Mike Hawthorn - 1958 Mike Hawthorn Share Mike Hawthorn loved life, drove fast and died young. Big, blond and boisterous, he often raced wearing a broad grin and a bow tie. He regarded motorsport as a quick way to further the fun he constantly pursued. When his pastime became a profession he partied as hard as he drove, though his career was also tinged by tragedy, scandal and personal misfortune. Near the end he found Formula One racing no fun at all, but he went out a winner. Other champions were greater drivers but none was a more colourful personality. Had he been born a decade earlier John Michael Hawthorn might have been a heroic Spitfire pilot in the Battle of Britain. Instead, the circumstances in his formative years led him into motorsport and he became Britain's first world driving champion. Two year's after Mike's birth on April 10, 1929, his racing enthusiast father Leslie bought a garage near the Brooklands circuit in Farnham, Surrey, where he had raced motorcycles prior to World War II.

Inspired by the proximity of Brooklands, and by the atmosphere in the Hawthorn garage where cars and motorcycles were prepared for competition, Mike was only nine years old when he decided he wanted to become a racer. Next Previous 1 / 7 Silverstone, July 1953: Fresh from his maiden Formula One win in France, Mike Hawthorn chats with Ferrari team manager Nello Ugolini ahead of the British Grand Prix. © Sutton Images Silverstone, July 1953: Hawthorne lines up on the grid for the British Grand Prix after qualifying third. Pole sitter Alberto Ascari (Ferrari) is on the far side, then Jose Froilan Gonzalez (Maserati), Hawthorn (Ferrari) and Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati). © Sutton Images Silverstone, July 1953: Hawthorn (nearest) in the cockpit of the Ferrari 500 ahead of the Formula Libre Trophy race that followed the British Grand Prix. Also pictured are, far side, Juan Manuel Fangio (BRM), then Guiseppe Farina (Thin Wall Special) and Ken Wharton (BRM).

© Sutton Images Goodwood, September 1953: The start of the non-championship Formula One Woodcote Cup race. On pole, far side, is Juan Manuel Fangio (BRM), then Hawthorn (Ferrari), Roy Salvadori (Connaught) and Ken Wharton (BRM). © Sutton Images Crystal Palace, July 1955: Race winner Mike Hawthorn leads in his Maserati 250F during the non-championship London Trophy Formula One event. Following him around South Tower Bend are Horace Gould (Maserati 250F) and Harry Schell (Vanwall VW2). © Sutton Images Nurburgring, Germany. 2-4 August 1957. Mike Hawthorn (Lancia-Ferrari D50 801) 2nd position. World Copyright - LAT Photographic 1953 Grand Prix de Rouen. Rouen-les-Essarts, France. 28 June 1953. Giuseppe Farina and Mike Hawthorn (both Ferrari 500). They finished in 1st and 2nd position respectively, portrait.

World Copyright: LAT Photographic His education, at a prominent Public School followed by studies at Chelsea technical college and an apprenticeship with a commercial vehicle manufacturer, was intended to prepare him for a career at the Farnham garage. Meanwhile, his father also encouraged Mike's interest in motorsport, providing him with motorcycles, then cars for local competitions. Mike also sped around the countryside as the ringleader of a group of hell-raising friends searching for girls and pints of beer in pubs. In 1950 he began winning races in a small Riley sportscar bought for him by his father. Three years later the 'Farnham Flyer' was driving a Formula One car for Enzo Ferrari. Mike's meteoric rise from club racer to Grand Prix driver took place within on one momentous afternoon at the 1952 Easter Meeting at the Goodwood circuit. It was his first competition in a single seater, a Formula Two Cooper-Bristol provided for him by a family friend, and the opposition included the famous Argentine drivers Juan Manuel Fangio and Froilan Gonzalez. Mike won the F2 race from pole position, then also finished first in the Formula Libre race and was a sensational second in the main event, for Formula One cars.

Impressive results aside, the Farnham Flyer was a commanding figure in the spindly little Cooper, with the top half of his 6 foot 2 inch (188 centimetre) frame towering above the cramped cockpit, elbows flailing in the wind, head thrust forward, chin first. Prior to Goodwood he had always raced in his everyday clothes, usually a sports jacket and a tie, which at speed tended to flap in his face. For his single-seater debut Mike bought white overalls and wore the bow tie that became his trademark. Inspired by his splendid showing at Goodwood, Mike and his father decided to enter the Cooper in the remaining races of a 1952 Formula One season that was being dominated by Alberto Ascari in a Ferrari. A fourth place in Belgium, a third in Britain and another fourth in Holland left Mike an astonishing fourth overall in the standings. Enzo Ferrari was impressed and hired him for 1953. His only championship victory in his first Formula One season was a singular feat that became the highlight of Mike's career.

