Second triumph for Juan Manuel Fangio in Formula 1 in 1954

Second triumph for Juan Manuel Fangio in Formula 1 in 1954

The fifth season in the race breaks the dominance of Alberto Ascari and Ferrari

After Alberto Ascari won the Formula 1 world title for two consecutive years, Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio ended his dominance in the race's fifth season. From January 17 to October 24, 1954, nine races were held, and Fangio won races as a driver for two different teams - Maserati and Mercedes-Benz. To everyone's surprise, Askari was nowhere near being able to compete with the 1951 world champion. The Italian remains far behind in the standings, with Fangio's compatriot Jose Froilan Gonzalez second.

The fifth campaign in Formula 1 will be remembered for the change in the volume of the engines, which are now 2.5 liters, as well as for the appearance of the Mercedes team. This only happened in the fourth race, the French Grand Prix, but it did not prevent the team from winning thanks to Fangio's skills and his wonderful car, which was modified after the problems it had at Silverstone.

One of the reasons for Askari's decline is due to the change of his team. He decided to move from "Scuderia Ferrari" to another of the new teams - Lancia, which, however, could not offer him a car to fight for the first position.

Points are also given this year only for the first 5 places, respectively 8, 6, 4, 3 and 2, and 1 is awarded to the driver with the fastest lap. If two drivers drive the same car in a race, they share their points, regardless of who drove more.

For the first time there is a tragic case of a pilot losing his life on the track. This is Argentine Onofre Marimón, who crashed his Maserati during practice before the German Grand Prix.

After his failure in Argentina a year earlier, Fangio won the race in his home country, although there were three Ferrari drivers lining up behind his Maserati. On June 20th in the race at Spa, the Argentinian was once again unstoppable, this time also taking the fastest lap to lead by 8 ahead of second-placed Maurice Trintignan with a Ferrari.

After his victories in the first two races, Fangio changed teams, but he did not stop winning. As part of Mercedes-Benz, he also triumphed in the French Grand Prix ahead of teammate Karl Kling. Ascari made his first appearance of the season but drove less than a lap before his car broke down. Trintinyan does not win points and Fangio's lead in the general standings becomes 16 points.

Then comes the nightmare race for Mercedes, whose cars are not suited to the Silverstone circuit. However, Fangio finished fourth, with Maserati's Onofre Marimone, Ferrari's Mike Houthers and winner José Froilán González, also part of the Scuderia, on the podium. After this race, two Argentinians are now in contention for the title, and the difference between Gonzalez and Fangio is 12 points.

Mercedes quickly corrected their mistakes and won the races in Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Fangio is absolutely uncompromising and has no trouble securing the title with a round to go. The Argentine equaled Ascari's record of six wins in one season, which the Italian set in 1952.

The last race is at the Pedralbes circuit in Catalonia, where the Mercedes are again not up to par. Still, Fangio gets to a podium position. The victory, however, went to Mike Hawthorne and Ferrari, and second was the Italian Luigi Musso with Maserati.

With the advent of Mercedes and the far superior Maserati car, competition in Formula 1 was extremely high in 1954. The reason for this is Alberto Ascari's strange decision to switch from Ferrari to Lancia. Still, the fifth season in the world championship hints at the good and curious years ahead.

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