As in 1952, all championship races were open only to Formula Two cars, with a maximum engine displacement of 2.0 litres. The Indianapolis 500 continued to run under separate American Automobile Association rules and was included on the calendar but attracted no Formula One regulars. For the first time, a championship event was held outside Europe — the Argentine Grand Prix on 18 January, which was marred by tragedy when Nino Farina crashed into an unprotected crowd, killing nine spectators.
Maserati entered with a full works effort after only sporadic appearances in 1952 and recruited former champion Juan Manuel Fangio, who had been absent from the series for a year. Mike Hawthorn joined Ferrari after impressing in non-championship events, replacing Piero Taruffi. Connaught expanded their operation and signed Roy Salvadori and Kenneth McAlpine. Cooper entered a works team for the first time. Stirling Moss drove for Cooper during part of the season after leaving Connaught, and Prince Bira subsequently filled the Connaught seat that Moss vacated.
Ascari dominated from the opening race in Buenos Aires, qualifying on pole and holding the lead despite Fangio's challenge. At the Dutch Grand Prix, Ferrari again proved dominant — Maserati brought upgraded machinery, but Ascari won from Farina with González inheriting third by taking over a team car after mechanical failure.
In Belgium, Fangio set pole on Maserati's stronger top-speed circuit, but both leading Maseratis retired mechanically, leaving Ascari and Villoresi to score a Ferrari one-two.
The French Grand Prix at Reims-Gueux produced one of the most memorable races of the era. Maserati's straight-line speed and Ferrari's superior cornering produced an extended battle at the front that remained unresolved until the final laps, when Mike Hawthorn edged Fangio across the line by the smallest of margins to take his first career victory. The British Grand Prix in wet and flooded conditions brought Ascari a dominant win; rain fell across the circuit mid-race, catching several drivers out, but the champion was untroubled and won more than a minute ahead of Fangio.
Fangio beat Ascari to the lead at the German Grand Prix, but Ascari appeared in the pits missing a wheel and fell back to ninth. He took over Villoresi's car, recovering to fourth before retirement. Farina inherited the win. At the Swiss Grand Prix, Ascari clinched the championship with a commanding victory after Fangio retired with a blown engine on lap 28. With the Spanish Grand Prix cancelled for monetary reasons, the season closed at Monza. The Italian Grand Prix provided a fitting finale — a four-car slipstreaming battle that resolved only in the final corner when Ascari spun while leading, Farina ran off track to avoid him, and Fangio took his first win since 1951.
Alberto Ascari finished the season with 34.5 points (under the best-four-results rule), ahead of Juan Manuel Fangio on 28 and Nino Farina on 26. Ferrari dominated the constructors' standings, taking all but a handful of top finishes across nine rounds.
The Argentine Grand Prix opener was the first World Championship race outside Europe (excluding Indianapolis). The crowd broke through security barriers and pressed right to the edge of the track; a wheel from a retiring Cooper bounced into the spectators, and Farina subsequently slid into the crowd, killing at least nine people. The race continued despite the chaos.
The French Grand Prix duel between Hawthorn and Fangio at Reims entered F1 legend as one of the most dramatic finishes of the early championship era, with the two drivers running side-by-side over the line on the final lap.
The 1953 season confirmed Ferrari's grip on the early championship era and underlined Ascari's status as the dominant driver of the period. His back-to-back titles in a Formula Two formula built during an unusual regulatory phase; from 1954 the championship returned to full Formula One regulations with naturally-aspirated engines of up to 2.5 litres. Ascari never won another championship race — he was killed testing a sportscar at Monza in 1955.