In a classic 1953 French Grand Prix at Reims his Ferrari crossed the finish line a hair's breadth ahead of the Maserati driven by the great Fangio. On the podium, when he heard God Save The Queen being played Mike burst into tears and was warmly embraced by the ever-gallant Fangio, who thought him: "a nice young fellow, always in a good mood." Next Previous 1 / 6 Goodwood, August 1955: Mike Hawthorn swoops into St.Mary's Corner in the Ferrari 750 Monza during the Nine-Hour International Sports Car Race. © Sutton Images Silverstone, July 1956: Mike Hawthorn in the pits during practice for the British Grand Prix. He went on to qualify third, splitting the Ferraris of Juan Manuel Fangio and Peter Collins on the front row. © Sutton Images Silverstone, July 1956: Mike Hawthorne negotiates Copse Corner in his BRM P25 during the British Grand Prix. He went on to retire on lap 24 with transmission problems.

© Sutton Images Mike Hawthorn in the cockpit of the Ferrari Dino 246 which took him to seven podium finishes and the drivers’ championship in 1958. © Sutton Images 1958 : Hawthorn and fellow Briton Stirling Moss of the Vanwall team share a joke during their battle for the 1958 world championship. Hawthorn eventually triumphed by a single point. © Sutton Images Spa, June 1958: Hawthorn wrestles with the wheel of his Ferrari. He took pole position and fastest lap, but ultimately finished second to the Vanwall of Tony Brooks. © Sutton Images To the French, the Englishman who raced with a bow tie became known as 'Le Papillon' (The Butterfly), though some purists despaired at the dilettante driver with a penchant for partying and chasing women. At home, Britain's flamboyant new racing hero was subjected to close scrutiny and flaws were sought by sensation-seeking tabloid newspapers. He was accused of evading compulsory military service, though in fact, he had been rejected because of a chronic kidney ailment. But his reputation suffered, and fate also conspired against him.

Early in 1954 his arms and legs were badly burned in a crash in a non-championship race in Sicily. Then his father was killed in a road accident. Mike salvaged the sad year somewhat with a win in the Spanish Grand Prix, but there followed two lost Formula One seasons when he left Ferrari and raced for the then uncompetitive Vanwall and BRM teams. During that period his only major victory came in the ill-fated 1955 Le Mans 24 hour sportscar race where a Mercedes crashed into the crowd, killing over 80 people in motorsport's worst disaster. Mike, co-driving the Jaguar that eventually won, was at first accused of triggering the accident and, though he was later exonerated, the deadly side of motorsport badly bothered him. His racing life improved in 1957 when he returned to Ferrari, where he also found a kindred spirit in a fun-loving team mate. Peter Collins was an equally handsome carouser who enjoyed wine, women and song. They became fast friends, calling each other "Mon Ami Mate" and engaging in such pranks as marooning people in hotel elevators and staging raucous bun fights in restaurants.

They raced as hard as they played, facing the ever-present danger with a fatalistic nonchalance and flogging their Ferraris as if there was no tomorrow. Mike's championship year of 1958 was blighted at Germany's notorious Nurburgring where he saw his team mate's Ferrari Dino 246 crash with fatal results. The death of Collins left him devastated and disillusioned and Mike only reluctantly completed the season. He finished one point ahead of Vanwall's Stirling Moss (who had won four races to Mike's single victory, in France) to become the first British World Champion. By now engaged to Jean Howarth, a beautiful fashion model, Mike had lost the heart for racing and at the end of the year he announced his retirement. He continued to drive fast on public roads and on January 22, 1959, near his Farnham home, his Jaguar skidded off a wet corner and 29-year-old Mike Hawthorn was killed. Text - Gerald Donaldson Drivers/Riders | Motor Sport Magazine Database Britain Bio Mike Hawthorn became the first Englishman to win the Formula 1 World Championship in 1958 but it is easy to overlook that achievement.

