lead, as the race leader gets all out of shape into Focas de Tordera. Meanwhile Salvadori has been applying all kinds of pressure on Villoresi, who eventually succumbs at Paseo de Manuel Girona to cede his points paying position to the former race winner. He does at least do well to not lose too much time and drop further down the order though.

*Lap 11* - Berger picks up his pace with a 2:10 lap-time that re-establishes his dominance at the top of the pile. Not to be out-done, Villoresi uses his decent exit to be right on the back of Salvadori over the start/finish line where he slipstreams past the Vanwall to reclaim 5th place. Such is his impetus though, that he finds himself getting a better exit at the 1st corner than Whitehead in 4th who he promptly dives past at Avenida de la Victoria to take away his 4th position!

No prisoners taken and no quarter given at Maserati, as Herrmann loses 9th place to team-mate Marimon, who is clearly not bothered about his fellow Maserati driver's plight. Further back, the low grip levels catch out Wacker, who crashes his Klenk into the side of a house at Paso a Desnivel…fortunately there are no injuries to the occupants and the race can continue, albeit without the sole Klenk.

*Lap 12* - Villoresi's impetus causes him to take too big a risk at Calle de Numancia, and though he recovers without damaging the car his places won against Whitehead and Salvadori are immediately thrown away. Thankfully for him Whitehouse is a little further back, and holding up a whole string of angry Maserati and Mercedes drivers!

Volonterio is one of those drivers, and he elects to make a risky move on championship leader Herrmann (maybe considering that if they both got wiped out the chances are that his team-mate Gerard would win the title!), which comes off thanks to the Maserati yielding the place to avoid disaster!

*Lap 13* - Lang is starting to hunt down Berger, but he is still not close enough to challenge his team-mate. Villoresi is on the come-back trail though, and he uses a great exit from Paso a Desnivel to floor it past Salvadori, and re-take Whitehead under braking at Paseo de Manuel Girona!

However focus is now on Marimon, who not only passes Farina on this lap using his slipstream to great effect, but finally breaks the grip of Whitehouse ahead of him to move into 7th place and within sight of the battle for 4th ahead. Further back Gerard has now taken the gap to Kling down to a single second in his attempts to claw back the race that is slipping away from him…

*Lap 14* - Whitehead pits! An early stop for the Mercedes, and possibly tactical to give track position to his two team-mates as he emerges way down in 17th place behind the Lancia's. Of course Villoresi is already pushing hard to close down Moss in 3rd - and in doing so he makes the fastest lap of the race so far! Of course Salvadori is now also into the points in 5th place.

And this may be the cue that Herrmann needs to get his act in gear, as the championship leader muscles his way past Volonterio (who finds himself the victim of a cheeky cut-back by Nuckey on this lap too!), and proceeds to glide past team-mate Farina too!

*Lap 15* - Volonterio seems incensed by Herrmann's move last lap, and quickly dispatches Nuckey before finding Farina far less accommodating for him than he was for his Maserati team-mate, though a well-timed piece of braking at Calle de Numancia puts paid to the Italian's defense.

He is not the only championship contender moving up, as Gerard slips past Kling to claim what is now 12th place. Also Menditeguy and Taruffi are scrapping tooth and nail, but that Ferrari is just about the widest car on track right now, so there is no way through for the Argentinean yet!

*Lap 16* - Lang really narrows the gap to Berger, though is still not quite close enough to have a go at his team-mate. While they continue to trade lap-times we see Villoresi enter the pits, with the clear aim of coming out ahead of Whitehead…which he JUST achieves! Whitehead does his best, but the Cooper holds the inside line to hold 15th place.

Also pitting on this lap is Volonterio, who comes out in clear air some 10 seconds down on the aforementioned duo. All of which frees up Salvadori to take 4th place and Marimon 5th, though Whitehouse can do nothing to defend against Herrmann's pressure, and the championship leader is now in 6th place overall.

A mistake from Farina on this lap gifts Nuckey what is now 8th place, whilst Kling has a look at Gerard but decides better of it to ensure that the Brit is finally inside the top 10 - are we seeing the 1st real team support for a championship cotender on track here?!?

*Lap 17* - Lang finally has a run at Berger, but can't get close enough and has to call off the attack. Herrmann is pulling away from Whitehouse now he is free from the Vanwall's train, but Nuckey is the latest victim of this - and both Farina, Gerard and Kling will soon run into the same complications.

Collins pits on this lap, coming out some 7 seconds behind Volonterio in what is a decent showing from Lancia here to keep the gaps to the main contenders down to a minimum.

