recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
1962 Teams Championship Standings

It may have not been Ferrari's season, but they do salvage some pride to reclaim 2nd from Lotus thanks to von Trips' Podium here. Gilby are the Champions though, becoming the first non-Ferrari winner since the Teams' Championship began in 1958! Cooper finish a somewhat lonely 4th before a big gap back to...

...Emeryson! The plucky little British team sign-off from the series by finishing strongly, thanks to the talented Collomb moving them ahead of Brabham in the final race of the season. Brabham do finish 6th though, which is remarkable effort to defeat the more illustrious BRM outfit in particular, who must settle for 7th place.

LDS did well to score points in their debut season in 8th, from Lola 9th and Porsche with a season to forget in 10th...and will we see a De Tomaso on track in 1963...that's anyone's guess!
Hermann Lang

Hermann Lang was a German racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1953-1954, racing for HWM and Maserati.

Lang joined the F1R circus after an incredibly competitive motor-racing career that saw him compete in pre-war Grand Prix events, hillclimbs and even motorcycle races! However, it wasn't until 1953 (when a conversation with HWM boss George Abecassis led to the owner claiming Lang was past his best) that a deal was struck for him to take part in F1R (presumably to avenge his good name!). Lang grew in confidence as the season went on and even managed a pair of Top 10 finishes, which brought him to the attention of Maserati…

Maserati had just lost the experienced de Graffenried to Lancia and wanted an elder statesman to represent them and help to mentor and guide the younger drivers - and so in stepped Lang, as he did his best to show them how to race rather than just tell them, in a car capable of race victories this time. And in fact he managed to equal the number of wins that eventual champion and team-mate Hans Herrmann managed that season (2) with some other fantastic drives that a) proved Abecassis wrong and b) led to him finishing a creditable 4th in the Championship by the end of the year.

Lang elected to retire from motor-racing at that point and return to his 1st ever job working at the Mercedes factory, back where it all began…
Peter Collins

Peter Collins was an English racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1952-1958, racing for Maserati, HWM, Lancia and the team he became synonymous with; Vanwall.

The son of a motor-garage owner and haulage merchant, Collins became interested in motor vehicles at a young age. He was expelled from school at 16 owing to spending time at a local fairground during school hours. He became an apprentice in his father's garage and began competing in local trials races.

His breakthrough came away from the track at a party, when Collins managed to ingratiate himself with the team principal of the Maserati outfit, who offered him a drive for the 1952 season. Despite having a steep learning curve (including his one and only career DNQ thanks to not arriving at the track on time, due to a rather raucous the evening the night before!), he showed flashes of pace with his 7th placed finish at the German GP - though that wasn't enough for Maserati to retain him for the following season.

His talent was enouh to see him grab a drive with HWM though, in a car - and team - that suited him far more, as he proved with his 1st podium finish at the season opening Argentine GP! HWM rather fell behind the curve of development compared to other teams that season, which meant that it took until the final race of the season in Italy before Collins was in the points again (despite a series of valiant efforts in between). As top HWM driver and clearly a serious talent, he was snapped up by Lancia to spearhead their new F1R entry alongside the veteran de Graffenried - but again the Italian way of motoring didn't suit Collins, who could only manage a best finish of 10th all season long…and was soundly beaten by de Graffenried in the end.

That proved the turning point for Collins, who became involved with Vanwall in 1955 and thus a constant podium contender! Although his first season saw him finish 3rd in the Drivers' Championship (behind the HWM of Wharton and Farina's Ferrari), he found himself still searching for an elusive 1st ever victory in F1R after three 2nd placed finishes that season alone. However, in 1956 he showed his true pace and potential with victory (and fastest lap) at the French GP, which would prove to be one of only two defeats inflicted upon eventual champion Bob Gerard all season long! Indeed, Collins was regularly the closest competition to Gerard's dominance in his later years, as his consecutive 2nd placed finishes in the Championship proved.

The pace of the Vanwall in his final season meant that he took just a single point (at the Italian GP), though he was top Vanwall driver against some stiff competition, in a season dominated by a Ferrari team that Collins had regularly defeated in the seasons beforehand. Sensing the end of an era for the British marque and himself, Collins retired from F1R to focus on sportscars and Le Mans in particular, in which he produced some equally scintillating performances during the final years of his racing career.
Horace Gould

Horace Gould was an English racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1954 and then again from 1957-1958 before a final fling in 1960, racing for Connaught and Ferrari.

Gould joined the F1R series with the under-powered Connaught team in 1954, struggling to get the most out of the car and ultimately the jovial Bristolian elected to go back to concentrating on sportscar racing. That ultimately led to his big break, when teaming up with Moss in the World Sportscar Championship led his countryman to recommend Gould to Enzo Ferrari for the 1957 F1R season. Team Principal Wagner felt obliged to take Gould on, though was impressed by how he belied his larger frame to bring his car home in 4th place at his home GP and manage to out-perform one Jack Brabham that season as a result!