He clinched that by a single point from compatriot Stirling Moss but his rival scored four Grand Prix wins to one during the season. While Moss continued to be the country’s most famous racing driver of the time, Hawthorn decided to retire with plans to continue in the administration of the sport. However, the dashing and popular “Farnham Flyer” was killed in a road accident barely three months after his greatest triumph. His father had moved the family from Yorkshire to Surrey in 1931 so he could be close to Brooklands where he raced motorcycles. Leslie Hawthorn, who ran the TT Garage in Farnham, bought a pair of Riley sports cars in 1950 and Mike made his racing debut that year. A back injury saw Leslie stop driving and he entered his son with growing success. In 1951, the younger Hawthorn’s Riley Sprite won both the Ulster handicap and Leinster Trophy in Ireland. Consistent success in that year’s Goodwood Members Meetings was rewarded with the Motor Sport Brooklands Memorial Trophy. Family friend Bob Chase acquired a Formula 2 Cooper-Bristol for Hawthorn to switch to single-seaters in 1952.

His first appearance with the car was during Goodwood’s Easter Monday meeting and it proved impressive indeed. Hawthorn won the F2 Lavant Cup and Formule Libre Chichester Cup before finishing second in the F1 Richmond Trophy, only beaten by Jose Froilan Gonzalez’s 4.5-litreFerrari 375. Further success at Ibsley and in the opening heat of the International Trophy at Silverstone was followed with Hawthorn’s World Championship debut at Spa-Francorchamps. Fourth that day despite a fuel leak, the arrival of a new star was confirmed with third place in the British GP and fourth at Zandvoort. Equal fourth in the 1952 World Championship, Hawthorn was injured while testing his Cooper-Bristol at Modena but he signed for Ferrari while recuperating in hospital. The World Championship opened in Argentina for the first time in 1953. Now fully recovered, Hawthorn suffered a poor start that day but drove through the field to finish fourth before winning non-championship races at Silverstone (International Trophy) and Dundrod (Ulster Trophy).

Fourth again in the Dutch GP, team leader Alberto Ascari had won nine GPs in a row when the circus visited Reims in July. The 1953 French GP was a slipstreaming classic at which that record run finally came to an end. With Ascari trailing in fourth, Hawthorn battled Juan Manuel Fangio’s Maserati for the lead – consistently swapping positions at the head of the field. At the end of one of the best GPs so far, the Englishman passed Fangio into the final corner and accelerated away to win by a second. Fifth at Silverstone despite a wild spin at Woodcote, third both in Germany and Switzerland, and fourth at the Monza finale, Hawthorn was fourth in the standings once more. He also won the Spa 24 hours when sharing a Ferrari 340MM with Giuseppe Farina and 1953 ended with Hawthorn receiving the prestigious Gold Star from the British Racing Drivers’ Club. If 1953 represented a most promising campaign then much of the following season was in stark contrast. Hawthorn was disqualified for a push start in Argentina and his car caught fire after crashing during the non-championship Syracuse GP.

With legs badly burnt as a result, it was two months before he returned in the Belgian GP with those injuries barely healed and heavily bandaged. He was then declared exempt from National Service due to a lifelong kidney condition, prompting questions in the Houses of Parliament. Furthermore, his father was killed in a road accident at Hindhead while returning from Goodwood’s Whit Monday meeting. However, he finished second in the British, German (having taken over Gonzalez’s car at the Nurburgring) and Italian GPs before completing the F1 season by winning the final race in Spain to clinch third overall. The death of his father forced Hawthorn to leave Ferrari so he could spend time managing the family business. An altogether less carefree Hawthorn joined Tony Vandervell’s F1 Vanwall team at the start of 1955 but he returned to Ferrari after retiring from two unhappy events. That proved no better and his only F1 win of the year came in a non-championship race at Crystal Palace when guesting in Stirling Moss’s Maserati 250F. He also drove for Jaguar’s sports car team during 1955 and he won at both Sebring and Le Mans.

However, the latter success was overshadowed by the tragic accident that befell the Mercedes-Benz of “Pierre Levegh”. Having disputed the lead with Fangio for the first couple of hours, Hawthorn’s Jaguar D-type swerved for the pits as he entered lap 36, forcing Lance Macklin to take avoiding action. “Levegh” collided with Macklin’s Austin Healey and was launched into destruction at approximately 130 mph. Hawthorn and co-driver continued on to a joyless victory. He joined BRM in 1956 and finished a distant third in Argentina when driving a Maserati 250F before the new P25 was ready. Progress was initially faltering and the team missed a couple of races while the car was developed. They returned at the British GP and Hawthorn qualified third and led the opening 15 laps (with team-mate Tony Brooks initially second) before retiring. Despite that promise, BRM did not appear again that season. Following two frustrating seasons, Hawthorn returned to Ferrari in 1957 with his great friend (“Mon Ami Mate”) Peter Collins among his team-mates.

