Gran Premio di San Remo

Autodromo di Ospedaletti, 16 Apr 1950

All cars are 1.5-litre s/c F1 or 4.5-litre F1^† unless noted.

Notes on the cars:

1. Ferrari 125 (Luigi Villoresi): This car was one of the new two-stage supercharged, long-wheelbase Tipo 125s built for the 1949 Italian GP and now known to have had the internal designation 'GP49'. These were numbered either 125-C-00 and 125-C-01 or 125-C-01 and 125-C-02 and it is unclear which serial applies to the car that Villoresi drove. However, it is probable that he had the same car throughout. Villoresi's car was fitted with a Tipo 275 (3.3-litre) sports car Lampredi engine at Albi. At the French GP, Villoresi was to have a 275 engine but it is not clear whether his car was even present. One of these two cars became the Thinwall Special while the other was renumbered 0114 and sold to Peter Whitehead for 1951.
2. Maserati 4CLT-48 (Alfredo Pián): The third AC Argentina car for 1950, entered by Scuderia Achille Varzi and driven by Pian & Pagani, has not yet been identified. Photographic evidence shows that the cars driven by Pagani at Albi, Pian at Monaco and Pagani at Bremgarten (all in 1950) appear to be the same and are not the ACA's regular cars from 1949, chassis 1599 and 1600.
3. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1604] (Franco Rol): Maserati records state that this car went to Franco Rol 8 Sep 1949. Raced by Rol through 1950 until Rol's crash at Pedralbes 29 Oct 1950. Then raced by Adolfo Macchieraldo 1952-54. To USA, where Marguerite Morgan entered 1957 Indianapolis 500 but driver Danny Kladis failed to qualify. Reappeared in the US in 1965 then via a chain of US, UK, Australian, South African and German owners up to 2002. Owned by Wolf-Dieter Baumann from 2002. Raced by Thomas Steinke 2007 Goodwood Revival but possibly still owned by Baumann.
4. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1606] (Louis Chiron): Shown in Maserati records as going to Louis Chiron in Monte Carlo 21 Sep 1949. Raced by Chiron through 1950 then to Toni Branca for 1951 and then de Walckiers (who entered Steve Watson and Pilette) for 1952. Reappeared Italy 1960s then via chain of Italian, Belgian, Swiss, German and French owners to 1998. Owned by Bernie Ecclestone from 1998.
5. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1600] (José Froilán Gonzalez): Built in 1949 for Automovil Club Argentina and raced by under the ACA's "Scuderia Achille Varzi" banner Malusardi and Benedicto Campos. Raced in 1950 by Jose Froilan Gonzalez and then 1950-52 by other ACA drivers in South America. Reportedly to Venezuela then via US, Japanese and further US owners to 1996. Owned by Jean-Louis Duret from 1996. Retained 2000.
6. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1601] (Emmanuel de Graffenried): To Enrico Platé for 1949 (dated 7 Mar 1949 in Maserati records) and driven by Emmanuel de Graffenried. Continued as de Graffenried's well-used car through 1950 and 1951. Probably one of two cars extensively rebuilt as Plate-Maseratis for 1952. Probably raced by Ottorino Volonterio in F2 in 1953. Sold with the sister car (probably 1598) by de Graffenried to 20th Century Fox for film work then sold again via Tom Carstens (Tacoma, WA). Subsequent history unknown.
7. Ferrari 125 (Raymond Sommer): For the first part of the 1950 season, one of the 1948/49 cars was loaned to Raymond Sommer for the French races including Monaco. It was painted light blue and may also have been the car used by Sommer at San Remo, which alternatively was a works car. The blue car was returned to the factory in June. This is most likely to be 08C or 12C but a definitive identification has not yet been possible.
8. Ferrari 125 (Alberto Ascari): Two new two-stage supercharged, long-wheelbase Tipo 125s were built for the 1949 Italian GP with the internal designation 'GP49'. These were numbered either 125-C-00 and 125-C-01 or 125-C-01 and 125-C-02 and it is unclear which car Ascari drove. However, it was normal practice that he would have kept the same car thereafter. At Spa in 1950, Ascari's car was fitted with a Tipo 275 (3.3-litre) sports car Lampredi engine. It is not clear whether Ascari's car was even present at the French GP. One of these two 'GP49' cars became the Thin Wall Special while the other was renumbered 0114 and sold to Peter Whitehead for 1951.
9. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1607] ("B Bira"): To Enrico Platé for 1949 (dated 14 Nov 1949 in Maserati records) and raced by Bira up to Geneva 1950. Car fitted with a 4450cc OSCA V12 engine for Bira for the 1951 season. The OSCA was taken to Australia in 1955 by Bira as a spare car to his 250F and sold there to Alf Harvey who raced it from 1955 to 1959. The car then went to the UK for historic racing and was bought by Tom Wheatcroft in 1971. Subsequently in the Donington Museum.
10. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1611] (Felice Bonetto): Listed in Maserati records as going to Officine A. Maserati 7 Mar 1950 and then Scuderia Milan. Used by Milan for second Milan (Speluzzi)-engined 4CLT and raced in 1950 (for Bonetto at Monza and Godia at Barcelona) and 1951 (Marimon at Reims and Landi at Albi). Subsequent history unknown but one of the Milan-Maseratis is owned by Doreen Fielding in Scotland.
11. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1603] (Clemente Biondetti): According to Maserati records, this car went to Luigi de Filippis 8 Sep 1949 and was then driven by Clemente Biondetti 1949 Italian GP and in 1950 races by both de Filippis and Biondetti. Subsequent history unknown.
12. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1595] (Leslie Brooke): Maserati records show this car going to Leslie Brooke 29 Aug 1948. Raced by Brooke through 1948, 1949 and 1950 and by Claes, still under Brooke's ownership, at Goodwood Sept 1951. Then George Weaver in the US in 1952. In the 1980s the car passed from Virginia Weaver via UK and German owners to 1998. Owned by Wolfgang Wegner-Bscher (Germany) from 1998.
13. Ferrari 125 [10C] (Peter Whitehead): Peter Whitehead bought 10C new for 1949 and used it through 1949 and 1950 before buying a newer ex-works 125. This car was raced by Dobson in 1951 and later sold to David Murray. Whitehead later bought a 1949/50 LWB Tipo 125 renumbered 0114; it is this latter car that spent many years in the Donington Collection.
14. Maserati 4CLT-48 [1596] (Reg Parnell): Maserati records list this as Reg Parnell's car dated 14 Sep 1948. Raced by Parnell from 1949 to 1951, under the Scuderia Ambrosiana banner in 1950 and 1951, also by Hampshire in 1951. Sold or leased to Bobby Baird mid-1951 and then sometime after 1952 sold to Count Johnny Lurani. Lurani sold it in 1955 to Pat Hoare in New Zealand where it raced until the mid-1960s and then spent many years in the Queenstown Motor Museum. It was sold in 1982 and returned to Europe in 1989. Sold at auction a number of times in the late 1980s and 1990s. Owned by Max Lustenberger (Switzerland) from 1999. Retained 2004.
15. Ferrari 125 (Dorino Serafini): In 1950, the works continued to use their old 1948/49 cars but the ones that appeared had new noses, removing the distinctive features that allow them to be tracked through 1949. Dorino Serafini appeared at San Remo and at Bari in such a car during 1950. This is most likely to be 08C or 12C but a definitive identification has not yet been possible.
16. SVA (Rudi Fischer): The SVA was designed by Giovanni Savonuzzi and built by Società Valdostana Automotori. Two versions were announced, a 1.1-litre version with or without supercharger and a 820cc version intended for American midget racing. According to entry lists and reports on testing, Fischer used the 1.1-litre supercharged version at Ospedaletti.
17. Talbot T26C [110 005] (Pierre Bouillin ("Levegh")): Talbot-Lago T26C chassis '110 005' was raced by 'Levegh' from 1948 to 1951 and by Grignard once in 1951. Retained by the works until it was sold to Otto Zipper in the US in 1957. Then to the Briggs Cunningham museum via two other US owners to Tony Wang 1988.

Formula 1 events 1948-1953

The results published here were compiled by David McKinney and Adam Ferrington from a range of sources including Autocourse, Motor Sport and Autosport, as well as the F1 Register's A Record of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing Volume 5 covering 1950 and 1951. Individual car identities were then meticulously checked against their enormous libraries of books and photographs, notably Talbot-Lago de Course by Pierre Abeillon, Les Gordini by Robert Jarraud, Gordini – Un Sorcier, Une Equipe by Christian Huet and The History of English Racing Automobiles by David Weguelin.

David has also contributed extensively from his notes on car identities compiled over 40 years of research, Michael Müller has contributed immaculately researched histories of all the 1948-1950 Ferrari 125s, and Doug Nye, both through his books and his personal assistance on HWM, has also been of great help.

Please note that since David's sad death in 2014, Adam and Allen have agreed that these pages will remain unaltered from now on, as a lasting testimony to David's expertise.