XXIIo Gran Premio d'Italia - 1951
Many people expected Fangio and Alfa Romeo to bounce back in this race as they fielded the much modified Alfa 159, and with Fangio and Farina sitting at the front of the grid it looked like the predictions would come true. The problem was that nobody had told Ascari or Ferrari and the valiant Italian made a stunning start that kept him tight on Fangio's heels for the first 3 laps before the opportunity came to take the Argentine driver at the start of the 4th lap. Alberto then piled on the pressure and forced Fangio to play catch-up with him for the next 4 laps. Fangio regained the lead briefly but with his engine giving him problems he was forced to ease the pace and let Ascari move ahead yet again. The nbr 1 Ferrari driver simply pressed home his advantage and kept extending the gap between himself and the rest of the field. José Froilan Gonzalez, in the 2nd Ferrari, played the role of rear gunner until lap 38 when Fangio was forced to retire with a blown engine. Then Farina was forced to pit to take over Bonetto's car when his engine gave out and by then it was all over apart from the victory celebrations. The tiny Ferrari team were certainly making their presence felt.
Standings after Monza (1 race to go):
1. Fangio 27
2. Ascari 25
3. González 21
Statistics
Summary| Entrants | Qualified | Started | Classified |
| 23 | 23 | 23 | 27 |
