Ascari achieves back-to-back F1 titles • Hawthorn ends the Italian's run of nine consecutive wins at the French GP • The World Sportscar Championship is born • Tazio Nuvolari dies and 55,000 people turn up for the funeral parade in his home town of Mantua • Tony Rolt's and Duncan Hamilton's Jaguar uses disc brakes to win Le Mans • Fangio takes Maserati's first win at Monza • Oulton Park circuit opens and Crystal Palace reopens for racing • The Australian GP moves to Albert Park
- Alberto Ascari seals back-to-back world championships
- Mike Hawthorn ends Alberto Ascari's nine-race winning streak by beating Juan Manuel Fangio in the French GP
- Tazio Nuvolari dies from a stroke, and 55,000 people attend his funeral parade in the Italian town of Mantua
SOCIALISE - TELL THE WORLD ABOUT THIS