1954 Swiss GP

## Track Facts

* Name – Bremgarten
* Location – Switzerland
* Corners – 13
* Laps – 66
* Base (Worst) Lap Time – 3:00.000
* Lap Record (Real Life) – 2:35.900 (Juan Manuel Fangio)
* Lap Record (F1R) – 2:28.275 (Roy Salvadori)
* Pit Lane Length – 30 seconds
* Fuel Consumption – High
* Tyre Wear – Medium

## Qualifying 1

Salvadori set the early pace with the Cooper drivers doing what they could before Mercedes set their stall out with real intent - first Whitehead, then Kling, then Volonterio got the most out of the Mercedes, but they could do nothing against the sheer pace of the Maserati of Berger, as it's 6 speed gearbox gave them great acceleration around the straights and banked curves of the Bremgarten circuit.

That said Berger was the only one who managed to use those 6 gears to the maximum, as Farina, Moss and Herrmann finished in 5th, 6th and 7th respectively with Lang a lowly 12th place after he failed to find clear space for a lap.

The Coopers do well to take 8th, 9th and 11th for Villoresi, Nuckey and Schell respectively as they sandwich the straggling Mercedes of Gerard who was another who struggled to get a clear lap in. Mantovani is 13th for Ferrari, from Manzon's Cooper, Salvadori's Vanwall, the Lancia duo of Collins and de Graffenried and the final Cooper of Helfrich.

Parnell has done a great job to outperform the Connaught and put it inside the top 20 in 19th place ahead of Menditeguy's Vanwall, the top Gordini of Ascari, the lagging Lancia of Maglioli and the sole Klenk of Brandon.

Behind them, some 40+ seconds a lap down on the leaders, are the lone HWM of Pilette, Hawthorn's ailing Ferrari, Fangio's Connaught and a rather race-rusty Behra in the Vanwall, who should hopefully improve in Q2!

**Qualifying 1 Results**

## Qualifying 2

Herrmann puts in the best time, as the Mercedes all push to the limit and can only be separated by the order of setting the lap-time. Developments to the timing system are being planned for next race to ensure this doesn't happen again! For posterity it's Gerard from Whitehead, Kling and Volonterio who occupy places 2 through 5.

Following them are the other 4 Maserati's of Farina, Moss, Berger and Lang. Rounding out the top 10 is Villoresi, who was tantalisingly close to getting in amongst the Maserati's - and will certainly be looking to do so in the race! He is followed by 3 of his team-mates, in the shape of Schell, Manzon and Nuckey.

Salvadori is a credible 14th for Vanwall, from the Lancia duo of Collins and de Graffenried. Then comes Helfrich's Cooper, the twin Connaughts of Parnell and Fangio, and then the Vanwall of Menditeguy, the Ferrari of Hawthorn, the HWM of Pilette and the Lancia of Maglioli.

**Qualifying 2 Results**

## Overall Qualifying Results

And so Q2 for the most part determines the grid, with Herrmann the only Maserati to get the most out of the car and finish ahead of the consistent Mercedes team. Cooper's co-ordinated effort sees them take positions 10 through 13, ahead of Salvadori in the Vanwall and the Lancia duo of Collins & De Graffenried.

Menditeguy's Q1 time actually gains him a place vs his Q2 position and he will start the race ahead of Fangio's Connaught - albeit behind Parnell. Likewise Maglioli will have his Lancia ahead of the HWM of Pilette thanks to his Q1 efforts.

Failing to qualify, despite being involved in Q1, are several drivers - most surprising of all it's the Ferrari of Mantovani, the Gordini of Ascari, the Klenk of Brandon and the Vanwall of Behra, who sadly doesn't make his 1st grid of the year yet.

## Race Commentary

*Lap 1* - Herrmann gets the perfect get-away, building up a 3 seconds advantage in the space of just 1 lap! This is partly helped by Gerard stalling on the grid; he does get it going again but not before he has dropped right down the order to 9th place - which allows Kling into 2nd place, as he gets a decent start. Whitehead was 3rd, but the rocket-start that Berger has propels the Austrian right onto the rear of the Mercedes before he squeezes up the inside at Passerelle Elchholz.