*Lap 18* - Marimon moves up to the back of Salvadori, he jinks one way and then the other to throw the Vanwall driver off the scent before driving around the outside of him at Paso a Desnivel in a stunning overtaking move to capture 4th place! Now there's just the small matter of a 7 second deficit to Moss in 3rd to make up!!!

Further back Menditeguy is clearly frustrated by Taruffi, who is parking his car on every apex possible to prevent the Vanwall showing his true pace today.

*Lap 19* - Lang gets a run on Berger, he holds his nerve into Avenida de la Victoria and comes out in the lead of the race! His mechanics are signalling that he'll be pitting next lap, but the German seems unperturbed as for at least 1 lap he leads the Grand Prix.

Further back Nuckey is the latest driver to crack Whitehouse's hold over him, as he moves into 7th place at the expense of the Vanwall driver. De Graffenried takes Mantovani on this lap, using all his years of experience to out-fox the Ferrari at Calle de Numancia.

*Lap 20* - The 3 stopper seems to be the strategy of choice for most of the front-runners here, given that everyone from Lang in 1st down to Mantovani in 13th comes into the pits (aside from Berger who stays out to reclaim his lead). Also pitting are both Ferrari's of Taruffi and Hawthorn too.

However with so many drivers in the pits we do see Villoresi climb into 3rd place behind Lang thanks to the clear air he's been enjoying, with Whitehead into 4th as well! Moss rejoins in 5th place, whilst Salvadori's pit crew get the better of Marimon's and ensure the Vanwall comes out in the battle for the points in 6th.

Herrmann is out in a solid 8th behind Marimon, from Volonterio now in 9th place - with both championship contenders ready to mount a challenge for points today. 10th is Whitehouse, who has a great pit-stop to re-take the Cooper of Nuckey, who looks devastated to have to pass the Vanwall again on track!

Behind them are Farina, Collins - who has really gained from that earlier stop - Kling and Gerard, as the latter has a very slow stop that has done nothing for his title hopes today. De Graffenried is out in 16th place, from Mantovani 17th, Menditeguy now 18th, Taruffi 19th and Hawthorn JUST ahead of Parnell in 20th place.

*Lap 21* - Herrmann is attacking, as he scythes past team-mate Marimon - who may have been told not to hinder the championship leader at his last stop! Likewise Gerard passes Kling here, who should be bought a thank-you card by the Brit, as he barely defends at all from him!!!

Parnell also pits on this lap, but such is his lead over team-mate Fangio that he comes out easily ahead of him still just outside the top 20, but slowly but surely narrowing the gap to Hawthorn.

*Lap 22* - Finally Berger pits, but there is a problem in the stop with a loose wheel-nut! The mechanic has the wrong size wrench, and they lose a bucket-full of time - and it's not helped that Lang sets a great lap-time to reclaim the race lead.

Villoresi now moves into 2nd place, with Whitehead 3rd and Moss 4th, and when Berger eventually rejoins he is now in 5th place with Salvadori gaining ground on him. Meanwhile a mistake from Herrmann gifts Marimon 7th place, but the Argentine looks frustrated, as he knows he can't really press on without his team leader!

Further down the field, Menditeguy's tyres look to be giving up as he sets a very slow lap-time here, and he runs the risk of ending up behind Taruffi again if he doesn't pit soon…

*Lap 23* - Villoresi gains ground on Lang here, as the Cooper driver is putting in the performance of his life on these tight and twisty Spanish streets. However he needs to watch out for Whitehead, who sets the fastest lap of the race and becomes the 1st man to break the 2:10 barrier in the process!

Menditeguy is bleeding time to Taruffi here, and if he doesn't pit in the next few laps there's a danger the Ferrari could overtake him on track as he takes a full 6 seconds out of the Vanwall's advantage on this lap!

*Lap 24* - Another great lap for Villoresi reduces the gap at the front to a mere 2.9 seconds, whilst Whitehead is now in very close attendance to this battle too. Salvadori gains ground on this lap as well, halving the gap to those in the points ahead of him.

*Lap 25* - Whitehead gets the better of Villoresi here, with a well-timed lunge at Paso a Desnivel to claim 2nd place and put himself within striking distance of the race lead. Meanwhile Gerard is gaining on Collins for 13th place, though he has to take evasive action going onto the start/finish straight as Parnell overcooks it at Avinguda Diagonal and slightly damages his car. Pilette finally pits to mend his own damage on this lap, but his pace is still utterly diabolical thus far.