In 1958, Gould was far more of a threat and managed to record three podium positions and a 4th place to end up in 6th in the overall Drivers' Standings…though unfortunately for Gould, that meant he was last of the four Ferrari drivers behind von Trips, Brabham and Salvadori. 1959 saw him take a season out, before a late injury to d'Orey led Ferrari to look for a capable alternative at the last minute. As such, Gould made one final set of appearances in the series, including a Podium at the French GP and Fastest Lap at the season finale to contribute to Ferrari claiming the Teams' Championship!

He then left F1R to retire to the countryside near Modena in Italy and focus on raising his family there…
F1 Revisited 1950 - Season 1

**Season Summary**

A hard fought battle in 1950 (the inaugural F1R season) between Pietsch and de Graffenried saw the title decided in favour of the German by a mere 2 point margin. Had Bob Gerard not entered from the 3rd race onwards then he may even have won the championship himself, but instead he had to settle for 3rd, a further 4 points behind.

* Season Rules
* Race Results
* Final Standings
* Driver Earnings
* Statistics
1958 Drivers Earnings

## **1958 Financial Rewards**

Money is given for the following achievements:

**Championship & Setup Standings:**

* 1st place – £3,000
* 2nd place – £2,500
* 3rd place – £2,000
* 4th place – £1,750
* 5th place – £1,500
* 6th place – £1,250
* 7th place – £1,000
* 8th place – £750
* 9th place – £625
* 10th place – £500
* 11th place – £450
* 12th place – £400
* 13th place - £350
* 14th place - £300
* 15th place - £250
* And so on until…
* 20th place – £25

**Race:**

* 1st place – £250
* 2nd place – £100
* 3rd place – £50

**Incidentals:**

* Pole Position – £50
* Fastest Lap – £50
* Per point (inc. dropped scores & FL) – £10 \* NOT given to Podium finishers any more
* Best Setups - £100/£50/£20 for the Top 3 at each race

**End of Season**

* Top performer in the team - £500 \* NOT given to overall Champion any more
* Best improvement in a race - £200
* Most race finishes in a season - £500 \* NOT given to overall Champion any more
* Per objective achieved over the season - £200 \* NOT given to overall Champion any more

Please note that you will be taxed 20% for every £1 you finish the season over the £10,000 mark.

## **Top Earners**

For next season if you lost your driver you will still carry the same financial clout with the new driver, likewise if a new player takes over a previous driver they will take over any finances associated with them.

Also, driver multiplier does NOT go with you to a new driver - so if you are taking on a new driver they will start with a multiplier value of just 1.00.
André Pilette

André Pilette was a Belgian racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1954 and then again in 1956.

Pilette was well known for having success in sportscar racing, meaning that his break in F1R only happened towards the end of his career when HWM took a punt on the Belgian, who proved a safe pair of hands behind the wheel - though he was never quite on a par with a young Flockhart that season. HWM went in a different direction for '55, preferring younger talent and that meant it wasn't until 1956 when Pilette rejoined the F1R paddock. This time it was Gordini, who took on board the experienced Belgian - and though he continued to bring the car to the finish line, once more it was normally at the lower end of the Top 20.

The 1956 British GP would prove to be his final visit to an F1R grid, before he retired to focus on his racing school and the racing career of his son Teddy Pilette…
Georges Grignard

Georges Grignard was a French racing driver, who competed for Alta in the 1951 F1R series.

One season was all that Grignard spent in the F1R series - though what a season! While the Alta never had the pace to compete with the Alfa Romeo of Gerard, he managed to secure three podium positions and in the season finale at the Spanish GP his 2nd position was enough to elevate him to 2nd in the Championship. However, like many F1R drivers of the time he was near the end of his motor-racing career and upon testing the 1952 Alta, he elected to bow out of the series - which proved a wise decision, given that 14th was the highest any Alta finished in 1952!
Alberto Uria

Alberto Uria was a Uruguayan racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1955.

A curious tale is Uria's involvement in F1R, as a poster of him posed with an F1R car led the Arzani-Volpini team to believe he had some decent experience and hired him to race at the 1955 Argentine GP. He was involved in an early incident that was not his fault, which caused him to retire and led to Arzani-Volpini bringing him back for the Dutch GP. This time his serious lack of talent was exposed and he failed to finish the race, which was his last in the F1R series.

He went back to racing in Touring Cars for the remainder of his racing career, with his time in single seaters firmly behind him!
1954 Drivers Earnings

## **1954 Financial Rewards**

Money is given for the following achievements:

**Championship:**

* 1st place – £2,500
* 2nd place – £2,000
* 3rd place – £1,500
* 4th place – £1,250
* 5th place – £1,000
* 6th place – £900
* 7th place - £800
* 8th place - £700
* 9th place - £600
* 10th place - £550
* And so on until…
* 20th place – £50

**Race:**

* 1st place – £150
* 2nd place – £100
* 3rd place – £50

**Incidentals:**

* Pole Position – £50
* Fastest Lap – £50
* Per point (inc. dropped scores) – £10

## **Top Earners**

For next season if you lost your driver you will still carry the same financial clout with the new driver, likewise if a new player takes over a previous driver they will take over any finances associated with them.
Jean Behra

Jean Behra was a French racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1952-1954 and then again from 1956-1959, racing for Gordini, Vanwall and Cooper.