Villoresi follows Berger through to send the Cooper mechanics wild, with Lang in a creditable 6th from team-mates Farina and Moss. Rounding out the top 10 is Volonterio, who had to swerve to avoid the slow-starting Gerard and loses momentum as a result.

Menditeguy gets a great start to propel himself into 11th place, helped mostly by Manzon getting it all wrong at Quarry and going wide with several drivers being suckered in and following him off the track! De Graffenried recovers best to claim 12th, from Nuckey, Helfrich, Collins, Salvadori, Schell, Parnell and the recovering Manzon.

Completing the top 20 is Hawthorn, who jumps Fangio off the start with Maglioli and Pilette also getting off the starting-grid to make it a relatively clean start overall!

*Lap 2* - Kling and Berger gain some serious ground on Herrmann, whilst Whitehead loses out on this lap as he over-shoots the corner at Forsthaus to let first Villoresi, then Lang and then Farina through initially. As he comes back onto the track he loses the back-end of the car and allows both Moss and Gerard through to demote the Mercedes driver down to 9th position!

Meanwhile Lang and Farina both manage to drag past Villoresi and get ahead before the line. Better news for Cooper though, is that Helfrich is the man who gains most positions on this lap, with overtakes on Nuckey, de Graffenried, Menditeguy and even Volonterio! In fact the Mercedes driver loses out to the pacey Menditeguy at Eymatt too!!!

*Lap 3* - Kling is pushing hard to gain on Herrmann…too hard in fact! He has the car right on the edge and has to slow down to avoid crashing, which allows both Berger and Lang to get past on the run down to Glasbrunnenrampe; the latter who capitalises to take the fastest lap of the race too! Villoresi avenges last-lap's ignominy by passing Farian at Passerelle Elchholz, keeping Cooper's hopes alive!

Volonterio is another to fight back after being overshadowed last lap, as the Mercedes driver takes first Menditeguy and then Helfrich to move back inside the top 10.

*Lap 4* - Lang moves past Berger for 2nd place as the Maserati 1-2-3 continues apace. Meanwhile Mercedes are struggling, as Kling loses out to Villoresi as the Cooper moves into 4th position. The remaining Mercedes drivers are in 8th for Gerard, now 9th for Volonterio as he passes Whitehead who is now down to 10th place.

Menditeguy continues his fine form, as he passes Helfrich, whilst Nuckey takes de Graffenried - though they have around 8 seconds gap back to the next car, which is Collins leading a group including Salvadori and Schell.

*Lap 5* - Volonterio's tough start to the race continues, as he spins at Jordenrampe - and even though he catches the car he loses places to Whitehead, Menditeguy and Helfrich. However it gets worse for Mercedes as Whitehead has to slow to avoid his out-of-control team-mate and even though he swerves across to block Menditeguy and slows the Vanwall down he still loses the position, not only to him but also to Helfrich as well, who takes both on the run down to Tenni.

*Lap 6* - Villoresi loses the back end of the car at Forsthaus, allowing Kling through into 4th with Farina also capitalising to take 5th position. A bad lap for Cooper, as Helfrich also slips off the track at Quarry to drop behind Menditeguy and Whitehead.

Nuckey takes Volonterio on this lap too, but it's likely scant consolation for the British marque given the other places they've lost here.

*Lap 7* - Kling manages to break-up the Maserati trio at the front with a well-timed pass on Berger at Batlehem, whilst Moss gets the better of both Farina and Villoresi with overtakes at Passerelle Elchholz and Jordenrampe respectively.

Helfrich gets caught out by aquaplaning at Glasbrunnenrampe and drops behind Nuckey and Volonterio as a result to 13th place.

*Lap 8* - Farina re-takes Moss at Forsthaus, but both are losing ground to the top 4 - meanwhile Menditeguy almost collides with Whitehead as the Mercedes driver desperately attempts to regain positions, and in his lunging he causes both to run wide - meaning that Nuckey and Volonterio passes both of them. Whitehead does take Menditeguy though at least, but it's still a net loss of 1 position for him!