*Lap 26* - Both Lang and Whitehead come upon the ailing Parnell at the worst possible part of the track, going into the tight and windy Focas de Tordera section…and that allows Villoresi to get the jump on Whitehead and move into 2nd place now only 2.1 seconds down on Lang!

Further back Menditeguy FINALLY pits to change tyres, losing 18th place to Taruffi and coming out some 25 seconds down on the man he was previously only just behind.

*Lap 27* - Villoresi draws right up to the back of Lang, but wisely doesn't waste time with an irrational challenge from too far back - instead he bides his time behind the leading Maserati, waiting for the right moment to strike.

Herrmann shows his determination here, as he becomes only the 2nd man to break the 2:10 barrier, pulling out around 4 seconds on both Marimon ahead of him and crucially Volonterio behind him! Likewise Nuckey sets a great lap-time to move onto the back of Whitehouse in the battle for the top 10.

Fangio makes a mistake on this lap and causes some severe damage to his rear suspension that will likely take a long time to repair in the pits.

*Lap 28* - Lang puts in a strong lap-time here to ease the pressure on him and pull out a 3 second advantage at the front - seems Villoresi shouldn't have waited for so long to make a move! Moss is now right on the back of Whitehead as they scrap for the podium positions with little to choose between them.

Things go from bad to worse for Volonterio, who loses his 9th place to none other than Whitehouse, who chances a dive down the inside at Paseo de Manuel Girona that catches the championship contender napping!

*Lap 29* - A much quieter lap here, as Lang again pulls way from those chasing him who are starting to focus on each other once more. Indeed even Salvadori in 6th is now just 5 seconds off a podium place!

Whitehouse is moving nicely here, and pulls out some 3 seconds over the hapless Volonterio, though the Swiss can at least comfort himself with the fact that Herrmann seems unable to muster the speed to have a run at Marimon at this stage of the race!

*Lap 30* - Whitehead pits on this lap to deepen Mercedes woes, as he comes out behind Collins in a lowly 13th place - and ahead of both team-mates Gerard and Kling, who frankly look more likely to be passed by de Graffenried than they do to challenge for points at this stage of the race!

Of course that pit shifts Moss into 3rd place, Berger into 4th and Salvadori back into the points for Vanwall in 5th place. Top championship contender is still Herrmann in 7th place, but with 8 seconds over his nearest title rival the Maserati seems content to let his team-mates run the show today.

*Lap 31* - In a much quieter lap attention shifts to the rear of the field where Fangio's damaged car looks quite a handful, and on the entry into Focas de Tordera he clouts the back of Pilette, damaging the HWM - though this is of little consequence to the race at the front.

*Lap 32* - A real contrast in fortunes for the 2 drivers who pit on this lap, Villoresi comes in from 2nd place and has a slick stop that spits him out in 9th place just behind his team-mate Nuckey. Meanwhile Volonterio's pit looks clumsy, and he emerges behind de Graffenried in 16th place with his title hopes looking a long way off indeed at this stage.

It's also worth noting that since changing tyres Menditeguy has more than halved the deficit to Taruffi and is now just 13 seconds behind him. Also at the front Lang has now broken the lap record here twice in three laps, as he takes it down to a 2:09.7 second lap-time!!!

*Lap 33* - Villoresi uses his fresh tyres to comfortably pass team-mate Nuckey for 8th place, though he'll have the defensive talents of Whitehouse to contend with once he can close the 7 second gap that now exists between them.

Near the back things are looking up for the Mercedes title contenders, as Collins pits and comes out behind both of them in 16th place and both of them manage to take a couple of seconds out of the people they are currently chasing too.

It's not all smooth sailing for Mercedes though, as de Graffenried is hounding Kling around this course - which brings back memories of when the Swiss was dicing with Kling's mentor Paul Pietsch back in the early days of the championship - though of course that was for race wins and not for 13th places!

*Lap 34* - Moss begins to narrow the gap to Lang, though there is such a buffer there that the German can afford to relax for a few laps at least! Meanwhile Volonterio gains ground on de Graffenried, and Menditeguy has Taruffi under 10 seconds ahead of him at this point.

*Lap 35* - Another 3 seconds out of Lang's lead, as Moss really puts the hammer down! Salvadori has a lunge at Berger on this lap, but it is more hopeful than anything else. A slow lap for Gerard allows Whitehead some breathing space, which he uses to pull up to the back of Farina in 10th place.

