Review of 1951 season

The 1951 Formula-1 World Championship was marked by a grandiose confrontation between two Italian teams Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, who fought among themselves throughout the season and determined the fate of the title only in the last race in Spain. Despite the fact that Ferrari eventually lost to the Milan team, they achieved the main goal for this season: to interrupt Alfa Romeo's winning streak and impose a serious struggle to their main rival. At the same time, Ferraris 375 were potentially even stronger than the Alfa Romeos 159 thanks to a more economical engine that allowed the team to make fewer pit stops, however, Scuderia did not immediately manage to realize the full potential of their cars, their drivers often had problems with the gearbox, and in the last race the team made the fatal decision to use smaller diameter tires, which eventually cost them the championship title, which went to Fangio.

Juan Manuel has shown himself in all his glory this season. Starting with a phenomenal performance in the rain in Switzerland, the Argentine has been stunningly stable throughout the season, claiming at least 2nd place in every race and putting a bold dot with a victory in the final race. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Alfa Romeo retained the title only thanks to the Argentine, and if any other driver had been in his place, the victory would have been celebrated in Ferrari. Last year's champion Farina faced all sorts of technical problems and was able to win only one race in Belgium, but this season clearly showed that Fangio's skill level had increased significantly and the Italian could no longer keep up with the new leader of Alfa Romeo. As for their teammates Sanesi, Bonetto and Graffenried, they were clearly inferior to the world champions and could only claim a couple of points in each race.

Alberto Ascari, having won victories in Germany and Italy, proved that he is not the leader of Ferrari for nothing, and deservedly took 2nd place in the championship, but he lacked the stability of Fangio. But the real discovery of the year was Jose-Froilan Gonzalez. The young Argentine, who modestly started the season at the wheel of his own Talbot-Lago, was unexpectedly invited to Ferrari to replace ill Piero Taruffi and used this chance to the fullest. Driving for Ferrari, Jose-Froilan finished on the podium in every race, brought the team its first victory in Formula 1 at Silverstone and eventually naturally took 3rd place in the overall standings, behind Fangio and Ascari.

For Luigi Villoresi, this season was much more successful than the previous one: the Italian got on the podium three times and took 5th place in the overall standings. Nevertheless, it was obvious that Luigi could no longer compete with Ascari and fight for victories, as in the post-war years. The last Ferrari driver, Piero Taruffi, managed to prove himself only in the rain-soaked Swiss Grand Prix, and in all other races he was inferior to his teammates.

Considering that in each Grand Prix, three or four drivers from the two leading teams went to the start, it was almost impossible for other teams to earn points. Perhaps the fastest car after Alfa Romeo and Ferrari was BRM, but the English national team, due to problems with the reliability of the car, was able to fully participate in only one Grand Prix. In Silverstone, the BRM looked good and Parnell was even able to earn points, but in Italy both cars could not even get to the start, so the future of the team looked hazy.

The only remaining French team Equipe Gordini also showed good speed in the races, but the engines of its cars could not withstand the entire distance and often broke down. As a result, none of the team's drivers could score points, and the best finish was 6th place in Italy.

The Talbot team, which left Formula 1 last year, was represented by drivers in Talbot-Lago private cars. The strongest Talbot drivers were Louis Rosier and Louis Chiron, who joined forces in the Frenchman's team. At the same time, Rosier managed to earn three points in Belgium, and Monegasque was less lucky, and he only once managed to reach the finish line in 6th place.

Alternative driver standings

Alternative team standings