*Lap 9* - Seemingly unable to refrain from overtaking each other, Moss muscles past Farina at Glasbrunnenrampe - whilst Nuckey gets the better of Gerard as the Coopers continue to take the fight to those in faster cars.

Menditeguy overtakes Whitehead, and then follows this up with a pass on Volonterio at Eymatt as the Mercedes team continue to struggle in these wet conditions.

*Lap 10* - The Mercedes team are still struggling to find any degree of consistency, as Whitehead passes Volonterio, and then re-takes Menditeguy to save a little face at least.

Otherwise it's status quo on this lap, as Herrmann continues to build his lead at the front to over 6 seconds now. In fact the top 3 are really pulling away as Kling opens up a big gap over Berger and those behind!

*Lap 11* - Whitehead passes Gerard for 9th place, and Lang sets the fastest lap of the race to break the 2:40 barrier and cut the gap at the front to 3.8 seconds or so - however attention is on the 1st retirement of the race, as Menditeguy pulls his Vanwall off the road at Jorden to retire - it seems he is out of fuel!!!

*Lap 12* - Helfrich reclaims 11th place from Volonterio - but as the two battle over that position they have allowed an 8 second gap to open up to those within the top 10! Up front Herrmann responds to Lang's pressure with the fastest lap of the race to open the gap up to over 5 seconds.

*Lap 13* - Gerard re-takes Whitehead, but both are losing ground on 8th place Nuckey. Meanwhile Maglioli gets it all wrong at Forsthaus and damages the underside of his car, however despite his damage he is still faster than Pilette, so it's unlikely to have a bearing on the positions moving forwards.

*Lap 14* - No overtakes on this lap, as the race has settled down and we're starting to see the gaps opening up. Herrmann has 6.7 seconds over Lang as he improves on his fastest lap, with Kling a further 4.9 seconds back then Berger 7.6 back on them too. Farina is right on Berger's tail now, with the Cooper duo around 7 seconds down on the Maserati's.

*Lap 15* - 2 pit-stops are the main action this lap, as first of all Moss comes in followed by Collins in the Lancia. The Maserati mechanics do quick work and Moss emerges in 12th place, whilst Collins drops only a single place to Salvadori.

*Lap 16* - An action packed lap here, as Herrmann comes into the pits and Lang takes full advantage to take the race lead and fastest-lap in one fell swoop! Kling also comes in, and thanks to some smart work by his pit-crew he cuts the gap to Herrmann to just 6.9 seconds!

Those stops promote Berger into 2nd place from Farina in 3rd to restore the Maserati 1-2-3. Villoresi and Nuckey are 4th and 5th for Cooper respectively - what they would give for the race to finish right now!

Herrmann emerges in 7th place behind Gerard, whilst Helfrich gets the better of Whitehead to take 8th position with a brilliant overtake at Forsthaus around the outside! Kling comes out in 9th place, but attention is on Hawthorn who comes up to lap Pilette and as he does so the HWM driver slows down drastically as he runs out of fuel - and the Ferrari driver clips him to do some damage to the side of his car. He does carry on though, unlike Pilette whose race ends at Wohlenstrasse.

*Lap 17* - Lang pits on this lap, and with a stellar stop and that extra lap on low fuel he emerges in 4th not only ahead of Herrmann, but also in front of Gerard and Whitehead as well to put 2 cars in between him and his team-mate! That puts Berger into 1st place, from Villoresi and Nuckey - meanwhile Farina pits and drops well down the order.

Volonterio takes Kling for 8th position as the heavier fuelled Mercedes loses ground. Moss is 10th, with Farina down in 11th position once he emerges from the pits.

Helfrich is one of several drivers who pits this lap, including Schell, Parnell and Manzon too. However Helfrich only drops to 13th place, whilst the others emerge in the same positions they went into the pits in.

*Lap 18* - Berger pits on this lap, which moves Villoresi into the race lead - and as Nuckey also comes into the pits that allows Lang into 2nd place from Gerard and Whitehead who are yet to stop, Herrmann, Volonterio - who is also yet to come into the pits - and Kling in 7th place.