Behra started out racing motorcycles before deciding that a career in F1R was the right move for him - a staunchly proud Frenchman, Behra delighted in racing for the sole French manufacturer in F1R (aside from the ill-fated 1956 Bugatti entry!) at the time…Gordini. However, Gordini simply did not have the resources to provide him with a race winning car - and, coupled with Behra's tendency to switch off when not in with a chance of the win, meant that in 1952 he could only manage 8th at best, while in 1953 relations soured between Behra and Gordini, with only an 18th placed finish at the Belgian GP to show for it.

In 1954 Behra moved to Vanwall, though faced with a language barrier and an incredibly challenging chassis he only entered 3 events - and qualified for just 1 of those, where a crash at the Argentine GP cut his race short. In 1955 he stepped away from the racing world, before being tempted back by Gordini's offer of a drive for them. However, another crash in Argentina led to recriminations and neither side could reach an agreement - meaning that would be the final race he would race for the French marque (who themselves left F1R at the end of that same season).

It was clear that Behra felt that F1R was something he was yet to show the best of himself in - and perhaps that is why he managed to persuade Cooper to take a chance on him for the 1957 season. After a tough '56, Cooper had lost their best two drivers (Gonzalez and Fairman) and so in stepped Behra to prove himself and finally show what he could do…14th in Argentina (though at least a race finish there!) was quickly followed by 5th at Monaco for his 1st career points, before a sensational drive at his home race saw him go from 5th to 1st and show the speed that he was capable of! Cooper focused the rest of the season on developing their 1958 car - therefore falling behind the pace of development of the other teams, meaning Behra did not reach the Top 10 again that season.

In 1958 Cooper picked up 2 wins - though Behra was clearly not comfortable in the car, he did at least manage 2 points scoring finishes and his maiden Pole Position as he helped Cooper to 3rd in the inaugural Teams Championship. Early on in 1959, Behra announced that this would be his final season - and he focused much of his time and effort mentoring the newest Cooper talent to emerge, Lucien Bianchi. His results on track were acceptable, with highlights including his 1st ever Fastest Lap at the Monaco GP, Pole at the German GP and a podium at the British GP.

As promised, he did leave the series at the end of 1959 to focus on other motor-racing interests outside of F1R.
F1 Revisited 1960 - Season 11

**Season Summary**

Gregory is confirmed as the 1960 F1 Revisited Champion - it is his 1st F1R Championship and the 1st for a driver not in an Italian car (therefore also the 1st for a BRM driver)! It is also the 1st title for an American driver and the 1st time the winning driver hasn't also driven for the winning constructor (but more on that in a moment…). Finally, Gregory breaks the record for winning the title with fewest race victories (his 0 takes the record away from Pietsch's 1 victory in 1952).

Von Trips must settle for 2nd place (though that is 1 place better than last season), while Bonnier finishes the season incredibly strong with both 3 Poles and 3 Wins in a row to come home 3rd overall and missing out on the title by just 3 points in the end! Naylor's efforts meanwhile see him finish the season a strong 4th place, though a lack of a race win cost him in the end…

After a final race to forget for BRM, it is Ferrari who claim their 3rd consecutive Teams Championship crown, with Team Principal Tim Wagner also claiming his 3rd consecutive title as well! Not only do BRM not win the title, but thanks to Bonnier's efforts and a countback of 1st places, it is Maserati who bow out of F1R in 2nd place just 4 points off the Ferrari total in the end. Team Principal Ibbotson is going to be the name that almost every team next season will want to sign…

BRM do finish 3rd in a solid season for them, while Cooper will be disappointed to be down in 4th overall with Team Principal Morris likely in some trouble for having 2 of his drivers not even show up for the final race of the season…

* Game Rules
* Team Principal Rules
* Race Results
* Final Driver Standings
* Final Teams Standings
* Driver Earnings
* Driver Statistics
* Teams Statistics
Carlos Menditeguy

Carlos Menditeguy was an Argentine racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1953-1958 and then again in 1960.

Menditeguy joined the F1R series in 1953, driving for an HWM team built around the talents of Peter Collins - though after a couple of respectable results in the opening two rounds, he found himself lacking the funds required to reach the start line of any other round. That persisted until half-way through the 1954 season, when Vanwall (buoyed by Salvadori's race win in France) took a chance on the young Argentine to see him reach the Top 10 at the British GP. However, that would end up as his best result that season, with the Vanwall failing to live up to that level of performance through the remainder of 1954.