*Lap 36* - Salvadori is in a podium position! The Brit jinks to the inside at Avenida de la Victoria to unsettle Berger and ensure 3rd place and no fewer than 2 Brit's on the podium at this point - tally ho!

Herrmann is pressuring Mantovani for that final championship points scoring position, possibly in reaction to the fact that Volonterio has some good pace at this stage of the race and is now breathing down the necks of de Graffenried and Kling.

Equally exciting is the scrap forming up between Nuckey, Whitehead and Farina who are separated by around 1 second at this stage - and we shall soon see Menditeguy catch Taruffi as the gap is down to a mere 6.9 seconds now!

*Lap 37* - Farina has a look at Nuckey this time around, but the Cooper gives no quarter and the Italian is forced to back off and begin defending from the advancing Whitehead. Gerard is in a world of his own about 5 seconds further back, and one wonders if he has given up on the title now. Meanwhile 5.6 seconds is the Menditeguy-Taruffi gap on this lap…

*Lap 38* - Berger re-takes Salvadori, which is going to be necessary given the disparity in their pit-stop times last time around! Villoresi has now caught up to Whitehouse and will surely have a go at him next time around, and considering the pack of cars chasing him he'd be well advised to do so as he has Nuckey, Farina and Whitehead all within about 5 seconds of him!

De Graffenried has a lunge down the inside of Kling, but the Lancia driver can't slow the car down in time to make the apex of the corner…and though he does keep it out of the wall he is a sitting duck for Volonterio to floor it past him on the run up to Focas de Tordera.

*Lap 39* - A slow lap for Salvadori eases the pressure for Berger, though Marimon is too far behind to take advantage. Meanwhile Villoresi zooms past Whitehouse with real aplomb as he leaves the Vanwall trailing in his wake - though possibly the Brit's expiring tyres may have contributed to this…

Whitehead is also on the move, with a fine overtake on Farina to claim a top 10 berth for the 1st time in several laps! Menditeguy is now just 2 seconds behind Taruffi, but as the old adage goes - "catching is one thing, passing is quite another!"

*Lap 40* - Pits galore, as the bulk of the 3 stoppers come in - though Berger again elects to stay out longer and thus reclaims the lead for a short time. Lang is out in a comfortable 2nd place after a brilliant stop from Moss in 3rd, with Villoresi in 4th place who does not pit.

Whitehead does move into 5th place, and it's Salvadori who emerges in 6th ahead of Marimon 7th and Herrmann 8th. Some 10 seconds back is Volonterio now in 9th place, with Whitehouse 10th and Nuckey in 11th just outside of the top 10.

Farina is 12th, but only just as Collins pressures hard to overtake him as the Lancia does not pit on this lap. Gerard is out in 14th with clear track ahead of him, from Kling 15th, de Graffenried 16th, Mantovani in 17th and then Menditeguy 18th thanks to Taruffi's pit-stop.

*Lap 41* - Another very slow stop for Berger drops him down the pecking order, and sees even Salvadori in 6th move ahead of him and into the points. Meanwhile Marimon of all people takes the fastest lap of the race - which will incense Lang at the front, who has this race locked down as it stands some 8.5 seconds ahead of his nearest rival.

Parnell also pits on this lap and fixes his car, but still comes out easily in 21st place - as Fangio is still yet to pit, and must be running almost just on rims out there as he is now slower than even Pilette at this point in the race!!!

*Lap 42* - A much quieter lap here - Villoresi makes ground on Moss, but is also being caught by Whitehead too. Marimon has a look down the inside of Berger, but thinks better of it and has Herrmann for close company as Volonterio starts to slowly narrow the gap to his adversary.

De Graffenried has another attempt on Kling, but that Lancia doesn't quite have the straight-line speed to challenge the Mercedes down the start/finish straight.

*Lap 43* - Another lap of gaps shrinking near the front, as Villoresi is down to just 3.7 behind Moss, Whitehead is 1.4 behind Villoresi and Salvadori is now only 1.7 seconds behind the pair of them! Also further back Collins is applying pressure on Farina for 12th place.

*Lap 44* - Villoresi is now under 3 seconds behind Moss, but he is certainly slowing Whitehead down as the Mercedes driver has Salvadori in close attendance still. Marimon makes a move on Berger, who seems deflated at the slow pit-stops he has been having that have been throwing away his hard work on the track and thus barely defends at all from his team-mate.

*Lap 45* - Volonterio may not be going that quickly, but he is gaining ground on Herrmann who is finding himself held up by the ailing Berger…and with the lapped traffic not helping things there are some looks of mild concern around the Maserati garage at this point in the race.

