The 1953 Swiss Grand Prix was a Formula Two race held on 23 August 1953 at Bremgarten Circuit. It was race 8 of 9 in the 1953 World Championship of Drivers, which was run to Formula Two rules in 1952 and 1953, rather than the Formula One regulations normally used. World Champion Ferrari driver Alberto Ascari won the race, the last race win and finish of his career.
The race marked the brief return of Grand Prix-era legend Hermann Lang. He was given a chance to participate in Formula 1 racing driving for Officine Alfieri Maserati after one of their team drivers was injured. He raced in two World Drivers' Championship events overall—one in 1953 and one in 1954—and his result here, a fifth-place finish, was his best result.
This race was the last time an Italian driver won a World Championship Grand Prix using Italian Pirelli tyres until Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix.
Entries
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Team
!No
!Driver
!Car
!Engine
!Tyre
|-
| Ecurie Francorchamps
|2
| Jacques Swaters
|Ferrari Tipo 500
|Ferrari 500 2.0 L4
|
|-
| Escuderia Bandeirantes
|4
| Chico Landi
|Maserati A6GCM
|Maserati A6 2.0 L6
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | Equipe Gordini
|6
| Jean Behra
| rowspan="3" |Gordini Type 16
| rowspan="3" |Gordini 20 2.0 L6
| rowspan="4" |
|-
|8
| Maurice Trintignant
|-
|44
| Fred Wacker
|-
| Ecurie Rosier
|10
| Louis Rosier
|Ferrari Tipo 500
|Ferrari 500 2.0 L4
|-
| Louis Chiron
|12
| Louis Chiron
|OSCA 20
|OSCA 2000 2.0 L6
|
|-
| rowspan="3" | HW Motors
|14
| Paul Frère
| rowspan="3" |HWM 53
| rowspan="3" |Alta GP 2.5 L4
| rowspan="4" |
|-
|16
| Lance Macklin
|-
|18
| Albert Scherrer
|-
| Ken Wharton
|20
| Ken Wharton
|Cooper T23
|Bristol BS1 2.0 L6
|-
| Élie Bayol
|22
| Élie Bayol
|OSCA 20
|OSCA 2000 2.0 L6
| rowspan="12" |
|-
| rowspan="4" | Scuderia Ferrari
|24
| Nino Farina
| rowspan="4" |Ferrari Tipo 500
| rowspan="4" |Ferrari 500 2.0 L4
|-
|26
| Mike Hawthorn
|-
|28
| Luigi Villoresi
|-
|46
| Alberto Ascari
|-
| rowspan="4" | Officine Alfieri Maserati
|30
| Felice Bonetto
| rowspan="4" |Maserati A6GCM
| rowspan="4" |Maserati A6 2.0 L6
|-
|32
| Juan Manuel Fangio
|-
|34
| Hermann Lang
|-
|36
| Onofre Marimón
|-
| rowspan="2" | Ecurie Espadon
|38
| Peter Hirt
|Ferrari Tipo 500
|Ferrari 500 2.0 L4
|-
|40
| Max de Terra
|Ferrari 212 F1
|Ferrari 166 2.0 V12
|-
| Emmanuel de Graffenried
|42
| Toulo de Graffenried
|Maserati A6GCM
|Maserati A6 2.0 L6
|-
|colspan=6|
|}
Classification
Qualifying
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos !! No !! Driver !! Constructor !! Time !! Gap
|-
! 1
| 32
| Juan Manuel Fangio
| Maserati
| 2:40.1
| —
|-
! 2
| 46
| Alberto Ascari
| Ferrari
| 2:40.7
| + 0.6
|-
! 3
| 24
| Nino Farina
| Ferrari
| 2:42.6
| + 2.5
|-
! 4
| 8
| Maurice Trintignant
| Gordini
| 2:43.8
| + 3.7
|-
! 5
| 36
| Onofre Marimón
| Maserati
| 2:44.5
| + 4.4
|-
! 6
| 28
| Luigi Villoresi
| Ferrari
| 2:44.6
| + 4.5
|-
! 7
| 26
| Mike Hawthorn
| Ferrari
| 2:48.1
| + 8.0
|-
! 8
| 42
| Toulo de Graffenried
| Maserati
| 2:49.9
| + 9.8
|-
! 9
| 20
| Ken Wharton
| Cooper-Bristol
| 2:51.5
| + 11.4
|-
! 10
| 30
| Felice Bonetto
| Maserati
| 2:52.0
| + 11.9