Collins led Hawthorn in a 1-2 at Naples but they crashed together with Moss’s Vanwall during the opening laps at Monaco – the two Lancia-Ferrari D50s coming to rest by the side of the harbour. Hawthorn finished fourth in France, third in Britain and second in Germany (when beaten by Fangio on the Argentinean’s greatest day) as he came fourth in the World Championship. With Fangio only entering a limited number of GPs, the 1958 F1 World Championship was fought out between the Vanwall of perennial runner-up Moss and Hawthorn’s Ferrari Dino 246. Moss may have won four times but it was Hawthorn – winner of the French GP once more – who prevailed by a single point thanks to his second-place finish in the Moroccan GP at Casablanca. There was also bitter sadness however, for team-mates Luigi Musso and Collins were killed during the French and German GPs respectively. That weighed heavy on Hawthorn and, amidst celebrations that included lunch with HRH Queen Elizabeth II, the 29-year-old announced his retirement from the sport in December.

Recently engaged to a fashion model, Hawthorn would not savour his achievement for long for he was killed in January after losing control of his 3.4-litre Jaguar on the outskirts of Guildford. Championship seasons Reflections On Another Age: Mike Hawthorn Remembered Reflections On Another Age: Mike Hawthorn Remembered by Roger Horton, England On the 22nd of January 1959, some forty years ago, John Michael (Mike) Hawthorn, Britain's first World Champion Driver, was killed after losing control of his Jaguar whilst driving along the A3 Guildford by-pass in southern England. To this day controversy surrounds the cause of his crash. The hand throttle he had fitted to the car stuck open - the car was fitted with experimental Dunlop tyres that were unsuitable for the wet conditions. Maybe in the end he was just going too fast and lost it. By chance he had come across an acquaintance just prior to the crash, the famous entrant of that time Rob Walker. Walker was driving a Mercedes-Benz 300SL, which must have been like a red rag to a bull for Mike, in those perhaps more patriotic times.

Hawthorn had spent much of his racing life driving his beloved Jaguars against all types of foreign cars on the race tracks of the world. As he saw the car up ahead and recognized its driver, no doubt it was just another opportunity for his specially modified Jaguar to uphold British "honour" one more time. Hawthorn accelerated past the Mercedes and gave its driver a cheery wave. They were now doing over 100 MPH going slightly down-hill on what was a wet and narrow road. As the Jaguar entered a right hand bend, the rear end broke away and clipped the kerb spinning it through 180 degrees. It continued backwards for an instant before clipping a traffic island and then ended its journey sideways against a tree. Mike Hawthorn was found in the Jaguar's back seat, alive but dying. In the days that followed, thousands came to drive quietly past the spot where Hawthorn had died, hundreds of wreaths were laid to mark the spot where a racing legend's luck had finally run out. It was the battle between Mike Hawthorn and Stirling Moss for the 1958 Driver's title that first stirred my interest in Formula One.

Britain was divided, my school was divided, it was impossible to be neutral. The great Fangio who always won had retired and that guaranteed a new Champion. I was firmly in the Moss camp. Head back, his straight armed driving style looked "cool", and he was, after all, driving our great British hope the Vanwall; the very first British F1 car to beat those "continentals" at their own game on a regular basis. The enemy cars were either red or silver, our cars were green. Life was so simple back then. The five week wait until the title deciding race in Casablanca served only to heighten the tension that the two camps felt. In the end Moss did everything he could have done, he won the race with the fastest lap (worth a point in those days) but Hawthorn finished in second place and clinched the Championship. The first ever to be won by a British driver. Mike Hawthorn never raced again and in less than four years' time Stirling Moss' career would end when his Lotus slammed into a bank during a pre-season race in April 1962. Ironically his car was entered by the same Rob Walker who had witnessed Mike Hawthorn's last moments.

In retrospect I have always believed that Hawthorn set a good example of how to retire - at the top with nothing left to prove, summed up in his off the cuff answer to a question concerning his retirement: "The question why did you retire is a much nicer one than why don't you retire". The latter question being all too often asked of sportsmen who have outstayed their welcome. The 1958 season had seen the closest title duel in F1 history up until that time, the final issue being decided by just one point. Yet it had also been a tragic one. The Ferrari team consisted of Luigi Musso, Peter Collins and Mike Hawthorn and none would survive to the next racing year. Hawthorn would win his last Formula One race in the French Grand Prix at Reims, but the race would take the life of Luigi Musso. Desperate for a win to clear his mounting debts, he over drove and lost control, dying of his injuries. For Hawthorn, worse was to come. Much worse. For much of his time at Ferrari he had been inseparable from Peter Collins, who he always referred to as "Mon Ami Mate".

They lived the lives of Grand Prix drivers of the 50's to the full. Not for them the Spartan lives of our current Grand Prix stars. No race meeting was complete without a party and the spoils that fell to the winner didn't always end with just a silver cup! Collins was to win a brilliant victory at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone only to die at the following race held on the unforgiving 14 mile Nurburgring. Collins was in second place and chasing the Vanwall of Tony Brooks. Just after the Pflanzgarten his Ferrari went wide on a right hand turn and flipped over. He was airlifted to a hospital in Bonn but died on the way. Even in Casablanca, where Hawthorn would seal his title, tragedy would be close at hand. As the new World Champion celebrated his victory through the night, the Vanwall team flew back to England in a chartered Viscount with their grievously burned third driver Stuart Lewis-Evans. His Vanwall's engine had seized and after the resulting crash his car had caught fire. He would die some days later and amongst the mourners would be his close friend and adviser, a certain Bernie Ecclestone.

In the end it can be argued that the manner of Mike Hawthorn's death on that wet and windy day outside Guildford may have been for the better - he had for some time been suffering from an incurable Kidney disease and had, at most, eighteen months to live anyway. It would have been an unpleasant and painful death. So Mike Hawthorn died the way he had lived - on the limit, driving fast and having fun. Mike Hawthorn | The Formula 1 Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia Edit Mike Hawthorn made his competition debut driving his 1934 Riley Ulster Imp, KV 9475, winning the 1,100 c.c. sports car class at the Brighton Speed Trials on 2 September 1950. [2] In 1951, driving a 1½-litre T.T. Riley, he entered the Motor Sport Brooklands Memorial Trophy, a season-long contest run at Goodwood , winning it by one point. [3] He also won the Ulster Trophy Handicap at Dundrod and the Leinster Trophy at Wicklow that year.

[4] Hawthorn made his Formula One debut at the 1952 Belgian Grand Prix , finishing in fourth place. He won his first Grand Prix, at the ninth attempt, at the 1953 French Grand Prix at Reims . In 1955, Hawthorn was the winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans race, despite being involved in the terrible crash that killed 83 spectators and fellow racer Pierre Levegh . In 1957, Hawthorn joined the Ferrari factory team, and soon became friends with Peter Collins , a fellow Englishman and Ferrari team driver. During the 1958 racing season, the two Englishmen became engaged in a rivalry with Luigi Musso , another Ferrari driver, that spurred all three in a fierce competition for prize money. Hawthorn was the winner of the fateful 1958 French Grand Prix at Rheims, in which Musso was killed while holding second place. Stirling Moss, driving for Vanwall , eventually took second place in the race, with Collins coming in fifth. [1] [2] Hawthorn drove his Ferrari at the 1958 Argentine Grand Prix .

Hawthorn was the winner of the 1958 Championship. With only one win that year against four wins of Stirling Moss , he benefited greatly from the gentlemanliness of Moss as shown at the Portuguese Grand Prix at Porto. Hawthorn was disqualified for pushing his car, against the rules, on the way to a second place finish. Moss interceded on Hawthorn's behalf and the decision was ultimately reversed. Those second place points at Porto contributed to Hawthorn winning the championship with a season total just one point more than that of Moss. After winning the title, Hawthorn immediately announced his retirement from Formula One, having been badly affected by the death of his close friend and Ferrari team mate Peter Collins in that year's German Grand Prix. Rivalry with Luigi Musso Edit Many years after the death of Mike Hawthorn, Fiamma Breschi, Luigi Musso's girlfriend at the time of his death, revealed the nature of Musso's rivalry with fellow Ferrari drivers Mike Hawthorn and Collins in a television documentary, The Secret Life of Enzo Ferrari.

Breschi recalled that the antagonism between Musso and the two English drivers, encouraged all three to take more risks: "The Englishmen (Hawthorn and Collins) had an agreement," she says. "Whichever of them won, they would share the winnings equally. It was the two of them against Luigi, who was not part of the agreement. Strength comes in numbers, and they were united against him. This antagonism was actually favourable rather than damaging to Ferrari. The faster the drivers went, the more likely it was that a Ferrari would win." Breschi related that Musso was in debt at the time of his death, and the money for winning the 1958 French Grand Prix (traditionally the largest monetary prize of the season), was all-important to him. After visiting the mortally-wounded Musso in hospital, Breschi returned to her hotel, where she and the rest of the Ferrari team were informed by the team manager that afternoon that Musso had died. By the end of that year Collins and Hawthorn were also dead, and Breschi could not suppress a feeling of release.