*Lap 46* - Villoresi is right on the back of Moss as they cross the start/finish line - could the Cooper driver really be about to challenge for 2nd place in the race!?! Meanwhile the pressure behind is lifted, as Whitehead comes in for his pit-stop and a great effort from his mechanics sees him come out ahead of Whitehouse in the Vanwall in 9th place!

*Lap 47* - Villoresi is still right behind Moss as he matches him blow for blow around the city streets, with Salvadori around 2 seconds behind them. Marimon has Berger for close company with Herrmann keeping a watching brief just under 2 seconds further back.

Menditeguy's tyres have again reached the cliff! He is losing time rapidly to Taruffi, and one wonders if he'll be able to hang on again if they start going off as they did last time.

*Lap 48* - Villoresi and Volonterio again pit on the same lap, with similar results to last time - the Cooper is out just ahead of Whitehead, which promotes Salvadori into a podium position, Marimon to 4th, Berger to 5th and Herrmann to about the closest he's been to a points position all race in 6th!

Volonterio meanwhile is again out behind Collins but ahead of his Mercedes team-mates, who must be shaking their heads and wondering what has gone wrong for them this race!

*Lap 49* - Salvadori takes a huge chunk out of the advantage held by Moss on this lap, as it looks like the Vanwall isn't satisfied by just a podium place! Berger and Herrmann are applying real pressure to Marimon, as despite holding the fastest lap the Argentinean is slowing the trio down.

Whitehead is struggling to get his tyres up to temperature thanks to some lapped traffic getting in his way, and thus is helpless to defend against a flying Whitehouse who dispatches the Mercedes with real aplomb here!

Collins pits on this lap, rejoining behind de Graffenried as it seems the 4-stopper is not working out for him at this point in time. Also Taruffi is only 20 seconds behind Menditeguy thanks to the Vanwall's tyres again wearing out!

*Lap 50* - Lang and Moss both pull away from Salvadori, as normality returns at the front of the race. Meanwhile the Marimon-Berger-Herrmann battle continues apace, with them all losing time to the fast advancing Villoresi in 7th who is only 12 seconds behind now.

Towards the back Taruffi has the gap down to 11 seconds, as Menditeguy wrestles the car for the last vestiges of grip…as does Fangio, who is still on his original tyres that are barely even showing rubber any more! Pilette pits and such is Fangio's lack of pace that his lap-time is slower than the HWMs, which included a pit-stop!!!

*Lap 51* - Berger takes Marimon! At last the Austrian is able to find a way through and into 4th place, though Marimon does shut the door on Herrmann to keep the championship leader tantalisingly just outside the points!

Meanwhile things are looking shaky for Villoresi here, as he makes a mistake at Avinguda Diagonal and is out-dragged by Whitehouse, who is now into a very credible 7th place for Vanwall! Taruffi is now just 0.7 seconds behind Menditeguy, who surely must be stopping soon - and thanks to fresh tyres and a fixed car Pilette takes over 30 seconds out of Fangio on this lap alone!

*Lap 52* - Herrmann has had enough!!! The championship leader springs into action, with a powerful lunge down the inside of Marimon, which he follows up with an elbows out jostle with Berger that he wins convincingly on the run down to Paseo de Manuel Girona - he is now into 4th place!

Villoresi and Whitehead are in the Whitehouse train again, which is really compromising their strategy. Meanwhile Menditeguy pits and will need to really go some to close the gap to Taruffi again.

*Lap 53* - Lang's lead at the front has been growing inexorably over the past few laps and is now well over 20 seconds, so the 1 single second Moss claws back on this lap really makes very little difference to the leader. Although it is necessary to keep Moss ahead of Salvadori, who is within a second of his fellow Brit this time around.

Nuckey now joins the Whitehouse train, so held up are both Villoresi and Whitehead that they can do nothing to get away from the other Cooper driver at this point.

*Lap 54* - A new fastest lap from Lang, who now has around a pit-stop advantage over 2nd place and who few would rule out from winning this race today. Herrmann is carving out the gap to 3rd place, taking 4 seconds from Salvadori this lap to move to within 11 seconds of his prey.

Whitehouse puts on a spurt of pace that catches those behind napping, and sees the Vanwall move to within 8 seconds of the Berger vs Marimon battle for the final points position.

