1954 Formula One season facts for kids

The 1954 Formula One season was the fifth time this exciting car racing championship took place. It was a thrilling year, and the champion was Juan Manuel Fangio, who won after a very close competition.

The 1954 Racing Season

The 1954 Formula One season included nine main races, called Grand Prix events. These races were held in different countries around the world. Drivers earned points based on how well they finished in each race. The goal was to score the most points to become the World Champion!

Here's a quick look at the main races:

Race Number	Race Name	Date	Location	Winning Driver	Car Maker	Race Details
1	Argentine Grand Prix	January 17	Oscar Gálvez	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	Report
2	Indianapolis 500	May 31	Indianapolis	Bill Vukovich	Kurtis Kraft-Offenhauser	Report
3	Belgian Grand Prix	June 20	Spa-Francorchamps	Juan Manuel Fangio	Maserati	Report
4	French Grand Prix	July 4	Reims	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	Report
5	British Grand Prix	July 17	Silverstone	José Froilán González	Ferrari	Report
6	German Grand Prix	August 1	Nürburgring	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	Report
7	Swiss Grand Prix	August 22	Bremgarten	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	Report
8	Italian Grand Prix	September 5	Monza	Juan Manuel Fangio	Mercedes	Report
9	Spanish Grand Prix	October 24	Pedralbes	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	Report

Who Won the Championship?

The 1954 season was all about Juan Manuel Fangio. He started the year with Maserati cars, winning the first two races he entered. Then, he switched to Mercedes-Benz cars and continued his winning streak. He won six out of the nine races in total!

Even though he won so many races, the championship was still a close fight. Drivers only counted their best 5 results towards their total points. This rule made the competition even more exciting!

Here are the top drivers and their final points:

Pos. Driver ARG 500‡ BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA ESP Pts. 1 Juan Manuel Fangio 1 1|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| 1 4*|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| 1 1|bgcolor="#ffffbf"| 1 3 42 (57.14) 2 José Froilán González 3| 4† Ret 1*|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| 2† 2|bgcolor="#ffdf9f"| 3† / Ret 25.14 (26.64) 3 Mike Hawthorn DSQ 4† Ret 2*|bgcolor="#dfdfdf"| 2† Ret 2 1 24.64 4 Maurice Trintignant 4 2 Ret 5 3 Ret 5 Ret 17 5 Karl Kling 2 7 4|bgcolor="#efcfff"| Ret Ret 5 12 6 Bill Vukovich 1 8 7 Hans Herrmann Ret| Ret 3 4 Ret 8 8 Luigi Musso DNS Ret 2 6 9 Nino Farina 2 Ret 6 10 Jimmy Bryan 2 6

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Light blue Practiced only (PO) Friday test driver (TD) (starting in 2003) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrew entry before the event (WD)

• * Fastest lap: This means the driver completed one lap of the track faster than anyone else in the race. They got 1 extra point for this!
• ** Multiple drivers set equal fastest lap times: Sometimes, two or more drivers had the exact same fastest lap time, so they shared the 1 point.
• † Position shared: If drivers shared a car during a race, they also shared the points for that position.
• ‡ Several cars were shared: This race had many cars where drivers took turns driving.
• Only the best 5 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

Images for kids

• 

  Juan Manuel Fangio was a legendary driver.

• 

  Juan Manuel Fangio (in a Mercedes-Benz W196) leading Alberto Ascari (in a Ferrari 625) during the 1954 Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

• 

  Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio won his second Drivers' Championship in 1954. He would go on to win five championships in total! He drove for Mercedes (and Maserati for some early races).

See also

In Spanish: Temporada 1954 de Fórmula 1 para niños