On paper, and for that matter in practice, the Swiss G.P. for Formula 1 cars, held on the Bremgarten Circuit on June 4th, promised to be a first-class affair, but it turned out to be another demonstration of how to go motor-racing in the grand manner, by the Alfa-Romeo team.
After the finish of the three practice periods it looked as though Alfa-Romeos, although fastest, were not going to have an easy time, for against them, and with very good practice times, were two 1 1/2-litre Ferraris, two unblown Lago-Talbots and two 4CLT Maseratis. On the first practice day two Alfas were out and the three drivers, Fangio, Farina and Fagioli, first of all practised on the same car, after Ing. Guidotti had done a lap to make sure everything was in order. First Farina tried and after that Fagioli, but when he was flagged in to hand over to Fangio he arrived with a serious noise in the engine. The car was rushed away and torn apart while Fangio practised in the second car. The Alfas are fitted with maximum reading tachometers and when Fagioli came in the second needle was at 7,700, while Fangio recorded 8,000 with the second car. Neither the Ferraris nor the Maseratis appeared for the first practice and the new Talbots were also absent, though Rosier was driving his own car.
For Friday's practice everyone was out, including Villoresi and Ascari with the two-stage supercharged Ferraris, the former having the new lengthened chassis with de Dion rear end and four-speed gearbox on the back axle and the latter having the earlier chassis with the swing axles and five-speed gearbox. Both drivers were trying very hard, as were the Alfa team. The two new Talbots were being tried by Rosier and Giraud-Cabantous, and these had the dual ignition system on the front of the engine and three horizontal Type 50 HN downdraught Zenith carburetters in place of the normal downdraught Solex models. Rosier's car also had lightened brake drums and backplates. Eugene Martin was driving an official Talbot, while Etancelin and Claes had their own cars and Harry Schell borrowed Rosier's personal car. The Plate Maseratis were out, with "Bira" on the new car, with the redesigned steering wheel which has a jointed track-rod in front of the wheel centres, while de Graffenried had the earlier model with the double drag-links. As Gonzalez had not recovered from his injuries at Monaco, the Italian motorcyclist Nello Pagani drove the Argentine Maserati, and Felice Bonetto had a lone Milan, with the highly boosted Speluzzi engine. Neither of the English entries, Parnell and Whitehead, appeared.