Berger is out in 8th, and Farina claims 9th from Moss with a slipstream effort at Batlehem. Nuckey is out in 10th, but some way down on the others. De Graffenried pits to gift Helfrich 12th place, and Fangio comes in as well and now only has a 15 second lead over Maglioli.

*Lap 19* - Kling passes Volonterio as the Mercedes continue to squabble for the minor placings. Moss and Farina are also back at it again, with the latter passing the highly-rated Brit at Tenni.

*Lap 20* - Volonterio re-passes Kling for 6th place, in an otherwise quiet lap.

*Lap 21* - But there is a real shock here, as Villoresi pulls over to the side of the road to become the 3rd driver to retire with no more fuel in his car! Lang now leads from Gerard, whilst Whitehead is passed by Herrmann for what is now the final podium place!

Farina also takes Moss on this lap again, as their own private battle continues apace for what is now 8th position. Nuckey ensures that 1 Cooper remains in the top 10, albeit only in 10th place some 11 seconds off the next driver.

*Lap 22* - Several pit-stops happen on this lap, with Gerard at last making his 1st stop along with team-mates Whitehead and Volonterio. Salvadori and Maglioli both come into the pits as well - all of which means Herrmann is now in 2nd place, from Kling in 3rd, Berger 4th and Farina 5th.

Moss is now 6th from Whitehead in 7th, as Gerard's stop is a slow one that drops him behind not only Whitehead but Nuckey as well! Salvadori's pit sees him come out right behind Collins but with fresher tyres on!

*Lap 23* - Herrmann has dropped the gap down to 0.3 seconds to Lang; but Kling is now 15 seconds down on them in 3rd place. Gerard takes Nuckey for 8th position but with the points some 16 seconds away it's looking a little unlikely that this battle will be of consequence.

*Lap 24* - Herrmann manages to pass Lang with a great overtake at Wohlenstrasse, which regains the lead for the German and potentially sets up an exciting fight at the front of this race!

*Lap 25* - The race has settled into a rhythm now, which means no overtaking occurs on this lap - though Helfrich does have a look at team-mate Nuckey without success at Jorden.

Also Fangio makes a mistake at Wohlenstrasse and tags the stricken HWM of Pilette to cause substantial damage to the car's bodywork!

*Lap 26* - The gap at the front is increasing, as Herrmann now opens up over 6 seconds advantage over Lang, with Kling now about 20 seconds back on the leader. The man really gaining ground though is Helfrich, who slipstreams team-mate Nuckey on the run down to Batlehem and then fakes one way before switching back to sell Gerard a perfect dummy down to Forsthaus! As he crosses the line he is mere centimetres behind Whitehead too - this Cooper driver is hungry for more than just a top 10 finish today!!!

*Lap 27* - Lang cuts the gap to Herrmann to around 3 seconds with a great sub 2:40 lap-time. Meanwhile disaster for Mercedes and unbridled joy for Cooper! Helfrich makes Whitehead very uncomfortable with the pressure he applies on the run into Eymatt, which causes him to run wide - allowing not only Helfrich, but also the duo of Gerard and Nuckey through!

It gets even worse for the Silver Arrows though, as Nuckey manages to get a better exit out of Tritignant to nail Gerard on the straight…the Brit makes a dive up the inside at Forsthaus but brakes too late, and loses places not only to Nuckey but to the recovering Whitehead too. Cooper now in 7th and 8th places - albeit some 15 seconds behind the next car.

*Lap 28* - Herrmann and Lang are now trading lap-times, with the lead up to 6 seconds again. However Kling is beginning to cut the gap down somewhat as he is again just 15 seconds down on Lang at this point. Whitehead continues his recovery by getting the better of Nuckey at Passerelle Elchholz with a firm move up the inside of his fellow Brit, which causes Nuckey to run wide and allows Gerard back through as well.

*Lap 29* - A stellar lap for Lang, as he takes the gap down to 3.2 seconds, with Kling only 13.6 back. Attention is on the Mercedes vs Cooper battle though, as Nuckey - clearly keen to atone for going wide the lap before - gets right into the draft of both Gerard and Whitehead, who are powerless to stop the determined Cooper from sailing by the pair of them. In fact, such is the speed he has accumulated that he passes a rather surprised Helfrich as well!

