1955 Argentine Grand Prix

1955 Argentine Grand Prix
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Race details
Date	16 January 1955
Official name	III Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina
Location	Autódromo Municipal Ciudad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	3.912 km (2.431 miles)
Distance	96 laps, 375.552 km (233.376 miles)
Weather	Very hot and dry
Pole position
Driver	José Froilán González	Ferrari
Time	1:43.1
Fastest lap
Driver	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes
Time	1:48.3 on lap 45
Podium
First	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes
Second	José Froilán González Nino Farina Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari
Third	Nino Farina Maurice Trintignant Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari
Lap leaders

The 1955 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on 16 January 1955. It was race 1 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers.

The race was won from third on the grid by Juan Manuel Fangio for Mercedes. Ferrari drivers Nino Farina and Maurice Trintignant finished both second and third in two three-way shared drives with José Froilán González and Umberto Maglioli respectively. The high temperatures of the Argentinian summer proved to be very taxing for both drivers and cars. Fangio and Roberto Mieres were the only two drivers able to complete the race without handing their car to another driver.

According to former Ferrari and Maserati chief mechanic Giulio Borsari, Fangio acclimatized himself by moving to Argentina one month prior to the race and reducing his water consumption to one liter a day to cope with the extreme heat. Fangio also suffered severe burns to his leg which, for the entire duration of the race, was rubbing against the chassis frame which was being heated by the exhaust. It took him 3 months to recover; his next race in Monaco was not until late May. It left a permanent scar on his leg later in life.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	12	José Froilán González	Ferrari	1:43.1
2	32	Alberto Ascari	Lancia	1:43.6	+0.5
3	2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	1:43.7	+0.6
4	16	Jean Behra	Maserati	1:43.8	+0.7
5	10	Giuseppe Farina	Ferrari	1:43.9	+0.8
6	4	Karl Kling	Mercedes	1:44.1	+1.0
7	28	Harry Schell	Maserati	1:44.3	+1.2
8	6	Stirling Moss	Mercedes	1:44.6	+1.5
9	40	Pablo Birger	Gordini	1:44.8	+1.7
10	8	Hans Herrmann	Mercedes	1:44.9	+1.8
11	34	Luigi Villoresi	Lancia	1:45.2	+2.1
12	36	Eugenio Castellotti	Lancia	1:45.3	+2.2
13	24	Carlos Menditeguy	Maserati	1:45.4	+2.3
14	14	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	1:45.8	+2.7
15	38	Élie Bayol	Gordini	1:46.1	+3.0
16	18	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	1:46.2	+3.1
17	42	Jesús Iglesias	Gordini	1:46.3	+3.2
18	22	Luigi Musso	Maserati	1:46.4	+3.3
19	20	Sergio Mantovani	Maserati	1:46.4	+3.3
20	26	Clemar Bucci	Maserati	1:47.6	+4.5
21	30	Alberto Uria	Maserati	1:52.3	+9.2
Source:

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	2	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	96	3:00:38.6	3	91
2	12	José Froilán González Nino Farina Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	96	+1:29.6	1	2 2 2
3	10	Nino Farina Maurice Trintignant Umberto Maglioli	Ferrari	94	+2 laps	5	1 1⁄3 1 1⁄3 1 1⁄3
4	8	Hans Herrmann Karl Kling Stirling Moss	Mercedes	94	+2 laps	10	1 1 1
5	18	Roberto Mieres	Maserati	91	+5 laps	16	2
6	28	Harry Schell Jean Behra	Maserati	88	+8 laps	7
7	22	Luigi Musso Sergio Mantovani Harry Schell	Maserati	83	+13 laps	18
Ret	20	Sergio Mantovani Jean Behra Luigi Musso	Maserati	54	Engine	19
Ret	26	Clemar Bucci Harry Schell Carlos Menditeguy	Maserati	54	Fuel pressure	20
Ret	42	Jesús Iglesias	Gordini	38	Transmission	17
Ret	14	Maurice Trintignant	Ferrari	36	Engine	14
Ret	36	Eugenio Castellotti Luigi Villoresi	Lancia	35	Accident	12
Ret	6	Stirling Moss	Mercedes	29	Fuel system	8
Ret	30	Alberto Uria	Maserati	22	Out of fuel	21
Ret	32	Alberto Ascari	Lancia	21	Accident	2
Ret	38	Élie Bayol	Gordini	7	Transmission	15
Ret	16	Jean Behra	Maserati	2	Accident	4
Ret	4	Karl Kling	Mercedes	2	Accident	6
Ret	34	Luigi Villoresi	Lancia	2	Fuel leak	11
Ret	40	Pablo Birger	Gordini	1	Accident	9
Ret	24	Carlos Menditeguy	Maserati	1	Accident	13
Source:

Notes

• ^1 – Includes 1 point for fastest lap

Shared drives

• • Car #12: José Froilán González (60 laps), Nino Farina (20 laps), and Maurice Trintignant (16 laps). They shared the 6 points for second place.
  • Car #10: Nino Farina (50 laps), Umberto Maglioli (22 laps), and Maurice Trintignant (22 laps). They shared the 4 points for third place.
  • Car #8: Hans Herrmann (30 laps), Karl Kling (30 laps), and Stirling Moss (34 laps). They shared the 3 points for fourth place.
  • Car #28: Harry Schell (50 laps), and Jean Behra (38 laps).
  • Car #22: Luigi Musso (50 laps), Sergio Mantovani (20 laps), and Harry Schell (13 laps).
  • Car #20: Sergio Mantovani (30 laps), Jean Behra (14 laps), and Luigi Musso (10 laps).
  • Car #26: Clemar Bucci (30 laps), Harry Schell (14 laps), and Carlos Menditeguy (10 laps).
  • Car #36: Eugenio Castellotti (20 laps) and Luigi Villoresi (15 laps).

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

Pos	Driver	Points
1	Juan Manuel Fangio	9
2=	Maurice Trintignant	3 1⁄3
2=	Nino Farina	3 1⁄3
4	José Froilán González	2
5	Roberto Mieres	2
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included. Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship.