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Starting in 1952 The World Championship was run using Formula Two cars of 2 litres unsupercharged or 500 cc supercharged. Ferrari would dominate Grand Prix racing for the next two years winning 30 out of 33 major races. Fangio was not able to defend his title because of a broken neck suffered in a non-championship race at Monza. In his absence Ascari won every race that he entered, having to miss the season opening race the Swiss Grand Prix because of commitments to Indianapolis that year. The year was not totally devoid of interest owing to the debut of the English team Cooper-Bristol and its driver Mike Hawthorn. Ascari was crowned Word Champion. 1953 was again dominated by Ferrari and only the brilliance of Fangio in a Maserati stood in their way. Mike Hawthorn was signed by Ferrari and was very much the junior driver on a team dominated by two World Champions, Ascari and Farina, and veteran driver Villoresi, or so it was until Reims.

Race of the Century
Hawthorn was the first Englishman to join a foreign team since Richard Seaman drove for Mercedes in 1937. Many questioned whether this young driver who had not raced a single seater until 15 months ago was up to the challenge. This question would be answered before the end of the day.

Reims, the site of the French Grand Prix in 1953 is roughly the shape of an inverted triangle. Two points of the 8.3 km triangle ended in hairpins and the third point was a flat-out bend. The long backstraight actually formed the main road to Soissons. Everyone who came to see the race that year was anticipating another duel in the season long fight between Fangio and Ascari for the title. In pole position was Ascari, Fangio and fellow Argentinean Gonzalez in Maseratis were on the second row followed by Hawthorn, in a Ferrari on the third row.

At the start Gonzalez had made a great start from the second row into the lead. Gonzalez known as the "Pampas Bull" was on half tanks and built a solid lead on the field. He was followed in order by Ascari, Villoresi, Fangio, Hawthorn, Bonetto, Marimon and Farina. At twenty laps or one third of the race distance, Gonzalez had built a twenty second lead. Since he had started the race on half tanks he would shortly have to pit for fuel. On the twenty-ninth lap he dove into the pits. Immediately his crew jumped to action but even their best efforts resulted in a twenty-seven second pitstop and a drop from first to sixth.

Hawthorn now led Ascari and Fangio who would soon garner the lead. It was now Fangio in first followed by Hawthorn and Ascari. Soon Fangio and Hawthorn began to pull away from the rest of the field. They battled wheel to wheel lap after lap many times coming abreast just before having to slam on their breaks for one of the hairpins. The crowd of course was going wild and could actually observe Hawthorn grinning at the Argentinean driver as they raced abreast along one of the long straights. Fangio tried every trick he knew to shake this young pretender but to no avail. Behind these two leaders Gonzalaz was driving as he had never done before and soon passed Ascari into third place. Driving in that crouched down form of his he seemed to be willing his car ahead all the time closing the gap with the duo in front. Ascari too was giving his all.

While the two leaders were engrossed in their race long duel they came upon a much slower car. Entering the right hand curve following the pits there would be room for only one car, but with a gesture unheard of in current Grand Prix racing Hawthorn pulled his car over as far as he dared. With two wheels actually on the grass both he and Fangio could pass together and continue their battle. The crowd upon hearing this let out a roar of approval.

Fangio using all of his experience forced his way pass Hawthorn and was leading the race as it entered its last laps. But Hawthorn was not done yet. He was observed pulling out several times looking to pass only to fall back. Time was running out as they entered the last lap with Fangio leading by one car length but upon entering the last corner Hawthorn had pulled up even. Hawthorn braked at the last possible instant and took a slightly different line which allowed him to out accelerate Fangio's Maserati upon exiting the corner. Hawthorn was able to hold his car on the track and he crossed the line one second ahead of Fangio after 309 miles and 2 hr. 44 min. of racing. In the end 4.6 seconds spanned the first four cars for a Ferrari, Maserati, Ferrari, Maserati finish and so ended the greatest race of the century. Hawthorn on this day was able to beat one of the greatest drivers of all time in a straight fight. That evening, in the bar of the Hotel Welcome, glasses were raised in honor of the the brash young blond Englishman. In winning the race he became the first Englishman to win a Grand Prix since Richard Seaman won the German Grand Prix in 1938.

