Formula 1

About the season

Alberto Ascari became the first driver to successfully defend his World Championship title, and this would also remain, for decades, the last title won by an Italian driver. Races were again run to the smaller 2-litre Formula Two regulations, while the Indianapolis 500 continued to count toward the championship despite being run entirely separately under American AAA rules. Ascari's win streak peaked in this stretch: counting only grands prix (not Indianapolis), he strung together nine consecutive race victories across 1952 and 1953, a record that stood unmatched for a very long time. Alberto Ascari won the 1953 Drivers' Championship with 34.5 points (Ferrari), 6.5 points ahead of the runner-up. Across 9 completed races this season, there were 129 retirements. 5 different drivers won a race this season. Alberto Ascari took the most race wins, 5 in total. Ascari won the season-opening race, the Argentine Grand Prix. The most dominant win of the season came at the Indianapolis 500, with a margin of 210.9 seconds. Davies made the biggest gain of the season at the Indianapolis 500, from grid position 32 to finishing 10 (up 22 places). The Indianapolis 500 saw the most retirements of the season, with 30 drivers failing to finish. The season's biggest upset win came from Hawthorn at the French Grand Prix, starting from grid position 7. The closest finish of the season came at the French Grand Prix, with a gap of just 1.000 seconds. Fangio won the Italian Grand Prix, the final race of the season.