*Lap 55* - Herrmann takes another 3 seconds out of Salvadori, who must be getting nervous about his chances of holding on to this podium place for another 25 laps! Meanwhile Whitehead is really pressuring Villoresi, and even has his nose ahead before the Cooper re-takes the position up the inside of Calle de Numancia.

Fangio FINALLY makes his 1st pit-stop of the race, causing consternation for the Connaught mechanics, who seemed unaware that he would be coming in! In the confusion, tyres are changed but it looks like no fuel is pumped into the car…and so Fangio leaves the pits without any additional fuel…!

*Lap 56* - …and that spells the end of the race for him, as he pulls over at Focas de Tordera with nothing left in the tank. Meanwhile Villoresi is back pressuring Whitehouse, who is unable to sustain his previous lightning quick pace and has dropped to over 10 seconds back from the points battle.

*Lap 57* - Salvadori starts to claw back time on the leaders, taking the gap to Moss back down to 2.2 seconds as it stands. Marimon is still stuck behind Berger, Villoresi is still stuck behind Whitehouse with Whitehead also in the same predicament and de Graffenried is still being slowed down by Kling as the tightness of this street course is making overtaking incredibly difficult now the driver's have perfected their cornering technique.

*Lap 58* - Herrmann is relentless in his pursuit of Salvadori, and is now around 5 seconds behind…Berger meanwhile finally gets away from Marimon for a little while thanks to a mistake by the latter at Avenida de la Victoria. And again, both Villoresi and Whitehead are frustrated by a stubborn Whitehouse who has destroyed their hopes of a podium today.

*Lap 59* - Herrmann takes a full 4 seconds out of Salvadori on this lap, as he roars up to the back of the Vanwall! Attention is focused on Villoresi though, who seems unwilling to let his chance of points die today as he scythes past Whitehouse at Focas de Tordera where the Vanwall least expected it to take 7th place and a shot at closing down those in front.

So surprised is Whitehouse that he misses his braking point at Avenida de la Victoria and thus allows Whitehead to go through as well, in what must be a huge relief for the Mercedes driver!

*Lap 60* - Final stops for most of the 3 stoppers here, besides the usual extra lap for Berger, though this time he doesn't take the lead as Lang manages to get back out ahead of the Austrian! Villoresi sets a stunning sub 2:10 lap time to shift himself briefly into 3rd place, with Moss 4th and Whitehead currently in the points again in 5th place - albeit with his final stop still to go.

In the pits Herrmann's pit-crew put the Vanwall mechanics to shame and manage to put their man back out in 6th place, which could mean a podium celebration for the champion-in-waiting once the 4-stoppers and Berger are out of the way.

Salvadori is 7th and looking good for points today, with Volonterio into 8th place and Marimon out in 9th after a very slow stop. Whitehouse still hangs on inside the top 10, with Nuckey 11th, Farina 12th, Gerard 13th and Collins up to 14th, from Kling and de Graffenried.

Menditeguy of course does not pit, and manages to JUST overtake Taruffi with a brave move around the outside of Paso a Desnivel that puts him into 18th place for the moment.

*Lap 61* - Berger pits on this lap, and comes out behind Marimon in 9th, meaning Moss is 3rd, Whitehead is 4th and Herrmann is 5th - and pressuring the Mercedes driver heavily. However he needs to watch his back as Salvadori has not given up, and lets the champion elect know he is still there with a light tap on the rear as they hurtle down the start/finish straight!

Parnell also pits on this lap, but with over a lap to Hawthorn in front and more than 30 laps advantage over his nearest competitor it must feel like more of a relaxed Sunday drive for the Connaught than a race today.

*Lap 62* - Whitehead pits for his final stop, getting it done early so he can take advantage of his fresher tyres for as long as possible. He comes out, possibly crucially, a hair's breadth ahead of Berger, who must be crestfallen to be behind the Mercedes - the mechanics really pulled it out of the bag for the Brit there!

All of that means that Herrmann is now 4th and Salvadori 5th, with still under 1 second separating the pair of them…you can see that fight going down to the wire today…

*Lap 63* - Some of the gaps up front couldn't be any closer; not only do Villoresi and Moss cross the line side by side, but so do Herrmann and Salvadori! In both cases the former holds the inside line and keeps the place, but it couldn't be any tighter as the fight for podium places rages on!!!

Meanwhile a slip from Whitehead undoes the good work done by his mechanics in an instant, as a tank-slapper that he does manage to save gifts Berger 8th place again.

*Lap 64* - Villoresi and Volonterio pit in unison again, with the Cooper coming out behind Berger after a rather lackluster stop. That of course moves Moss back into 2nd place and Herrmann into 3rd with Salvadori breathing down his neck in 4th.

