The race was run over two heats each of 35 laps, with the winner being decided by aggregate time.

The winner was Giuseppe Farina in a Ferrari 500, who also set overall fastest lap.

Farina's teammate André Simon was second and Rudi Fischer third in a privateer 500.

Juan Manuel Fangio suffered a crash in heat 1 on the third lap after suffering extreme fatigue while driving through the night from Dundrod in Northern Ireland to Monza, and he only arrived half an hour before the start.

Fangio suffered injuries that sidelined him for the rest of the year.