"I had hated them both," she said, "first because I was aware of certain facts that were not right, and also because when I came out of the hospital and went back to the hotel, I found them in the square outside the hotel, laughing and playing a game of football with an empty beer can. So when they died, too, it was liberating for me. Otherwise I would have had unpleasant feelings towards them forever. This way I could find a sense of peace." [5] Death Edit Hawthorn had previously lost a kidney to infection and began suffering problems with his remaining kidney in 1955. He was expected at the time to live only a few more years. [6] A matter of only months into his retirement, on 22 January 1959, Hawthorn died in a road accident on the A3 bypass near Guildford driving his British Racing Green highly tuned Jaguar 3.4-litre sedan (now known as the 3.4 Mk 1). The cause of the accident is still unknown, suggested causes being driver error, mechanical failure, or blackout. There is evidence that Hawthorn had recently suffered blackouts, perhaps because of kidney failure, that might well have caused the accident.

[7] In Farnham, the town where he lived up to the time of his death, there is a street named Mike Hawthorn Drive (off Dogflud Way). It was also in this town that Hawthorn ran The Tourist Trophy Garage. Jaguars, Rileys, Fiats, and Ferraris were serviced and sold from there. There is a corner named after him at the Croft racing circuit, at Croft on Tees in North Yorkshire. Hawthorn Memorial Trophy The Hawthorn Memorial Trophy has been awarded to the most successful British or Commonwealth F1 driver every year since 1959 . List of winners That season's World Champion is in bold. Year Atlas F1: The Formula One World Championship Timeline Atlas F1 Presents: all the milestones, all the names, all the changes, all the headlines - the complete Formula One timeline 1950 The first World Championship for Drivers under the jurisdiction of the FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) is contested.

The World Championship uses cars running to the stipulations laid out in the "Formula One" approved by the FIA in 1947: a maximum capacity of 4,500 cc for unsupercharged engines or 1,500 cc for supercharged engines. First race of the World Championship is the British Grand Prix, on the Silverstone circuit - a former millitary airfield. Giuseppe Farina in an Alfa Romeo wins the race. The Indianapolis 500 is included as round in the FIA World Championship. First rear-engined car in a World Championship event makes its appearance at the Grand Prix of Monaco: a Cooper-JAP driven by Harry Schell. Giuseppe Farina is the first World Champion. 1951 Scuderia Ferrari, with Argentinian driver Froilan Gonzalez at the wheel, achieve its first victory in a World Championship event, winning the R.A.C. British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Juan Manuel Fangio, driving an Alfa Romeo, wins the World Championship. BRM makes its World Championship debut as a constructor. Alfa Romeo withdraws from F1 at the end of the season.

1952 Lack of support for Formula One by race organizers leads to World Championship being run using Formula 2 cars; Formula 2 stipulated a maximum capacity of 2,000 cc unsupercharged. Alberto Ascari, driving an F1 Ferrari, participates in the Indianapolis 500. All rounds in the World Championship, save for the Indianapolis 500, are won by Scuderia Ferrari. Juan Manuel Fangio, as the result of broken neck in a pre-season race at Monza, sits out the season. Alberto Ascari, driving a Ferrari, is World Champion. 1953 First South American round in the World Championship, the Grand Prix of Argentina, is held on the Buenos Aires circuit. The event is so popular, more spectators than the venue could hold show up. Many sit right at the edge of the track, and the inevitable occurs - at least 15 spectators and many others are injured as a result of a crash. Maserati, with Juan Manuel Fangio driving, wins its first World Championship event in the final race of the season at Monza. Formula 2 ends and is not replaced. Alberto Ascari retains the World Championship.

1954 New Formula One for Grand Prix cars begins: maximum capacity of 2,500cc for unsupercharged engines and 750cc for supercharged engines. The Maserati 250F makes its Grand Prix debut at the Argentinian Grand Prix. Juan Manuel Fangio wins the first race run to the new formula, the Argentinian Grand Prix. Mercedes-Benz re-enters racing, winning its first event back, the French Grand Prix at Reims. Froilan Gonzalez, driving a Ferrari, defeats Mercedes-Benz at the British Grand Prix. Lancia re-enters Grand Prix racing at the Spanish Grand Prix. Juan Manuel Fangio, driving for both Maserati and Mercedes-Benz, wins the World Championship. 1955 Alberto Ascari becomes the first driver to plunge into the harbor at Monte Carlo during an event while driving his Lancia. However, days after his crash at Monaco, Ascari is killed when a tyre deflates on the Ferrari sports car he is driving at Monza. As a result of Ascari's death, and increasing financial problems, Lancia withdraws from Grand Prix racing.

