Alberto Ascari's Record Of 9 Wins In A Row

[555-04Q2]

What counts is that real F1 fans and insiders know the truth that Ascari's holds the record

The mentioning of current generation drivers is for drivers who have raced against each other recently, like Vettel vs The Shoe

[anfield5]

Between the 5 June 1952 (Belgian GP) and 21 June 1953 (Belgian GP), Alberto Ascari drove 9 times in a row as the winner over the finish line. But I think, this record is not really a record. Because there was the Indy 500 which was won by Bill Vukovich on 30 May 1953.

I know not all F1 drivers took part at the Indy 500 but it was part of the F1 championship. So the record doesn't count as a record in my opinion.

What do you think?

The difficulty is that the roundy-circle race wasn't a F1 race, neither were any of Ascari's 9 wins, as the championship in 1952/53 was for F2 cars. So in effect Ascari does not have the record for consecutive F1 wins.

This is further complicated by the fact that the silly circle race wasn't for the said F2 cars either it was for their own specification of vehicles and was only part of the championship because it was a WORLD championship and rather than organise a race in the States, they included the biggest US race already created, ie. Indy.

I kind of agree that Ascari shouldn't be credited with 9 world championship wins in a row because he didn't win a round of the championship, but at the same time he should be because he won every race that he could enter with his team as part of the championship, further more his achievement should be recorded because it is an awe inspiring record.

As to the opinion that it will be too easy for Vettel to break it given the current F1 situation, if he breaks it he breaks it, it is not Red Bulls fault that they have a car and driver that can't be caught and Vettel shouldn't be belittled because he is winning in the best car, after all in 1952-3 the Ferrari 500 was the only car capable of winning. In 52 the only other winner (Indy apart) was Taruffi in a Ferrari. In 53 Farina won in a Ferrari and Fangio won the last race of the season in a Maserati

[D-Type]

However you care to split hairs, the facts remain that

(1) Between Piero Taruffi winning the Swiss Grand Prix on May 18th 1952 and Mike Hawthorn winning the French Grand Prix on July 18th 1953, the only man to win a World Championship Grand Prix was Alberto Ascari
(2) In 1952 - 1953 there were 15 Grands Prix plus two Indianapolis 500s that were qualifying races for the World Championship and Ascari won 11 of them

Nobody can dispute that he was 'the man to beat' in those two years.

Edit: British GP corrected to French GP

[D28]

anfield5:
"after all in 1952-3 the Ferrari 500 was the only car capable of winning. In 52 the only other winner (Indy apart) was Taruffi in a Ferrari. In 53 Farina won in a Ferrari and Fangio won the last race of the season in a Maserati"

True enough in 52, but the real reason for Maserati's slow start was the absence of ace driver Fangio for most of the season. By 53 a revitalized A6GCM was thoroughly competitive. Although the win record flatters Ferrari somewhat, Fangio had 3 strong 2nds, also 2 poles before winning at Monza.

Running the championship to F2 regulations made Ascari's task harder, not easier. It could have been run to F1, F2, sportscars or car transporters, and Ascari still would have dominated, such was his form at the time.
I checked with the F1 official site, and noticed that they include records fro 1952-53 along with the others, they don't even asterisk the F2 years or explain the difference. This seems to me not a bad approach. That Ascari's feat was achieved in F2 cars, does not demean it in the slightest.

[D-Type]

Which F1 "official site" was that? Does it belong to the FIA or to Mr Ecclestone's Formula One Group, which includes Formula One World Championship Ltd, Formula One Management Ltd, Formula One Licensing BV and Formula 1 Administration Ltd, and other commercial companies? The FIA and the Formula One Group are not the same thing and at times have different objectives.

The distortions of history perpetrated by the Formula 1 Group to further their commercial interests are part of the reason for this discussion.

[D28]

Which F1 "official site" was that? Does it belong to the FIA or to Mr Ecclestone's Formula One Group, which includes Formula One World Championship Ltd, Formula One Management Ltd, Formula One Licensing BV and Formula 1 Administration Ltd, and other commercial companies? The FIA and the Formula One Group are not the same thing and at times have different objectives.

The distortions of history perpetrated by the Formula 1 Group to further their commercial interests are part of the reason for this discussion.

The site is http://www.formula1.com/default.html. I seldom go there and don't use if for records, I usually look to Wiki for those.
I simply wanted to see that 1952-53 was covered and Alberto Ascari was recognized, positive in both cases.
The site lists a registered trademark for F1 whatever that means. The site is not noted for accuracy as last spring their section on John Surtees listed 0 poles in his career, I managed to get a correction which they accepted. Can't say what other mistakes are there.

[D-Type]

I had a look around the site. It appears to belong to Bernie Ecclestone's Formula One Group. Which is presumably why it lists every championship as a "FIA Formula One Championship", which they have trademarked, but strictly speaking is only correct post-1981. But, in fairness, it does include the Indianapolis 500 in the listings.

[anfield5]

I'm not for an instant trying to belittle Ascari's achievements. The way I prefer to look at it is not that he won 9 in a row, but over two seasons he won 75% of all the world championship races he competed in (excluding Indy), and all of the wins were consecutive. It would be like Vettel winning 30 in a row now days. Even with the best car in the field this is impossible and puts into perspective how good Ascari was.

[D28]

Right, the emphasis is on buying items, tickets, trinkets etc, also focused on the present. I figured it probably is connected to Bernie.

[D-Type]

Well, congratulations to Sebastian Vettel for winning 9 Grands Prix in a row and 13 in a season and winning 4 consecutive World Championships.
This is a feat comparable with Ascari winning 9 consecutive World Championship Grands Prix in a row and 11 World Championship GPs out of a possible 15 over the years 1952-53 or with the more recent achievements of his compatriot Michael Schumacher.