Collins pits on this lap for the 2nd time, dropping behind Salvadori as a result - this ambitious strategy for Lancia is beginning to look like it hasn't paid off unfortunately.

*Lap 30* - Another strong lap from Lang, who has the gap down to under 1.5 seconds! Meanwhile the Cooper's have finally made a getaway!!! Nuckey has some 5 seconds over Helfrich, who has 2 in hand over the duelling duo of Whitehead and Gerard, who again swap places on this lap to put the latter back into 9th place.

*Lap 31* - Farina gets right up to the back of Berger on this lap, but can do nothing to get past the Austrian at this stage. Whitehead also pressures Gerard, but is unable to find a way past either.

*Lap 32* - The leader pits! Herrmann is in for a great pit-stop, which drops him out in 5th place behind Berger, who falls victim to Farina's pace as the Italian inherits what is now a podium position!

Also coming in on this lap is Moss, which promotes Nuckey, Helfrich, Whitehead and Gerard - and of course Whitehead manages to pass his team-mate here too, as the Mercedes seem unable to stop fighting with each other! They are now a full 7 seconds behind Helfrich, and 12 down on Nuckey. Moss comes out just behind this group.

*Lap 33* - Kling pits on this lap, to gift his 2nd place to Berger! The Austrian attacks Farina on the back-straight and gets the better of him at Glasbrunnenrampe. Kling emerges some 15 seconds down on Herrmann, though the Maserati's pace is not great as he endeavours to warm up these new tyres.

*Lap 34* - The top 3 all come into the pits on this lap, and Lang manages to come back out in 1st place thanks to Herrmann's difficulties in warming up his tyres! He is now some 6.5 seconds down on his team-mate at this point - though his lead over Kling has increased, mostly down to the hard-charging Nuckey, who switches back underneath the Mercedes to take what is now 3rd place away from him!

Farina is out in 5th, as Berger has another very slow stop to come out in 6th JUST ahead of Whitehead and Gerard. That is because Helfrich also pits on this lap, coming out behind Volonterio in 11th place after a slow stop for him too.

Also pitting on this lap and not losing a position are de Graffenried in 12th for Lancia, and the trio of Schell, Parnell and Manzon in 15th, 16th and 17th for Cooper, Connaught and Cooper respectively.

*Lap 35* - Herrmann cuts the gap down on Lang to around 4 seconds, whilst Gerard and Whitehead at last have a Maserati to aim at in the shape of Berger - and so Whitehead of course has a lunge at Gerard to take the place and give him 1st crack at the auld enemy next time around!

*Lap 36* - Herrmann has a great lap, while Lang struggles with lapped traffic and as a result the gap is down to a mere 0.4 seconds! We could be about to see a genuine battle for the lead here!!!

Nuckey's podium position is short-lived as he comes into the pits and drops down to 9th place ahead of Volonterio! That could be crucial as the Mercedes ahead are yet to stop and are now only 20 seconds up the road as well…with a Maserati and a points position all to play for too.

Speaking of that Maserati, Berger has a tough lap as Gerard makes a pass stick at Tenni - though he does at least keep Whitehead behind him to split the Mercedes for the 1st lap in a long time!

*Lap 37* - No changes in positions this lap, but it's not for lack of attempts! Herrmann has a go at Lang at Forsthaus, but despite not making it stick he is still only a tenth of a second behind him! Likewise Gerard has serious problems to contend with as both Berger and Whitehead are pushing like crazy so that all 3 are now separated by less than 0.5 of a second!!!

*Lap 38* - On a lap where overtakes seemed inevitable only 1 driver actually manages any - and it's probably not the one anyone expected! Whitehead is eager to put another Maserati behind him, and delivers a well executed pass at Quarry, before using his momentum to do the traditional pass on Gerard this lap. Farina is now only 2 seconds up the road, as the Maserati's don't look as strong in this phase of the race…

Fangio also pits on this lap to FINALLY fix the damage on his car, and he comes out some 40 seconds ahead of Maglioli on the road. At least he has a top 20 place guaranteed this race though!