1955 would start very differently though, as the development work on the Vanwall paid off when Menditeguy put his Vanwall on Pole Position and managed to take it to the Podium! Unfortunately, unreliability dogged the Argentine for the remainder of the season as Collins just seemed to get more out of the car, with team-mate Bayol also pipping him in the Drivers' Standings - and that led to him looking for a drive elsewhere, with Ferrari taking a chance on him for 1956 from the 3rd race onwards. However, up against the established talents of de Graffenried and von Trips he was unable to match them and though he took a Podium at the season ending Italian GP (which helped him finish ahead of a very young Jack Brabham!), his services were not retained for the 1957 season…

…and that led to a move to Connaught for 1957, where he was a reasonably regular Top 10 finisher without ever troubling the points - and he then moved to the new Lotus team, who had big dreams but the 1958 Lotus was nowhere near the pace and a best result of 18th was indicative of the performance any of their drivers was able to extract from the car. By this stage Menditeguy was nearing the end of his days in F1R and took a season out in 1959 before agreeing a deal in 1960 with the fledgling Scarab outfit to drive the latter half of the season, though the car was simply not on the pace for most of the season and the Argentine retired, clearly not at the same level he was at in his Podium-scoring seasons.

He retired to focus on his love of golf and polo.
Aston Butterworth

Aston Butterworth was a British constructor that competed in the F1R series in 1952.

The project was instigated by Bill Aston, who decided to build a car for Formula Two - however, the specifications meant there was the possibility for Aston to take part in F1R. They did just that, registering for Stirling Moss to race for them towards the start of his time in the series.

However, the team and Moss never managed to work together effectively enough to get him to a race weekend with a car to drive - and so the season ended without a single race start for the team...and that was the end of their time, as arguably the least successful team to ever register for an F1R season!

**Complete Championship Results**
José Froilán González

José Froilán González was an Argentine racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1950-1957 and then again in 1960.

González took part from the very 1st F1R race in 1950, with the Ferrari team giving him a car that was capable of reaching the podium - as he proved at the Swiss GP, though found himself struggling in the other races with a Ferrari that was tough to handle - with only Pietsch really able to get the best out of the car, as the German stormed to the title. González meanwhile elected to jump ship to Maserati, within the Scuderia Ambrosiana team…and the early signs were promising, with a 4th placed finish at the season opener along with the Fastest Lap to boot. However, he proved somewhat accident prone in the remainder of the series and found himself without a new contract for 1952.

That saw him set up as the sole driver for Alta in 1952, who produced a car that only managed to reach the finish line in the final race of the season - and then only in 14th position. Nevertheless, that resilience saw him rewarded with a drive at Cooper for 1953, though the Cooper car that season was well off the pace and a best finish of 16th reflected that. 1954 saw him compete in just one race for Gordini, where he failed to finish before a drive with Cooper in 1955 failed to materialise even a single race start.

In 1956, Cooper were able to field an extra car at the season opening Argentine GP, where González managed to bring his car home in 6th place - though unfortunately that was not enough to reach the points and so he was not kept on and went to Connaught for 1957. This was arguably his most impressive season, as he out-performed the likes of Menditeguy, Godia and Bonnier to finish as best Connaught and even managed to finish 5th at the German GP to score the British marque's only points of the season!

He elected to retire in 1958, as The Pampas Bull focused on sportscars instead, albeit did almost rejoin the grid with Scarab in 1960 - though that never resulted in a single race start unfortunately.
Alta

Alta was a British constructor that competed in the F1R series from 1950 to 1952.

The team was founded by the engineer Geoffrey Taylor and despite being mostly known as a road car manufacturer, they entered F1R to enhance their brand - but with a design in their 1st season that felt something of an afterthought compared to the care and attention that went into their road cars...

In 1950, Alta managed to gain the services of Cabantous, who managed 3 points finishes to finish 5th in the series with Walker also managing a single points score, but neither were ever in Championship contention. Meanwhile in 1951, Alta concentrated their attention on just a single driver, with Grignard securing their best Championship finish with 2nd overall - though he wasn't in contention for the title either, just ending up best of the rest after domination by Gerard.

Finally, with Grignard retiring Alta tried one final time to mount a challenge, as they secured the services of Gonzalez but the car was incredibly unreliable, as it failed to finish on 6 of the 7 races. In the final race, Gonzalez drove the entire race on tenterhooks but did manage to reach the finish - although only in 14th place, whereupon he left the team and Alta withdrew from F1R permanently.

**Complete Championship Results**
Ricardo Rodríguez

Ricardo Rodríguez was a Mexican racing driver, who was the 1st ever Mexican to take part in the F1R series from 1961-1962, racing for JBW and Cooper.

The young Mexican showed his promise in only his 2nd ever race in F1R, when he managed to take victory at the Dutch GP (using the changeable weather there to his advantage!), which he proved was no fluke by taking victory at the season-ending US GP at Watkins Glen in the dry - leading to him finishing a creditable 5th in the Drivers' Championship. There followed a big money move to Cooper (after JBW folded), who couldn't provide him with a machine that matched his talents...

...points finishes in his favourite Dutch GP and the Italian GP were followed by an impressive Podium at Watkins Glen again, though that was to be the extent of his success with Cooper. That led to him finishing 9th in the Standings and feeling disillusioned by the prospect of continuing with F1R - which resulted in him retiring to focus on his motorbike racing instead...
BRM

BRM (British Racing Motors) are a British constructor that have competed in the F1R series in 1951 and then since 1956.