The Return of the Silver Arrows
After the war as soon as Mercedes were back on their feet plans were made to get the company back into racing. Neubauer attempted to locate any surviving race cars that had been hidden during the war. Modifying these pre-war race cars brought Mercedes mixed results. Mercedes would have to build new cars. The cheapest way to go would be to convert a touring car into a competition vehicle, this car was designated the 300SL. The 300SL was definitely the result of the spare parts bin. One unusual feature of this car was its doors. Because the car's tube frame made regular doors impossible it was decided after careful review of the rules to construct doors that opened vertically. After the first photos of this "new" car appeared in America it was remarked that when opened the doors made the car resembled a seagull, and the name "Gullwing" became its famous nickname.

The first race for the new cars was the Mille Miglia. Mercedes entered three cars for Kling, Lang and Caracciola. Kling the best Mercedes finisher came in second. Caracciola still not fully recovered from an accident at Indianapolis five years ago came in a heroic fourth and would race only one more time before retiring. Caracciola, Mercedes' most famous driver who was considered the greatest of all time by Neubauer would continue to work for Daimler-Benz until his death in 1959. The next race was the Grand Prix de Berne which was a supporting race for the Swiss Grand Prix. A 1-2-3 finish led to an assault on Le Mans. Both Jaguar and Ferrari brought new cars which were answered in typical Mercedes style by the introduction of a roof-top air brake. According to Road & Track the car at full-speed down the Mulsanne straight up came the air brake ..."flipped up into the slipstream with a whupp! and the car slowed down as if a giant hand had reached out and grabbed it ... from 150 to 75 mph in a matter of split seconds" The device was merely being tested and was not used during the race due to safety concerns. It did serve to rattle the competition which may have been its main purpose. The race began with the Mercedes following a conservative race strategy. The Jaguars were the first to fold with all three succumbing to overheating in the second hour. The Ferraris too suffered mechanical failures. Amazingly the wily veteran Pierre Levegh in a private Talbot was leading followed by two Mercedes. Levegh was three laps in the lead but Mercedes instead of increasing their speed continued to lap at 98 mph. Soon the lead was lengthened to four laps yet the Mercedes continued their deliberate pace. Neubauer knowing that Levegh was driving alone he would not believe that Levegh could finish the race. An hour and fifteen minutes from the finish Levegh was out with a broken connecting rod, the result of a missed gear shift. Neubauer was right and the Mercedes coasted to a one-two finish. As great as these victories were, the 300SL was only meant as a stop-gap measure in absence of the still being developed Grand Prix car.

The new formula taking effect in 1954 spurred the introduction of many new cars. Most cars were built to the 750cc supercharged specification. One car of particular note was the new Lancia D50 Designed by the renowned Engineer Vittorio Jano. The D50's V-8 engine was slightly offset and served as a structural member of the chassis. It featured side-mounted external fuel tanks that allowed for the weight distribution to be maintained while the fuel load changed.

1954 also saw the long anticipated return of the Mercedes Grand Prix car. The rules at that time did not require exposed wheels and the W196 with its enclosed wheels and streamlined body looked more like a sports car. The Mercedes was powered by a straight eight inclined 20% off vertical to allow for lower body work and an overall lower center of gravity. The engine also featured fuel injection and desmodromic valve gear.

The Mercedes were not ready until the third race of the season, the French Grand Prix. The team consisted of Fangio, Karl Kling and Hans Herman. Their main competition came from Alberto Ascari temporarily driving a Maserati while his Lancia was being completed, Gonzalez in a Ferrari and later Moss in a private Maserati. Fangio and Kling streaked into the lead while Herman's car in fourth place developed engine trouble. Gonzalez attempted top mount a challenge but the cars from Germany were too strong, finishing a convincing 1-2. With two wins in a borrowed Maserati art the beginning of the season, Fangio was well on his way to his second World Championship.