*Lap 39* - Herrmann takes Lang for the lead of the race! What a comeback from the German, as he swoops around the outside at Wohlenstrasse with real aplomb to take a deserved 1st place - meanwhile Gerard re-takes Whitehead as the inseparable duo continue their fight apace.

*Lap 40* - No passes on this lap, but Volonterio is getting close to the back of Nuckey, who isn't quite having the luck he was having earlier in the race at this point.

*Lap 41* - Herrmann has opened up a gap to Lang now of over 5 seconds with some quick laps. Meanwhile Gerard has pulled away from Whitehead, who doesn't seem to expect the onslaught from Berger, who glides past at Glasbrunnenrampe to potentially put an end to the all-Mercedes scrap that has been going all race long!

Collins pits for the 3rd time on this lap, coming out still in 14th place. Also, Volonterio now has Nuckey firmly in his sights, but waits patiently to make his move…

*Lap 42* - …and does so with style at Passerelle Elchholz, and then pulls out a few seconds gap on this lap too! Meanwhile Berger reclaims the final points position with a forceful pass over Gerard - the Austrian must be hoping for a decent final stop to enable him to really fight for that position later in the race!

*Lap 43* - The tyres on Gerard and Whitehead's cars are starting to go off, and the latter is a sitting duck for Moss to overtake him. Hawthorn pits on this lap and comes out still in 18th place with Fangio over a minute behind.

*Lap 44* - All 3 Mercedes come in this lap, as do Salvadori and Maglioli as they fuel to the finish and try to make the risky 2-stopper option work for them. That promotes Moss into 6th place and Nuckey up to 7th, with Whitehead jumping Gerard in the stops (expect that particular rivalry to flair up again!) to take 8th place. Helfrich finds himself back in the top 10 with over 10 seconds advantage on Volonterio.

Salvadori still has around 20 second advantage on Collins at this stage of the race, but a 1:25 deficit on de Graffenried looks too much to make up, even though the Lancia will likely have to stop again.

*Lap 45* - The cold tyres on the Mercedes are a real issue for both Whitehead and Gerard who see their 10 second advantage over Helfrich behind halved on this lap!

*Lap 46* - No overtakes on this lap, but we do see Berger cut the gap to Farina to around 1 second in the battle for 4th place. Also Helfrich is just over 3 seconds down on the Mercedes pair, and if they start squabbling again it's looking a raring certainty that the Cooper will pounce on them!

*Lap 47* - SO CLOSE! Whitehead comes up to lap Schell, and as he moves back to take the racing line he touches his rear right tyre on the Cooper's front left - this unsettles the Mercedes, who has to brake to hold on to the car, which lets Gerard through - and we can now see Helfrich around 1 second behind the pair of them.

Worse news for Schell though, who has sustained a puncture and must now limp back to the pits to get it fixed.

*Lap 48* - Gerard and Whitehead are the cause of their own demise here - as the latter surges up the inside at the tight Passerelle Elchholz corner, and 2 into 1 doesn't go - they touch wheels and both veer off to the side, which allows Helfrich to breeze straight through the middle and into 8th place to restore the impressive Cooper 7-8 they had before! Whitehead does get back ahead of Gerard as he has the inside line for the next corner when they both get back on track.

Schell pits to mend his puncture, and the mechanics do a sterling job under pressure to get him out just 7 seconds ahead of Parnell's Connaught.

*Lap 49* - Herrmann pits from the lead of the race for the 3rd and final time, he drops back to 3rd place behind both Lang and Kling. Meanwhile Berger takes 4th place for himself with a deft pass on Farina going into Forsthaus.

Moss also comes into the pits on this lap, which moves Nuckey into 6th place - though likely not for long given that the Cooper should be pitting again too. Behind them Gerard and Whitehead are STILL at it! Gerard gets past his team-mate at Eymatt this time, as the two continue to fight each other for position here.

*Lap 50* - A lap where attention is almost entirely on the pit-lane! Kling comes in from 2nd place, dropping behind Herrmann and Farina who comes through in 2nd and 3rd respectively demoting the German to 4th place. Nuckey is now up to 5th as Berger pits for another quite slow stop, but the Austrian does at least come out ahead of Moss this time.