|-
! 11
| 34
| Hermann Lang
| Maserati
| 2:54.8
| + 14.7
|-
! 12
| 6
| Jean Behra
| Gordini
| 2:55.0
| + 14.9
|-
! 13
| 2
| Jacques Swaters
| Ferrari
| 2:55.1
| + 15.0
|-
! 14
| 10
| Louis Rosier
| Ferrari
| 2:55.4
| + 15.3
|-
! 15
| 16
| Lance Macklin
| HWM-Alta
| 2:57.1
| + 17.0
|-
! 16
| 14
| Paul Frère
| HWM-Alta
| 2:57.9
| + 17.8
|-
! 17
| 38
| Peter Hirt
| Ferrari
| 3:01.5
| + 21.4
|-
! 18
| 18
| Albert Scherrer
| HWM-Alta
| 3:07.4
| + 27.3
|-
! 19
| 40
| Max de Terra
| Ferrari
| 3:21.1
| + 41.0
|-
! 20
| 4
| Chico Landi
| Maserati
| 3:29.1
| + 49.0
|-
! 21
| 12
| Louis Chiron
| OSCA
| No time
| —
|-
! 22
| 22
| Élie Bayol
| OSCA
| No time
| —
|-
! 23
| 44
| Fred Wacker
| Gordini
| No time
| —
|-
!colspan="7"|
|}
Race
{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! Pos !! No !! Driver !! Constructor !! Laps !! Time/Retired !! Grid !! Points
|-
! 1
| 46
| Alberto Ascari
| Ferrari
| 65
| 3:01:34.40
| 2
| 9
|-
! 2
| 24
| Nino Farina
| Ferrari
| 65
| + 1:12.93
| 3
| 6
|-
! 3
| 26
| Mike Hawthorn
| Ferrari
| 65
| + 1:35.96
| 7
| 4
|-
! 4
| 32
| Juan Manuel Fangio<br /> Felice Bonetto
| Maserati
| 64
| + 1 Lap
| 1
| 1.5<br />1.5
|-
! 5
| 34
| Hermann Lang
| Maserati
| 62
| + 3 Laps
| 11
| 2
|-
! 6
| 28
| Luigi Villoresi
| Ferrari
| 62
| + 3 Laps
| 6
|
|-
! 7
| 20
| Ken Wharton
| Cooper-Bristol
| 62
| + 3 Laps
| 9
|
|-
! 8
| 40
| Max de Terra
| Ferrari
| 51
| + 14 Laps
| 19
|
|-
! 9
| 18
| Albert Scherrer
| HWM-Alta
| 49
| + 16 Laps
| 18
|
|-
!
| 4
| Chico Landi
| Maserati
| 54
| Gearbox
| 20
|
|-
!
| 42
| Toulo de Graffenried
| Maserati
| 49
| Transmission
| 8
|
|-
!
| 36
| Onofre Marimón
| Maserati
| 46
| Engine
| 5
|
|-
!
| 8
| Maurice Trintignant
| Gordini
| 43
| Axle
| 4
|
|-
!
| 6
| Jean Behra
| Gordini
| 37
| Oil Pressure
| 12
|
|-
!
| 30
| Felice Bonetto<br /> Juan Manuel Fangio
| Maserati
| 29
| Engine
| 10
|
|-
!
| 16
| Lance Macklin
| HWM-Alta
| 29
| Engine
| 15
|
|-
!
| 38
| Peter Hirt
| Ferrari
| 17
| Engine
| 17
|
|-
!
| 14
| Paul Frère
| HWM-Alta
| 1
| Engine
| 16
|
|-
!
| 2
| Jacques Swaters
| Ferrari
| 0
| Spun Off
| 13
|
|-
!
| 10
| Louis Rosier
| Ferrari
| 0
| Spun Off
| 14
|
|-
!
| 12
| Louis Chiron
| OSCA
| 0
| Did not start
|
|
|-
!
| 22
| Élie Bayol
| OSCA
| 0
| Did not start
|
|
|-
!
| 44
| Fred Wacker
| Gordini
| 0
| Did not start
|
|
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
;Notes
- – Includes 1 point for fastest lap
Shared drives
- (Fangio and Bonetto switched cars)
- Car #32: Fangio (12 laps) then Bonetto (52 laps). They shared the points for 4th place.
- Car #30: Bonetto (12 laps) then Fangio (17 laps)
Championship standings after the race
;Drivers' Championship standings
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
!
! Pos
! Driver
! Points
|-
|align="left"| 10px
|align="center"| 1
| Alberto Ascari
|align="left"| 34.5 (46.5)
|-
|align="left"| 10px
|align="center"| 2
| Nino Farina
|align="left"| 24 (26)
|-
|align="left"| 10px
|align="center"| 3
| Juan Manuel Fangio
|align="left"| 20.5
|-
|align="left"| 10px
|align="center"| 4
| Mike Hawthorn
|align="left"| 19 (24)
|-
|align="left"| 10px
|align="center"| 5
| José Froilán González
|align="left"| 13.5 (14.5)
|-
!colspan=4|Source:
|}