Marimon Killed at the Nurburgring
A shadow was cast over the 1954 German Grand Prix weekend with the death of Onofre Marimon in practice. Juan-Manuel Fangio, who had provided guidance and advice to Marimon throughout his young career, was distraught at the loss of his friend and countryman.
Fangio responded to Marimon’s accident by taking pole and winning the race, although only after Karl Kling’s leading Mercedes suffered suspension problems on the final lap. Until then, Kling and Fangio had been putting on a show for the German crowd, against team orders. In second place was a Ferrari shared by Jose Froilan Gonzalez and Mike Hawthorn while Maurice Trintignant managed another podium finish in third. Kling was classified in fourth place. Fangio was interviewed in the June 1983 issue of Road & Track magazine, where he remembered Alfred Neubaeur 's concern as he battled with his team-mate (Neubaeur was the legendary Mercedes team manager at the time);
"You should have seen old man Neubaeur! [Alfred] was dancing up and down with rage and hanging out everything but the dishrag. The old man was as smart as a bag full of foxes and knew Karl and I were knocking spots off each other."
Moss Wins Swiss GP and Claims F1 Title at Monza
In Switzerland Fangio had to settle for second on the grid, behind his great friend and rival Gonzalez. Stirling Moss was third but, on lap two, passed Gonzalez for second. Mike Hawthorn then managed to get his Ferrari into second before pitting with throttle problems and retiring, a fate which also befell Moss. At the flag it was Fangio ahead with Gonzalez nearly a minute behind. Hans Herrmann was third, a lap behind his Mercedes team leader.
At the Italian Grand Prix Fangio could secure his second world championship. He boosted his chances by qualifying fastest, with Alberto Ascari second and Moss third. At the start it was Kling who lead, from fourth on the grid. The pressure soon took its toll on him, however, and a mistake dropped him to fifth. Ascari managed to pass Fangio before being passed himself by Moss on lap 45. Ascari regained the lead, only to retire with a blown engine. Moss was forced to pit and ultimately retired, leaving Fangio in the lead. Luigi Villoresi had looked a likely winner, running second at one point after qualifying only sixth, but his clutch failed around halfway. Fangio crossed the line first to take the world championship. In second place was Hawthorn and third went to the shared Ferrari of Umberto Maglioli and Gonzalez.
Lancia Make F1 Debut and Hawthorn Wins Spanish GP
With the title decided there was only the Grand Prix victory to race for at the final race in Spain. Ascari claimed pole in the radical new Lancia D50, ahead of Fangio. The surprise early leader was Harry Schell, who came through from fourth on the grid. Hawthorn gave chase before Ascari passed both of them, only for his Lancia to suffer clutch trouble. Schell led again but spun and dropped to fourth. The American’s race finally ended when his gearbox failed. Trintignant had qualified eighth but was able to run with the leaders in the Grand Prix, only to retire. After a hectic race the victory went to Hawthorn, with Luigi Musso in a Maserati second. Fangio could only manage third after having to cope with an oil leak which sprayed fluid into his cockpit.
Fangio won his second world championship in 1954 and Mercedes raised the bar with their cutting edge technology and the incredible W196. The new Lancia had looked fast on its debut and was expected to be the car most likely to challenge the Germans in 1955.
Kevin Guthrie - Kevin is based in Fife, Scotland, where he works as a music teacher, professional drummer and freelance writer. At an early age he ...