This article covers the history of BRM in F1R during the 1950s, with an update to come once we reach 1970.

BRM was founded just after the Second World War by Raymond Mays, who had built several hillclimb and road racing cars under the ERA brand before the war, and Peter Berthon, a long-time associate, who went onto become a Technical Director in the F1R series.

The team entered in 1951 with the P15 car, which had a stellar debut in the hands of Farina, who managed both Pole and a victory at the season opening Swiss GP. However, that was to be the only points finish all season, as Farina went to focus on other forms of racing, Moss never managed to get to a race track at the same time as his car and Fangio just couldn't manage to finish races in the car!

As such, BRM left the series and did not return until 1956 when the BRM P25 (once again with Farina at the helm, alongside Moss and a couple of others) proved to be something of a handful - though they improved the handling of the car and in 1957 a new driver line-up paid dividends with Maglioli and Musso both in the points reasonably regularly.

The introduction of the Teams' Championship in 1958 saw Väänänen appointed to continue this success - and though Maglioli retired in 1958, he was replaced by another experienced driver in the shape of Gibson, with both Musso and Gibson scoring Podium finishes (indeed Gibson's finish was a victory at the British GP, much to the home fans' delight!) alongside a young Graham Hill, who was in the points on occasion. 4th in the Team's Championship was a strong effort for the team...

...but in 1959, only Gregory was able to tame the new car and although he managed a solid 5th in the Drivers' Championship, he was the only one in the Top 10 as both Phil Hill and Graham Hill scored points, but only a handful each. 5th in the standings led to a change in design philosophy, which would make a real difference in 1960...!

**1950s**
Erwin Bauer

Erwin Bauer was a German racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1953, racing for Cooper.

Bauer caught the eye at the wheel of a Lotus fairly late in his motor-racing career, which prompted Cooper to offer him a drive for the 1953 F1R season. Progress was challenging for Bauer initially, who took time to get to grips with the car and for several races was down with his team-mates Stuck and Gonzalez (plus the absent Fangio) finishing on the outskirts of the Top 20. However, as the season wore on Bauer was competing for Top 10 places - achieving this feat in 4 of the final 5 races of the season…including scoring the only point by a Cooper driver in 1953 by taking the Fastest Lap at his home race in Germany!

Unfortunately at the final race of the season a crash proved fatal for his chances of continuing in F1R - and instead led him to retire to focus on other less demanding motorsports series.
John Barber

John Barber was an English racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1953, racing for Veritas.

Barber was a fish merchant by trade, though held an enduring passion for motor racing and would regularly arrive at the racing circuits with his own racing goggles and helmet - just in case there was a chance of a drive. At the 1953 Argentine GP, he was mistaken by a security guard for a driver and allowed into the team garages where he met Team Owner Ernst Loof, who liked Barber's ambition so much that he gave him the chance to qualify using the team's spare chassis.

Having qualified in a vaguely respectable 21st (incredible, considering it was his 1st ever outing in an F1R car!), Barber lined up for his 1st ever F1R race and quickly found the pace to be far too challenging. While team-mate Herrmann was finishing inside the Top 10, Barber could only manage 27th some 2 laps down on the leaders. Thus ended his F1R career after an astonishing series of events gave him his opportunity. He retired to the Mediterranean to live on a boat and get back to his love of fishing!
1951 Drivers Earnings

## **1951 Financial Rewards**

Money is given for the following achievements:

**Championship:**

* 1st place – £1,200
* 2nd place – £1,000
* 3rd place – £900
* 4th place – £850
* 5th place – £800
* And so on until…
* 20th place – £50

**Race:**

* 1st place – £50
* 2nd place – £25
* 3rd place – £10

**Incidentals:**

* Pole Position – £50
* Fastest Lap – £50
* Per point (inc. dropped scores) – £5

## **Top Earners**

For next season if you lost your driver you will still carry the same financial clout with the new driver, likewise if a new player takes over a previous driver they will take over any finances associated with them.
AFM

AFM (Alex von Falkenhausen Motorenbau) was a German constructor that competed in the F1R series in 1952.

The team was founded by BMW engineer Alexander von Falkenhausen with single seaters their speciality - leading to Krause entering one of their cars in every race that season.

However, despite some strong efforts to record Top 10s at several races, there was never enough success for AFM to look at extending their time in F1R past the end of the season - and when von Falkenhausen went back to work at BMW that spelled the end of the AFM name.

**Complete Championship Results**
Giuseppe Farina

Giuseppe Farina was an Italian racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1950-1956, winning one World Championship in that time!

In 1950 Farina's talent was clear for all to see in the opening round of the F1R series, as he set the 1st ever Fastest Lap in an Alfa Romeo (the same Alfa Romeo that managed only one podium all season long!) before moving away from the series to focus on other racing. A similar story for 1951 saw him persuaded to take a driver in a BRM, in which he set Pole Position and won the opening round before a retirement in the following race saw him again move away from the F1R series.