De Graffenried and Parnell also pit on this lap, but such are their respective leads over Salvadori and Manzon that they both retain their positions in the race.

*Lap 51* - Another lap of pit-stops taking precedence; this time Lang pits and comes out alongside Herrmann! Lang holds the inside line and manages to stay ahead after a slick stop by his mechanic team, who look deservedly delighted with their work - what a quick pit-stop time that was!!!

Meanwhile Farina pits and comes out in what is now certainly the battle for the final podium place - Kling is some 6 seconds ahead of Nuckey, who is 1 second ahead of Farina in 5th. Helfrich pits on this lap and drops back into 11th place as a result behind the 2-stopping Mercedes group. Also pitting on this lap are Schell and Manzon - though the latter have an issue with getting one of the wheels on correctly, and though they attach it there looks to be some wobbling going on, which will hurt him in this final stint!

*Lap 52* - Herrmann re-takes the lead of the race! A great pass at Forsthaus does the job, but Lang definitely got the better exit there - though is still behind as they cross the start/finish line! Nuckey is on fire with his lap-times as he breezes up to the back of Kling here to look again at 3rd place in the race.

*Lap 53* - Lang uses his better exit to slipstream past Herrmann into Quarry - that lead lasted less than 2 corners! Meanwhile Nuckey continues his charge, as he hurtles past Kling at Tenni to move into the top 3 - though he still has his final stop to do.

*Lap 54* - Nuckey does pit on this lap, and a slow-ish stop drops him back behind Moss but crucially some 7 seconds ahead of both Gerard and Whitehead meaning he is now in 7th place again, but with only a 12 second deficit to Moss now.

Further back Parnell is gaining ground on Schell after the incident the American had and is now within 10 seconds of him and catching him quickly as well! Collins pits for the 4th and final time on this lap as well, but still comes out comfortably ahead of the aforementioned battle.

*Lap 55* - Lang is now pulling away from Herrmann as he increases the gap to over 6.5 seconds, meanwhile the battle for 3rd place hots up as Farina and Berger both bear down on Kling, who is really Mercedes last hope fo a podium today as things stand.

*Lap 56* - Herrmann gets the gap back down to under 4 seconds with a much better lap-time as he fights through the spray to gain on Lang.

*Lap 57* - Kling stamps some authority on the 3rd place battle with a 2:40 dead that opens up around a 2-3 second gap on his pursuers. Meanwhile gaining ground further back are Volonterio - the championship leader has had a day to forget here but he's pushing for all he's worth not to be last of the Mercedes.

Meanwhile the best Connaught of Parnell is really straining to get at Schell and has the gap down to less than 4 seconds now! Surely a pass is imminent here for 15th place on track.

*Lap 58* - Great lap again for Herrmann who has the gap down to around 2 seconds now. Meanwhile Volonterio has his own gap down to 4 seconds after another strong lap from the Mercedes driver.

And we have an overtake - probably not one that was expected though, as it is Berger who takes Farina for 4th place with Kling now firmly in the Austrian's sights.

*Lap 59* - And Herrmann makes the pass on Lang! A great move around the outside at Wohlenstrasse means we have a real race on our hands for the next 7 laps to the finish. And Volonterio is now just 1 second behind team-mate Whitehead!

*Lap 60* - Berger takes a big chunk out of Kling's advantage, as he narrows the deficit to just 1.8 seconds with Farina only a further 2.4 seconds behind. And Whitehead finally responds to Volonterio's advances by matching his lap-time - and that causes both to pull right up to the back of Gerard…expect some real fireworks for the next few laps between these 3; and with Nuckey only 4 seconds ahead it could even be a 4-way fight!!!

*Lap 61* - Lang cuts the gap to under 1 second, but is not quite close enough to have a go at Herrmann. Moss is also gaining ground with a great lap-time to cut the gap to those ahead to around 10 seconds.

