A superb and rare photo of Alberto Ascari in his magnificent Ferrari 375 F1 Formula 1 race car, shortly after winning the 1953 Swiss Grand Prix, which was ridden on the circuit of Bremgarten on the 23TH of September 1953.


Alberto Ascari is seen receiving the winners trophy, definitely a very joyous occasion as he also became World Champion F1 in 1953 with the photographed Ferrari! His victory in Bremgarten secured him the title!


Ascari completed the 65 laps race in a time of 3 hours, 1 minute and 34.40 seconds. He won the race with a lead of 1 minute and 13 seconds for Nino Farina (Ferrari, 2ND) and Mike Hawthorn (Ferrari, 3RD). It was his last win of the season and also the one that earned him enough points to win the World Championship F1 in 1953!.


A year earlier, in 1952, Ascari gave Ferrari her first ever F1 World Championship title. This was the first ever World Championship title for Ferrari!


Alberto Ascari was an Italian racing driver and Formula One World Champion in 1952 and 1953. He is one of only two Italian Formula One World Champions in the history of the sport. Born in Milan, Ascari was the son of Antonio Ascari, a talented Grand Prix motor racing star in the 1920s, racing Alfa Romeos. Antonio was killed while leading the French Grand Prix in 1925 but the younger Ascari had an interest in racing in spite of it. He raced motorcycles in his earlier years; it was after he entered the prestigious Mille Miglia in a Ferrari sports car that he eventually started racing on four wheels regularly. Following the end of World War II Alberto Ascari began racing in Grands Prix with Maserati. Formula One regulations were introduced by the FIA in 1946, with the aim of eventually replacing the pre-war Grand Prix structure. During the next four transitional years, Ascari was at the top of his game, winning numerous events around Europe. He won his first Grand Prix race in Sanremo, Italy in 1948 and took second place in the British Grand Prix the same year. Ascari won another race with the team the following year. His biggest success came after he joined Villoresi on the Ferrari team; he won three more races that year with them. The first Formula One World Championship season took place in 1950, and the Ferrari team made its World Championship debut at Monte Carlo with Ascari, Villoresi, and the popular French driver Raymond Sommer on the team. Ascari finished 2nd in the race and later in the year shared a 2nd place at the first World Championship race at Monza. He was only 5th in the championship standings however. He won his first World Championship F1 race the following season on the Nürburgring circuit and added a win at Monza, finishing runner up in the championship to Juan Manuel Fangio. With success in Europe, Enzo Ferrari supplied a car for Ascari in the Indianapolis 500, at the time a World Championship event, in 1952. He was the only European driver to race at Indy in its 11 years on the World Championship schedule, but his day ended after 40 laps. That was the only World Championship event in which he competed that season that he didn't win. Ascari's Ferrari dominated 1952, winning all six races in Europe that season and recording the fastest lap in each race. He nearly scored the maximum amount of points a driver could earn, but drivers were given points for fastest laps at the time, and he had to share a half point with another driver in one race. He won three more consecutive races to start the 1953 season, giving him nine straight wins (not counting Indy) before his streak ended when he finished 4th in France, although it was a close 4th as the race was highly competitive. He earned two more wins later in the year to give himself a second consecutive World Championship. Ascari did not continue his dominance in 1954 as he failed to finish a race in his four attempts at F1, although he made up for it by winning the Mille Miglia. His 1955 season started similarly, retiring twice more, the latter of which was a spectacular incident in Monaco where he crashed into a harbour after missing a chicane. Four days later, on May 26, he went to Monza to watch his friend Eugenio Castellotti test a Ferrari 750 Monza sports car, which they were to co-race in the Supercortemaggiore 1000kms race (having been given special dispensation by Lancia). Just before going home to have lunch with his wife Mietta, he decided to try a few laps with the Ferrari. In shirt sleeves, ordinary trousers and Castellotti’s helmet he set off. As he emerged from a fast curve on the third lap the car unaccountably skidded, turned on its nose and somersaulted twice. Thrown out on the track, Ascari suffered multiple injuries and died a few minutes later.