Bill Vukovich is killed in a crash while leading the Indianapolis 500. Fiat buys the assets of the Lancia Grand Prix team and presents it to Scuderia Ferrari, along with a stipend to support the team. A Mercedes-Benz sports car, driven by Frenchman Pierre Levegh, crashes into a grandstand area in front of the pits at Le Mans, killing 81 spectators and injuring hundreds more. Mercedes-Benz withdraws from the race. As a result of the Le Mans accident, the Grands Prix of France, Switzerland and Germany are cancelled, along with many other races; Switzerland bans circuit racing as a result. Stirling Moss wins his first World Championship event, the British Grand Prix at Aintree, while driving a Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz withdraws from Grand Prix racing at the end of the season. Juan Manuel Fangio wins his third World Championship. 1956 Ferrari use cars received from Lancia as the basis of their team. Vanwall introduce new car with a Colin Chapman designed chassis, and bodywork by Frank Costin. During the Italian Grand Prix, Peter Collins gives his car to Juan Manuel Fangio, forfeiting any opportunity of winning the Championship.

Stirling Moss, driving a specially built offset Maserati 250F, wins the Italian Grand Prix. Ferrari experience tyre troubles for most the season with its the Engelbert tyres. Their failure at Monza leads to some spectacular crashes. Juan Manuel Fangio wins his fourth World Championship while driving for Ferrari. Seizure of Suez Canal in late 1956 results in fuel shortages in Britain and France, and racing is curtailed into the next year. 1957 Maserati produces a revised 250F and Juan Manuel Fangio returns to the team. A Vanwall, shared by Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss, gives Britain its first win by a British constructor by winning the British Grand Prix at Aintree. Fangio has what he describes as his greatest drive during the German Grand Prix. Pescara, the longest circuit ever used for a Championship event (25.5 km), hosts its only Championship Grand Prix. Juan Manuel Fangio wins his fifth World Championship.

1958 The Grand Prix formula, now extended to the end of 1960, now stipulates the use of AvGas in the place of alcohol fuels and reduces the length of Championship events from 500 km or three hours to 300 km or two hours. At the season-opening Argentinian Grand Prix, Stirling Moss gives Cooper its first win in a World Championship event and is also the first Championship win for a rear-engined car, a private entrant (Rob Walker), and the Coventry Climax engine. Maurice Trintignant, using the same Cooper-Climax as Moss at the Argentinian Grand Prix, wins the second consecutive Championship race for the Rob Walker team, the Monaco Grand Prix. Juan Manuel Fangio, at the wheel of a Maserati, runs his final World Championship event, the French Grand Prix at Reims. Luigi Musso is killed during the French Grand Prix when his Ferrari crashes. Peter Collins is killed during the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring when his Ferrari crashes and hits a tree.

Stuart Lewis-Evans dies from injuries and burns received while crashing during the final Championship event of the season, the Grand Prix of Morocco at Casablanca. Mike Hawthorn wins the World Championship by a margin of one point over Stirling Moss. Vanwall wins the first Manufacturers' Championship, but withdraws from Grand Prix racing. World Champion Mike Hawthorn retires from racing. 1959 Mike Hawthorn dies in a road accident. Rear-engined Grand Prix cars begin to replace the front-engined cars on the starting grids. Jack Brabham wins his first Championship event, the Grand Prix of Monaco. Stirling Moss is now driving for private entrant Rob Walker. The German Grand Prix is held for the first and only time at the AVUS circuit in Berlin and is run in two heats. Jean Behra is killed when his car crashes during a support race for the German Grand Prix. Bruce McLaren becomes the youngest driver to win a Championship event when he triumphs at the United States Grand Prix at Sebring. Jack Brabham wins his first World Championship. Cooper-Climax wins the Manufacturers' Championship.

Ranking the Top 10 British Racing Drivers in Formula 1 History | Bleacher Report Ranking the Top 10 British Racing Drivers in Formula 1 History By Matthew Walthert , Featured Columnist Jul 3, 2014 Use your ← → (arrow) keys to browse the slideshow Associated Press 0 Comments This weekend is the 50th running of the British Grand Prix at its current home, Silverstone. It is a de facto home race for most Formula One teams and—along with Monaco, Monza and Spa—one of the only circuits remaining from the first F1 season, 1950. The UK has also produced many of the best drivers in the history of F1, including 19 grand prix winners. From Jackie Stewart and Jim Clark to Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton , there have also been 10 British World Drivers' champions. In honour of F1's homecoming, here are the top 10 British F1 drivers of all time. Lewis Hamilton and Jackie Stewart.

