Date 22 August 1954 | Course length 7.280 km (4.524 mi) | |
 | ||
Official name XIV Großer Preis der Schweiz Location Bremgarten, Bern, Switzerland Course Permanent racing facility Distance 66 laps, 480.480 km (298.556 mi) | ||
The 1954 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Bremgarten on 22 August 1954. It was the seventh round of the 1954 World Drivers' Championship. The 66-lap race was won by Mercedes driver Juan Manuel Fangio after he started from second position. José Froilán González finished second for the Ferrari team and Fangio's teammate Hans Herrmann came in third.
Contents
Race report
The Mercedes domination continued as Fangio led from start to finish. Moss soon passed Gonzalez for 2nd and battled ferociously to catch Fangio. However, he was himself soon under pressure as Hawthorn caught him. The two duelled furiously in a superb patriotic spectacle, ended only when Moss's engine gave way. Hawthorn himself succumbed to fuel feed problems. Gonzalez thus ended in second, whilst Fangio lapped the entire field up to second, winning by nearly a minute. Hans Herrmann in the sister Mercedes took the final podium spot.
The Driver's championship was to be decided at this race. Works Ferrari driver José Froilán González needed to win to stay in contention to beat Mercedes driver Juan Manuel Fangio on points and after finishing 2nd to Fangio, he still had 23 1/7 points to Fangio's 42. With the rules in place at the time, González could not overhaul Fangio's total with 2 races left, and so the title went to Fangio for the 2nd time.
This would be the last F1 race in Switzerland. Following the 1955 Le Mans disaster the Swiss government banned all forms of motor racing. Swiss Grands Prix were subsequently held in 1975 (non-championship) and 1982 but both races took place in France.