Farina's obvious talent was spotted by Maserati, who persuaded him to sign for the 1952 season, which was a learning curve for Farina against the enigmatic talents of Franco Rol (who finished 3 places above him in the final standings).

While he did win the French GP that year and record a Podium in Italy, that was only enough for 6th in the Championship. 1953 saw him re-sign for Maserati, with a Podium at his home race in Italy (always a favourite of his) the high-point in an otherwise Ferrari-dominated year.

In 1954 Farina had an 'annus horribilis', finishing behind Herrmann, Lang and Moss in identical machinery, as the new 250F just did not suit his driving style. That promoted a move to Ferrari, where the new 625 matched his style far more effectively. 4 podiums, 3 victories and 2 hat-tricks later he was crowned the 1955 champion - and was promptly lured away back to BRM for the biggest financial transfer of a driver in F1R history at the time. However, the BRM chassis was nowhere near the pace that he was promised - along with having Moss follow him and clearly being favoured by the British team, his desire to be involved in the series waned and he left after just 2 races (where he was the top BRM driver at that point)

He retired to focus on working with the Alfa Romeo and Jaguar distributorships, along with assisting at the Pininfarina factory too.
Paul England

Paul England was an Australian racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1957.

England spent quite a while as a sportscar racer in Australia, before getting a chance to drive for the new Porsche outfit. However, after 4 races where he could only manage a best finish of 19th at the French GP (compared to a podium for Trintignant in the same car) he failed to start a single race after then and soon departed back to Australia.

He went on to own a general engineering company in Victoria, which produced 1.6 litre Ford engines for motor racing.
Luigi Piotti

Luigi Piotti was an Italian racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1955-1958, racing for Maserati amongst others.

Piotti's time in F1R was dogged by bad luck, when he put the out-of-sorts Arzani-Volpini in some good positions in the opening two races…though his machinery let him down and he failed to finish. After that, a 16th placed finish was the best he could manage. However, those early performances were enough to put him on the radar of Connaught, who signed him for 1956 and saw him struggle initially compared to his team-mates - though he was regularly improving throughout the season and that led to interest in him from Maserati…

…and with Team Principal Ibbotson keen to have safe pairs of hands in the car alongside the legend Bob Gerard, he was signed for the next couple of seasons. 1957 saw him learning the ropes in the more powerful Maserati, though again his improvements through the season saw him end up in 6th place in the season ending Italian GP. Then, in 1958, a couple of phenomenal races finally showcased Piotti's potential when he finished 2nd behind team-mate Gerard in both the Dutch and French GP that season.

However, a serious drop in form followed - and without enough support, Gerard was susceptible to the challenge of von Trips in the Ferrari. That led to the end of Piotti's time in F1R, as Maserati needed to look to drivers with more of a source of revenue to sustain their time in F1R. Piotti retired to focus on sportscar racing, where he was significantly more successful!
Charles de Tornaco

Charles de Tornaco was a Belgian racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1953, racing for Gordini.

Known more for his business nous than his racing abilities, de Tornaco got offered a shot at F1R with the French Gordini team - during the season he proved to be a safe pair of hands at the wheel of a car that was utterly awful. He can lay claim to having been the best Gordini performer that season, as his best finish of 17th at the season ending Italian GP (despite a retirement there) moved him ahead of such illustrious F1R pedallers as Trintignant, Behra and Rosier! However, after failing to agree a contract for the 1954 season, de Tornaco moved on to focus on team management in other racing series instead.
Georges Berger

Georges Berger was a Belgian racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1953-1954, racing for Veritas and Maserati.

For years Berger competed in Formula 2 with a decent racing record, though it was only in 1953 towards the end of his career that he was able to get his shot thanks to Veritas' attempt to pack out the grid and give themselves a chance of collecting more race information and therefore being more successful. In his two outings that year he finished 26th in Switzerland, before a solid drive to 13th in Italy. The latter drive prompted Maserati to take a punt on Berger for the 1954 season.

Unfortunately this rather showed that he was a few years past his peak, though he did produce one stand out performance at his favoured Italian GP where he managed to claim a podium (an all-Maserati podium alongside Lang and eventual champion Herrmann in fact) that propelled him up to 11th in the Championship. He followed this up with Pole at the season finale at Pedralbes, though after slipping down to 6th overall he elected to take a step back from F1R and focus on other forms of racing instead.
Carroll Shelby

Carroll Shelby was an American racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1959.

Shelby was a talented racer, who impressed at both Le Mans and other sportscar races. For Connaught's final season in the series finances were a real issue and so, as both a fast driver and one with some resonable financial resources behind him, Shelby was the ideal fit to come in to the team. Ultimately he finished the season as the top Connaught driver (ahead of both Allison and Moss) with a best finish of 10th place at the German GP. However, with Connaught departing for 1960, that proved to be the end of Shelby's F1R career.

He went on, due to some health challenges, to retire from racing and focused instead on building cars as part of Shelby American where, to this day, they continue to manufacture cars under his name.
Geoff Crossley

Geoff Crossley was an English racing driver, who competed for Talbot in the 1950 F1R series.