Ascari is seen riding the Ferrari 375 Formula 1 car. It was the magnificent successor of the famous 275 F1 and 340 F1 racing cars. After finding only modest success with the supercharged 125 F1 car in Formula 1, Ferrari decided to switch for 1950 to the naturally aspirated 4.5 L formula for the series. Calling in Aurelio Lampredi to replace Gioacchino Colombo as technical director, Enzo Ferrari directed that the company work in stages to grow and develop an entirely new large-displacement V12 engine for racing. The first outcome of Lampredi's work was the experimental 275 S. Just two of these racing barchettas were built, based on the 166 MM but using the experimental 3.3 L V12. These were raced at the Mille Miglia of 1950 on April 23, 1950. Although one car held the overall lead for a time, both were forced to retire with mechanical failure before the end. The 275 F1 bowed at the Grand Prix of Belgium on June 18, sporting the same 3.3 L (3322 cc/202 in³) version of Lampredi's new engine. With three Weber 42DCF carburettors, a single overhead camshaft for each bank of cylinders, and two valves per cylinder, the engine produced a capable 300 hp (224 kW) at 7200 rpm. Alberto Ascari drove the car to fifth place, marking the end of the 3.3 L engine. The 275 was replaced at the Grand Prix of Nations at Geneva on July 30, 1950, by the 340 F1. As the name suggests, the car sported a larger 4.1 L (4101.66 cc/250 in³) version of Lampredi's V12. Other changes included a new de Dion tube rear suspension based on that in the 166 F2 car and four-speed gearbox. It had a longer 2420 mm (95 in) wheelbase, but other dimensions remained the same. With 335 hp (250 kW), Ascari was able to keep up with the Alfa Romeo 158 of Juan Manuel Fangio but retired with engine trouble. Although the 340 proved itself capable, it was only the middle step in Ferrari's 1950 car development.


Ferrari achieved the 4.5 L goal of the formula with the 375 F1 (SEE PHOTO!), two of which debuted at Monza on September 3, 1950. This 4.5 L (4493.73 cc/274 in³) engine produced roughly the same power as its 4.1 L predecessor, but its tractability earned Ascari second place in that debut race. A series of modifications through the 1951 season allowed Ferrari to finally put Alfa Romeo behind it in a Formula 1 race, with Jose Froilan Gonzalez' victory at Silverstone on July 14 becoming the constructor's first World Championship win. Ascari's wins at Nürburgring and Monza and strong finishes throughout the season cemented the company's position as a Formula 1 contender.


 Changes in the Formula 1 regulations led the company to shift the big engine to an Indy car, the 1952 375 Indy. Three new Weber 40IF4C carburettors brought power output to 400 hp (298 kW), the wheelbase was lengthened, and the chassis and suspension were strengthened. Although the car performed well in European testing, it was not able to meet the American challenge, with just one of four 375s even qualifying for the 1952 race.


The big V12 was scrapped for 1954 as Formula 1 required a 2.5 L engine. The new 553 F1 adopted Lampredi's four cylinder engine, leaving the V12 for sports car use.


Ferrari initially was founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street legal vehicles in 1947 as Ferrari S.p.A.. Ferrari's cars are among the most desirable of vehicles to drive. Throughout its history, the company has been noted for its continued participation and incredibly passion in racing, especially in Formula One, where it has largely enjoyed great success, especially during the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, late 1990s, and 2000s. Finally, after years of financial struggles, Enzo Ferrari sold the company's sports car division to the Fiat group in 1969 in order to help ensure continued financial backing for the foreseeable future. Enzo Ferrari himself retained control of the racing division until his death in 1988 at the age of 90.


This is a very nice and very rare non period photo that reflects a wonderful era of Ferrari ‘s automotive history in a wonderful way.  This is your rare chance to own this photo, therefore it is printed in a nice large format of ca. 8" x 12” (ca. 20 cm x 30 cm).  It makes it perfectly suitable for framing.




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