Type: | F1 |
Country: | Belgium |
Grand Prix: | Belgian |
Official Name: | XVIII Grote Prijs Van Belgie |
Date: | June 3 |
Year: | 1956 |
Previous Round: | 1956 Indianapolis 500#World Drivers' Championship |
Next Round: | 1956 French Grand Prix |
Location: | Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps |
Course: | Permanent racing facility |
Course Mi: | 8.774 |
Course Km: | 14.120 |
Distance Laps: | 36 |
Distance Mi: | 315.855 |
Distance Km: | 508.320 |
Weather: | Wet and overcast, later drying |
Pole Driver: | Juan Manuel Fangio |
Pole Team: | Ferrari |
Pole Time: | 4:09.8 |
Pole Country: | Argentina |
Fast Driver: | Stirling Moss |
Fast Team: | Maserati |
Fast Time: | 4:14.7 |
Fast Country: | United Kingdom |
First Driver: | Peter Collins |
First Team: | Ferrari |
First Country: | United Kingdom |
Second Driver: | Paul Frère |
Second Team: | Ferrari |
Second Country: | Belgium |
Third Driver: | Cesare Perdisa ![]() |
Third Team: | Maserati |
Third Country: | Italy |
The 1956 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 June 1956 at Spa-Francorchamps. It was race 4 of 8 in the 1956 World Championship of Drivers.
After the first day of practice on Thursday, Fangio was on pole with a time almost 5 sec faster than second place Moss. These times would not be touched with wet conditions on Friday and windy conditions on Saturday.
It was raining when the race began and Fangio made a poor start and settled in fifth with Moss well in the lead. But by lap 3 Fangio would be in second having passed Behra, Collins, and then Castellotti. By the fifth lap he was in the lead and had opened up an 8-second lead on Moss by lap 10 with Collins third on a drying track. Collins took second when Moss lost a back wheel on the climb after the Eau Rouge bridge. He was able to safely stop and sprint back to the pits and take over Perdisa's car. He resumed in sixth but a lap down to the leaders. Collins took the lead for good when Fangio lost his transmission on lap 24. A tight battle for second between Behra and Frere ended when Behra's engine began to misfire. This allowed Moss to move to third as he had passed Schell earlier. Moss ended the race on a furious pace but the two leaders were too far ahead to make up the gap.
This was the first Formula One podium for a Belgian driver.
1 | 2 | ![]() | Ferrari | 4:09.8 | — | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2 | 30 | Stirling Moss | Maserati | 4:14.7 | +4.9 | |
3 | 8 | Peter Collins | Ferrari | 4:15.3 | +5.5 | |
4 | 32 | ![]() | Maserati | 4:16.7 | +6.9 | |
5 | 4 | ![]() | Ferrari | 4:16.7 | +6.9 | |
6 | 10 | ![]() | Vanwall | 4:19.0 | +9.2 | |
7 | 12 | ![]() | Vanwall | 4:22.8 | +13.0 | |
8 | 6 | ![]() | Ferrari | 4:23.8 | +14.0 | |
9 | 34 | ![]() | Maserati | 4:35.7 | +25.9 | |
10 | 24 | ![]() | Maserati | 4:35.9 | +26.1 | |
11 | 22 | ![]() | Maserati | 4:37.7 | +27.9 | |
12 | 28 | ![]() | Connaught-Alta | 4:41.9 | +32.1 | |
13 | 38 | Mike Hawthorn | Maserati | 4:48.9 | +39.1 | |
14 | 36 | ![]() | Maserati | 4:49.8 | +40.0 | |
15 | 26 | Horace Gould | Maserati | 4:50.4 | +40.6 | |
16 | 20 | ![]() | Ferrari | 4:51.9 | +42.1 | |
Source:[1] |
Pos | No | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 8 | Peter Collins | Ferrari | 36 | 2:40:00.3 | 3 | 8 | |
2 | 6 | ![]() | Ferrari | 36 | +1:51.3 | 8 | 6 | |
3 | 34 | ![]() Stirling Moss | Maserati | 36 | +3:16.6 | 9 | 2 3 | |
4 | 10 | ![]() | Vanwall | 35 | +1 Lap | 6 | 3 | |
5 | 22 | ![]() | Maserati | 34 | +2 Laps | 11 | 2 | |
6 | 20 | ![]() | Ferrari | 33 | +3 Laps | 15 | ||
7 | 32 | ![]() | Maserati | 33 | +3 Laps | 4 | ||
8 | 24 | ![]() | Maserati | 33 | +3 Laps | 10 | ||
Ret | 2 | ![]() | Ferrari | 23 | Transmission | 1 | ||
Ret | 12 | ![]() | Vanwall | 11 | Fuel system | 7 | ||
Ret | 30 | Stirling Moss | Maserati | 10 | Wheel | 2 | ||
Ret | 4 | ![]() | Ferrari | 10 | Transmission | 5 | ||
Ret | 28 | ![]() | Connaught-Alta | 10 | Engine | 12 | ||
Ret | 26 | Horace Gould | Maserati | 2 | Gearbox | 14 | ||
Ret | 36 | ![]() | Maserati | 0 | Accident | 13 | ||
DNS | 38 | Mike Hawthorn | Maserati | 0 | ||||
Pos | Driver | Points | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
8 | 1 | Peter Collins | 11 | |
1 | 2 | Stirling Moss | 11 | |
2 | 3 | 10 | ||
2 | 4 | ![]() | 9 | |
1 | 5 | ![]() | 8 | |
Source: [2] |