After taking over the drive from Louis Chiron in the penultimate round of the series he started a respectable 9th in his first qualifying session at the French GP before coming home to a strong 8th placed finish. That was to be as good as it got for the replacement, who could only manage a 10th placed finish as the lone Talbot at Monza - before deciding to retire and focus on his profession as a furniture manufacturer at the end of the season.
F1 Revisited 1956 - Season 7

**Season Summary**

A season of domination for Bob Gerard in the Maserati, whose only competition all season long come from the veteran de Graffenried in the Ferrari and Gerard's countryman Collins in the Vanwall. Meanwhile we see the emergence of a new talent in the shape of von Trips for Ferrari, and Landi secures an incredible Top 5 position in the standings for the Connaught team!

* Season Rules
* Race Results
* Final Standings
* Driver Earnings
* Statistics
1954 Drivers Championship Standings

Hans Herrmann is officially the 1954 champion, which is well deserved given that he is the only driver to score points in more than 5 rounds! Gerard and Volonterio are 2nd & 3rd in the championship, and announcements come from the pair of them that they will both be sitting next season out and looking into other forms of Motorsport to amuse themselves - though they may return to F1R in future.

Lang's 4th place is richly deserved after a brilliant end to a season, which could have been so much better were it not for the failures of the F1R FIA - he too will not be returning next year, though it is a permanent retirement in his case as he is looking to do more behind the scenes at the Mercedes factory, of all places!

Moss claims 5th place overall, with Kling 6th and Whitehead a respectable 7th - and so it is we bid farewell to the Brit, who is also leaving F1R for less taxing forms of racing.

What a season for Salvadori, who really led the line for Vanwall and - if they can keep hold of him - will be a real asset to the British marque in the future. Marimon finishes the season 9th, but sadly will not be racing next year whilst Farina rounds out the top 10 this season.

Outside the top 10 the big mover is Whitehouse for Vanwall, who moves into the top 20 after his incredible 9th placed finish in Spain, but that is the last we'll see of him as he is off to spend more time with his family.

Other drivers who wont be returning next season include Georges Berger, Rodney Nuckey, Theo Helfrich, and the great Toulo de Graffenried - though he is another who has said "never say never" to returning at some point in the future.

Also stepping out of the spotlight of F1R are Ron Flockhart, André Pilette and Paco Godia - though all 3 have left the door open to a return at some point in the future. In stark contrast we will be saying goodbye to the Klenk team, who will be losing both Eric Brandon and Fred Wacker to retirement. Also leaving are Reg Parnell (after a long and distinguished career) and Jacques Swaters too.
Ken Wharton

Ken Wharton was an English racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1955.

Wharton was a rallying ace, who was persuaded by HWM to join the F1R series on a single season contract. He came in with HWM clearly not quite on the pace, as a best finish of 8th in the first two races evidenced…however, it was all change as of the Belgian GP where Wharton's natural driving abilities around Spa came to the fore and aligned with the HWM's decent straight-line speed to give him a Hat-Trick that shocked the established order! He repeated that feat at the Dutch GP and the British GP to become the only driver bar the legendary Gerard to achieve 3 consecutive Hat-Tricks…and that put him in title contention for the final race of the season, where he arrived in 1st place knowing that if he could keep Farina's Ferrari behind him he would be Champion…

…however, a failure from HWM to invest in their development late on in the season meant they turned up and found their cars at a significant disadvantage and as such Wharton could only manage 7th compared to a hat-trick for Farina, which ensured the Italian became Champion. Wharton was clearly visibly upset by how the team let him down (arguably with their strategy at that final race too) and retired from F1R at that stage. He went back to focus on rallying and hill-climbing after his retirement.
Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo was an Italian constructor that competed in the F1R series from 1950 to 1951.

The team was taken over by Nicola Romeo in 1915 and eventually using a subsidy from the Italian Government they entered F1R in 1950 with limited success, although Fagioli did manage a Podium and Fastest Lap at the prestigious Monaco GP!

That led to enhanced financing in 1951, with impressive results - as Bob Gerard came on board and won five races with Cabantous and Fischer also recording Podiums, which led to Alfa Romeo asking for even more money from the Italian government in 1952 - but when they turned down that request the team took a firm stance and elected to leave the series, as arguably the most successful Constructor ever, pound-for-pound!

**Complete Championship Results**
ERA

ERA (or English Racing Automobiles) was a British constructor that competed in the F1R series from 1950 to 1952.

The team was founded by Humphrey Cook, Raymond Mays, and Peter Berthon (who went on to become a Technical Director in the F1R series for BRM amongst others), with the ERA E Type running to F1R specifications and being entered by a few contenders, including a young Maurice Trintignant and Franco Rol. Only Trintignant managed to score points in 1950, before Peter Walker grabbed the team's 1st and only Podium at the season opening Swiss GP in 1951 - though with no real development work being done, the rest of the season was a real struggle.