The battle for 5th is where attention now sits, as Marimon has only 2 seconds over Berger, who has 1.8 seconds over Villoresi, who has just exited the pits, with only 6 seconds back to Whitehead as well!

Volonterio's pit sees him emerge behind Farina but ahead of Gerard, and it seems clear at this stage (if it wasn't already) that neither Mercedes has the pace nor opportunity to challenge for the title this afternoon.

*Lap 65* - An impressive 3 drivers dip under the 2:10 mark on this lap, which are the Maserati's of Lang, Marimon and Berger. That extends the gap at the front, and opens up 3.7 seconds over Villoresi in 7th place for the latter pair.

Collins pits on this lap, and comes out around 15 seconds behind de Graffenried - if he can close that gap maybe he can help his team-mate do something about Kling, as the German continues to thwart any overtaking attempt made by the Swiss.

*Lap 66* - Salvadori narrows the gap to Herrmann, but again waits for the right time to strike rather than try another fruitless lunge. Nuckey manages to break into the top 10 as he has a very successful lunge pay off at Avinguda Diagonal to pass Whitehouse, who held on so valiantly for so long inside the top 10. He will now have Farina to contend with, who is clearly disgruntled at being so far behind his team-mates at this stage of the race.

*Lap 67* - Again Salvadori inches closer without trying anything untoward - whilst Herrmann seems relaxed enough to let him stay there without doing anything about it. Marimon has managed to pull out about 5 seconds over Berger for 5th place, but the Austrian is starting to pull that back in, as he is coming under pressure from Villoresi who is only 0.6 seconds behind the Maserati!

Whitehead is also closing the gap to those ahead, but a 5 second deficit to Villoresi is looking quite large at this point in time.

*Lap 68* - Salvadori strikes…and goes up the inside of Herrmann…but runs wide! Herrmann continues on, and looks intent on keeping his podium place now. Salvadori had better be careful, as Marimon took 5 seconds out of him that lap, and is only 9.3 seconds behind in total!

Whitehouse is not letting Nuckey get away in 9th, and is glued to the back of the Cooper as they drive in incredibly close proximity through the twisting Pedralbes streets. Pilette pits on this lap, with only a few laps more to do to overhaul Fangio's lap total it's really about just plugging on for the HWM at this stage.

*Lap 69* - A quiet lap here, as Salvadori looks to consolidate 4th place with Marimon inching closer and now only 7.7 seconds behind. Berger is over 5 seconds down in 6th place, with Villoresi now pressuring him - it's clear the Cooper hasn't given up on a points place yet, though it looks challenging for him to achieve it here.

*Lap 70* - Another relatively settled lap, as Salvadori maintains a 7.2 second lead over Marimon, who has 4.7 back to Berger and Villoresi. De Graffenried has another lunge at Kling, which yields sadly no positive results for the Lancia - though he can at least comfort himself with the fact that Collins is showing no signs of closing the gap thus far.

*Lap 71* - Salvadori loses concentration at Paseo de Manuel Girona, and slides wide - he loses 4 seconds to Marimon on this lap alone! That gap is now just 3.5 seconds, and that may be the only hope for both Berger and Villoresi now (that Marimon is held up by Salvadori), given that they are 7 and 8.7 seconds down respectively.

Whitehouse's persistence pays off! He does a classic switchback move at Paso a Desnivel to reclaim 9th place from Nuckey…and not a moment too soon, given that Farina is still hovering dangerously close to the pair of them!

*Lap 72* - A better lap from Salvadori, who manages to pull out 2 seconds over the eager Marimon, who also finds himself losing 2 seconds to his own pursuers - still a 5.3 second gap for them to catch there though.

Whitehouse pulls away from Nuckey by over 3 seconds, and leaves the Cooper to contend with not only Farina but also the fast-advancing Volonterio as well! We are set for an exciting end to this race, if not to this championship - and Lang has only gone and beaten his own lap record again too!

*Lap 73* - Lang breaks his lap record again - astonishing speed from the race leader, who must be bemoaning the farce of a race a few weeks ago that saw him drop out of championship contention. Villoresi still looks racy, and has a look down the inside of Berger with no luck.

Also, it was mentioned that Nuckey needed to beware of the threat from behind, but he defends too late from Farina, who muscles his way into 10th place to break the hearts of Cooper fans in the crowd. Interestingly Menditeguy's tyres are starting to wear thin again, and Taruffi will now be looking to claw back a 23 second deficit over the next 7 laps!

