1956 Belgian Grand Prix
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| Date | 1956 |
| Location | Spa-Francorchamps |
| Course | 14.120km |
| Distance | 36 laps, 508.320km |
| Weather | Wet and overcast, later drying |
| Pole Position | Juan Manuel Fangio, 4:09.8 |
| Fastest Lap | Stirling Moss, 4:14.7 |
| Winner | Peter Collins, 2:40:00.3 |
| 2nd Place | Paul Frere |
| 3rd Place | Perdisa / Moss |
The 1956 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on 3 June 1956 at Spa-Francorchamps.
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 wouldn’t 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 has passed Schell earlier. Moss ended the race on a furious pace but the two leaders were two far ahead to make up the gap.
[edit] Classification
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Laps | Time/Retired | Grid | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 |  Peter Collins |
Ferrari | 36 | 2:40:00.3 | 3 | 8 |
| 2 | 6 |  Paul Frere |
Ferrari | 36 | +1:51.3 | 8 | 6 |
| 3 | 34 |  Cesare Perdisa |
Maserati | 36 | +3:16.6 | 9 | 2 |
| Shr | 34 | Stirling Moss |
Maserati | 3 | |||
| 4 | 10 |  Harry Schell |
Vanwall | 35 | +1 Lap | 6 | 3 |
| 5 | 22 | Luigi Villoresi |
Maserati | 34 | +2 Laps | 11 | 2 |
| 6 | 20 | Andre Pilette |
Ferrari | 33 | +3 Laps | 16 | |
| 7 | 32 |  Jean Behra |
Maserati | 33 | +3 Laps | 4 | |
| 8 | 24 | Louis Rosier |
Maserati | 33 | +3 Laps | 10 | |
| Ret | 2 |  Juan Manuel Fangio |
Ferrari | 23 | Transmission | 1 | |
| Ret | 12 | Maurice Trintignant |
Vanwall | 11 | Fuel system | 7 | |
| Ret | 30 | Stirling Moss |
Maserati | 10 | Wheel | 2 | |
| Ret | 4 | Eugenio Castellotti |
Ferrari | 10 | Transmission | 5 | |
| Ret | 28 | Piero Scotti |
Connaught-Alta | 10 | Engine | 12 | |
| Ret | 26 | Horace Gould |
Maserati | 2 | Gearbox | 15 | |
| Ret | 36 |  Paco Godia |
Maserati | 0 | Accident | 13 |
[edit] Notes
- Pole position: Juan Manuel Fangio - 4:09.8
- Fastest Lap: Stirling Moss - 4:14.7
- Lap Leaders: Stirling Moss 4 laps (1-4); Juan Manuel Fangio 19 laps (5-23); Peter Collins 13 laps (24-36).
- Only Grand Prix appearance for Piero Scotti.
- Last Grand Prix appearance for: Paul Frere.
- Career Firsts: Peter Collins (win and laps led); Harry Schell (points); Paul Frere (podium).
| Previous race: 1956 Indianapolis 500 |
FIA Formula One World Championship, 1956 season |
Next race: 1956 French Grand Prix |
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| Previous race: 1955 Belgian Grand Prix |
Belgian Grand Prix | Next race: 1958 Belgian Grand Prix |