However the Maserati everyone is watching is Berger, as he jinks left and then jinks back right to get on the inside of Kling at Forsthaus and take the podium position away from the German. Fangio also pits on this lap, in a rather unusual strategy, coming out significantly ahead of Maglioli still.

Also on this lap Volonterio passes Whitehead, and has a go at Gerard - but in his haste the Swiss overdoes it going into Forsthaus, and pushes them both wide. This allows Whitehead to get back ahead of them both, with Gerard recovering to remain ahead of the overly-adventurous Volonterio. Nuckey is now less than a second ahead of this trio and he will need something special to stay ahead you would expect.

*Lap 62* - Not much to report on this lap, though Parnell does have the gap to Schell down to under 4 seconds. Otherwise mostly status quo at the front.

*Lap 63* - Hermman sets a great lap-time to pull out 4 seconds over Lang, as he stakes a claim for the victory with time running out for the latter Maserati. Meanwhile Berger gets a horrible exit out of Tenni with 2 wheels on the wet grass, which lets Kling have a run at him - and the German gets the job done just before Tritignant to give Mercedes hope of a podium finish again!

Meanwhile Nuckey is defending hard from Whitehead, who lunges at him at Passerelle Elchholz, but the Cooper shuts the door on him. Both Gerard and Volonterio are now in striking distance too…

*Lap 64* - You cannot hold him down - Lang sets a new fastest lap of the race with a 2:38.0 to cut the gap to 3 seconds again. Kling surges away from those behind him, as he looks to secure 3rd place - but will a 1.5 second advantage be enough?

Another sub 2:39 lap from Moss puts him within 5 seconds of those ahead, and another solid lap from Nuckey ensures he survives another lap in 7th place - though not by much!

*Lap 65* - Another second off the lead and Lang looks to be catching Herrmann now, with the gap at 1.9 seconds with 1 lap remaining - though Lang's Maserati did make an unusual clunking sound as it went past the start/finish line there…Berger is now within 0.5 seconds of Kling, though has a similar knocking in his engine too! Farina looks to be out of the 3rd place battle as he is now some 5.3 seconds off the pace - though he too has that peculiar sound as he crosses the start/finish line too.

Meanwhile Moss again cuts the gap to those in front of him with the new fastest lap of the race as he does a sub 2:38 lap-time to move to within 3 seconds of the cars in front - but it might well be too little too late for the Brit.

Meanwhile it's delight for Nuckey, as he sees the Mercedes tyres reach the cliff of their 2 stopper - and his advantage soars to around 7 seconds from Whitehead. Gerard and Volonterio are still likely to have a go in the final lap though.

*Lap 66* - Much like the French GP, which was extended by 1 lap due to the pace of the cars this year - the Swiss GP also has 1 additional lap on it, and had there been 1 lap less Maserati would have claimed a 1-2, but as it is…

Hans Herrmann takes the victory! Maserati mechanics breathe a sigh of relief…but then, drama, where is Lang?!? It appears that - to Maserati's utter disbelief - he has stopped somewhere out of track AGAIN out of fuel! Kling crosses the line in 2nd place, with a wry grin on his face…

And so we wait for Berger in 3rd and Farina in 4th…but yet the next man to cross the line and claim the final podium place is…STIRLING MOSS! Sensationally both Berger and Farina have also under-fuelled and stopped out on track!!!

And that means that the man to claim 4th place is none other than the Cooper of Rodney Nuckey, who's defensive driving secures Cooper their 1st points of the season! Whitehead does claim 5th place and the final points position, despite a late passing attempt from Gerard and Volonterio too, who finish 6th and 7th respectively.

Helfrich takes 8th and is the final finisher on the lead lap today, with Lang, Berger and Farina credited with 9th, 10th and 11th as everyone else was a lap down. De Graffenried finishes 12th, from Salvadori, the ambitious Collins and Schell, who only beats Parnell by about 5 seconds in the end in what was a very close battle right up to the end of the race.

Manzon finishes 17th, from Hawthorn in 18th, Fangio 19th and Maglioli rounding out the finishers in 20th place with the 3 retirements of Villoresi, Pilette and Menditeguy completing what has been a dramatic and exciting Swiss GP here in Bremgarten.