83rd, Fangio Triumphs in Epic Battle: Victory Amid British Dominance at Silverstone
It was another mid-Fifties victory for Juan Manuel Fangio, but this wasn’t the Argentine at his most dominant – he even lost time with an early spin at Becketts.
For much of the afternoon, indeed, it was an uplifting race for the home crowd.
By the end of lap 14, Jenks noted, “The situation was unique, for the first four places were occupied by British drivers and a British car was in the lead. Back in the field, more British cars and drivers were really sorting out the Continentals.” One was Archie Scott Brown, making his only world championship F1 start and running well until his Connaught suffered stub-axle failure.
That leading quartet? Mike Hawthorn (BRM), Stirling Moss, Roy Salvadori and Brooks, but the balance of power soon changed. Moss’s Maserati passed Hawthorn at Copse on lap 16, as Fangio demoted Brooks, and Moss then pulled away. Brooks’s BRM later somersaulted, but he was thrown clear and suffered relatively mild injuries.