1952 was no better with Bill Aston being the sole representative, who didn't manage to qualify for a single race - and ERA subsequently withdrew from the series to focus on other avenues for the following season and beyond.

**Complete Championship Results**
Mike Sparken

Mike Sparken was a French racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1955.

Sparken paid to race for the Connaught outfit in the 1955 season, after their financial struggles led them to accept a series of pay-drivers. After only achieving a best result of 17th at the British GP, Sparken retired to focus on Sportscar racing where he was far more successful…
Fred Wacker

Fred Wacker was an American racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1953-1954, racing for OSCA and Klenk.

Better known as a Captain of Industry, Wacker dabbled in F1R with an initial 5 race contract with OSCA (culminating in a best finish of 12th at the Italian GP, despite retiring!) before buying a seat at the short-lived Klenk outfit for 1954, where he raced three times, scoring a best finish that season of 15th. This again came after a retirement at the Italian GP, somewhat bizzarely…!

That would be his last F1R outing, as he retired to focus on becoming a prominent Chicago socialite and jazz musician.
Alan Brown

Alan Brown was an English racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1952-1953, racing for HWM and Connaught.

Part of the tradition of "have-a-go" racers in the early 50s, Brown was likely better known as a team leader and manager than a driver - a fact that was unfortunately backed up by his F1R performances, after 1952 saw him fail to qualify on all but one occasion, where he managed 17th and was the last car on track. 1953's move to Connaught didn't improve things much (other than that he did qualify for the 3 races he attempted to race at), with a best finish of 29th in an incredibly competitive season!

As such he went back to focusing on the managerial side of his motor-racing career, though was always a character in the paddock regardless of his results!
Dorino Serafini

Dorino Serafini was an Italian racing driver, who competed for ERA in the 1950 F1R series.

After joining the ERA outfit alongside such legends of the series as Maurice Trintignant and Harry Schell, the pressure was always going to be on Serafini from the very 1st race onwards - and so it is perhaps no surprise that he ended up crashing before the 1st corner of the inaugural British Grand Prix! He did improve from there and (despite a dispute over his attendance at the Belgian Grand Prix) he raced in every other round of the series. This led to him becoming more and more comfortable with the car, before the highlight of his F1R career at Monza, where he managed to finish in 6th position. That was not only less than 5 seconds off a points paying position, but also made him the top ERA driver in the race as well.

He elected to return to his first love - motor-cycle racing - after the end of the season.
Jimmy Stewart

Jimmy Stewart was a Scottish racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1953, racing for Connaught.

Always a part of the F1R paddock, Stewart had been angling for a racing seat for sometime before finally getting the chance to represent Connaught…though one wonders whether that was due to a lack of interested drivers, rather than any particular sign of Stewart's talents. Indeed, a best finish of only 25th at the Belgian GP was followed by a career-ending retirement at the French GP. Stewart did recover to be able to focus on working in the garage and supporting anti-alcohol projects in his native Scotland.
Kenneth McAlpine

Kenneth McAlpine was an English racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1955.

McAlpine paid for a seat at the HWM team in the 1955 F1R series, who were desperate for money to keep themselves afloat (and those financial troubles ultimately saw them leave the series for 1956). McAlpine was never quite on the pace in the HWM, though a 9th place at the Dutch GP was a highlight for the Englishman.

He retired thereafter to establish a successful wine growing and bottling business at his home in Kent.
Eugenio Castellotti

Eugenio Castellotti was an Italian racing driver who took part in the F1R series from 1955-1957, racing for Maserati and Cooper.

Castellotti came into the Maserati team, just after they had won the 1954 F1R World Championship with Hans Herrmann. It was immediately clear that the 250F was no longer able to compete against the newer entries introduced by Maserati's competition and attempts to speed the car up simply resulted in unreliability creeping in for the Italian manufacturer - though for Castellotti, driving was more of a side project compared his love of fine tailored clothing and the media attention his relationship with prominent ballerina and actress Delia Scala generated.

As such, Castellotti's first two seasons in the series resulted in a best finish of 8th in 1956 (the same season as Gerard won the title), and so Maserati looked elsewhere for 1957, leaving Castellotti to move to Cooper. Many wondered if the move was done to enhance the reputation of the Cooper team in the public eye, as opposed to any real expectations of Castellotti as a driver! In 1957 he did improve his best ever result, with a strong end to the season as he claimed 7th on two occasions - though by then it was clear he was not willing to push a car to its full potential (as only 2 career retirements, both down to fuel related issues testifies) and that meant it was his final season in the series.

He went back to his life in the public eye, though did compete in the occasional sports car race from time to time…
Clemar Bucci

Clemar Bucci was an Argentine racing driver who took part in the F1R series in 1955.

Bucci was a complete unknown in the racing world, when he bought his way into the Arzani-Volpini team in 1955 and struggled immediately with 2 retirements in his first 2 races! He did reach the finish line at the Dutch GP, though it was only in 15th place and after that it was clear that both his talent and money had run out.

He then returned to the relative obscurity from whence he came, though kept racing in local Argentine sports car series.