*Lap 74* - Salvadori loses 3 seconds to Marimon, who is really pushing hard now, and is within 4 seconds of his rival for 4th place now. Berger gains on Marimon too this lap, but it may be too little too late for the Austrian who has 5.9 seconds to make up on him.

And there is delight at Cooper! Nuckey finds a way past Farina, using a combination of great exit pace and slip-streaming to move back inside the top 10!!!

*Lap 75* - Salvadori now has just 1.9 seconds over Marimon, who will be relieved to see that neither Berger nor Villoresi can get within 4 seconds of his lap-time at this stage. Groans at Cooper though, as Nuckey runs wide at Avinguda Diagonal to gift Farina 10th place, and both of them need to watch out as Volonterio is now less than a second behind them and eager to avoid his worst result of the season!

*Lap 76* - Another second out of Salvadori's advantage, which is now less than 1 second for Marimon, who has a lead of over 10 seconds to his own pursuers now and who claims the fastest lap of the race here too! Things go from bad to worse for Nuckey, who loses out to Volonterio in a drag race down to the 1st corner - the Mercedes driver will now see what he can do to get past Farina, who is only 1.3 seconds ahead of him.

De Graffenried could not be any closer to Kling without hitting him - but STILL no way past for the Lancia, who is starting to run out of laps. Meanwhile, Taruffi has managed to gradually reduce the gap to Menditeguy to just 5 seconds on this lap as the Italian really puts the hammer down to catch his prey.

*Lap 77* - Marimon lunges at Salvadori, but the Vanwall manages to hold him off and gain a brief respite before the Maserati attacks again. Interestingly Villoresi is applying some pressure to Berger for 6th place now too.

Volonterio has a go at Farina at Calle de Numancia but to no avail, likewise de Graffenried nearly hits Kling and is forced to drop back after another unsuccessful passing attempt. 1 successful overtake does happen on this lap though, as Taruffi sails past Menditeguy into a comfortable 18th place.

*Lap 78* - Salvadori uses the breathing space to do one of his PB laps this race, and to pull out a 4.4 second advantage that may just be enough to secure 4th for Vanwall! Villoresi manages to get the better of Berger, who has had a drive today that just about sums up his season, with a well-executed pass at the final corner.

*Lap 79* - Marimon WILL NOT give up, and he takes 2.8 seconds out of the Brit's lead to leave just 1.5 seconds between them as they enter the final lap.

Villoresi may have thought the battle was over, but no-one told Berger, who chops his way past the Cooper at the entrance to Avenida de la Victoria to reclaim 6th place.

*Lap 80* - And so Lang takes a deserved win here to claim back-to-back victories, with a gulf between him and the next man, which was Moss who delivered a strong drive to take his best result of the season.

However the highest praise from the Maserati garage is reserved for their man, their champion, Hans Herrmann who comes home in 3rd to be crowned the F1R 1954 victor!

Salvadori is harried right the way to the line by Marimon, but it's delight for Vanwall as they prove that Reims wasn't a fluke result by taking 4th here with Marimon settling for 5th and fastest lap in the end from team-mate Berger 6th, Villoresi 7th after a gutsy drive that just didn't quite pay off and Whitehead 8th after the 4-stopper proved too tough to pull off this time around.

Whitehouse may have been the man to cause the 4-stoppers their problems, but he - and Vanwall - should be proud of a 9th place finish that showed that they could be a threat in future. Farina came home 10th, with Volonterio 11th without a title and Nuckey 12th; both in very close attendance.

Gerard finishes 13th after a day to forget for the former champion, but at least he didn't spend all day defending from a Lancia! Kling may have pulled off the task, but you have to admire de Graffenried for never giving up all race long - they finish 14th and 15th respectively, and much to the disgust of Kling are actually lapped by Lang as well!

Collins was another for whom the 4 stopper was a real bust in 16th, with Mantovani relatively slow by his standards in 17th, Taruffi in 18th and Menditeguy providing proof that a 2 stopper was the wrong choice here in 19th place. Hawthorn rounds out the top 20 after a quiet afternoon by him, though had the race been 10 laps longer he would surely have caught Menditeguy too!

Rounding out the finishers today are Parnell and Pilette, the latter of whom does manage to get ahead of Fangio on the very last lap - despite finishing nearly 50 laps down in the end! Of course besides Fangio we also lost Wacker to a fuel issue and both Helfrich and Maglioli in the chaos at the start.