There are three criteria used to establish this ranking: Career winning percentage World Drivers' Championships Top-three finishes in the World Drivers' Championship The 19 British race winners were ranked in each category, with the top driver in each one receiving 19 points and the bottom driver one point. The overall ranking is based on their total scores. The system is not quite as elaborate as the one we used in our ranking of all 32 world champions, but the new category for top-three finishes should help recognise those drivers who were consistently among the best in the sport, even if they did not pile up a ton of championships. Anonymous/Associated Press Surtees with Enzo Ferrari in 1964. John Surtees, Tony Brooks and David Coulthard just missed the cut for the top 10, but it was very close. Surtees, born in London in 1934, won the 1964 world title for Ferrari, but he only finished in the top three one other time in his F1 career. Before his F1 career, Surtees was also a motorcycle racer, and he is still the only man to win world championships in both motorsport disciplines.

Although Brooks won six of the 38 grands prix he started, he never won a world championship. His closest finish was second in 1959, four points behind Jack Brabham. Coulthard won 13 races in his career and finished third in the championship four times. In 2001, he finished second, albeit 58 points behind Michael Schumacher and his dominant Ferrari. Paul Gilham/Getty Images Hamilton won the title on the final lap of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix. Hamilton has been more successful at Silverstone than his former teammate, Button. He won the British Grand Prix in 2008, the year of his Drivers' title with McLaren, and has scored two other podium finishes. Last year, Hamilton was leading the race until he had a tyre puncture, eventually finishing fourth. With four victories already in 2014, Hamilton has passed Jim Clark for third place on the list of British Grand Prix winners, with 26. He is only five behind Nigel Mansell for the lead, a total he could reach this season with Mercedes' dominant car.

1000+ images about Phil Hill on Pinterest | Stirling, Grand prix and Cooper cars Pinterest • The world’s catalog of ideas Phil Hill Philip Toll Hill (1927-2008) was the only American-born driver to win the F1 World Drivers' Championship, in 1961 (Mario Andretti won the World Championship in 1978 but was not born in the United States). He also scored three wins at each of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and 12 Hours of Sebring races. He raced for Maserati, Ferrari, Cooper, Porsche, Automobili Turismo e Sport, Lotus and Eagle. He once said "I'm in the wrong business. I don't want to beat anybody.

I'm a peace-loving man basically" 49 Pins30.89k Followers F1 Driver Profiles - Mike Hawthorn | F1 in America F1 Driver Profiles - Mike Hawthorn The Farnham Flyer Blonde, handsome, possessing a winning smile and a winning spirit, Mike Hawthorn was the quintessential Formula One Champion whose rise to fame from club racer to Britain's first World Champion driver was both punctuated by climactic thrills and marred by extreme tragedy. Born April 10, 1929, John Michael "Mike" Hawthorn grew up in Surrey, England near the famous Brooklands racetrack, the first track in the world to be built specifically for motorsports. His father had raced motorcycles prior to World War II and was only too happy when his son decided at the tender age of nine that he wanted to grow up to be a race car driver. His father supported his dream, often supplying Mike with motorcycles and cars for the purpose of racing. In 1952 while driving in a Formula 2 Bristol-Cooper Mike Hawthorn began to show his true racing prowess. His first race at Goodwood resulted in Hawthorn taking pole position and going on to win the race.

He competed in his first Formula One race that same year, and finished fourth in the standings, although he had not run in every F1 race that season. It wasn't long before Mike caught the attention of Enzo Ferarri, garnering him a driver's seat with Ferrari for the 1953 season. Mike had a single but brilliant win at the French Grand Prix in 1953, taking victory from Formula One legend Juan Manuel Fangio by mere inches. French F1 fans nicknamed Hawthorn "Le Papillion" (the butterfly), referring to his penchant for bowties, which he always wore with his white overalls when racing. 1954 featured another sole victory, when Mike took first place in the Spanish Grand Prix at the end of the season. 1955 brought Mike to Jaguar and the race that perhaps best illustrates the constant fluctuation between the extremes of triumph and tragedy in his short life. Mike's Jaguar slowed to make a pit stop, but Lance Macklin whom he had just passed in an Austin-Healey 100 was unable to brake as quickly as the Jaguar. He swerved to the center of the track, unaware that driver Pierre Levegh was approaching from behind.

Levegh was unable to avoid hitting the Austin Healey which sent his Mercedes 300 SLR airborne. Levegh's car hit an earthen barrier, tumbled over and broke apart, catching fire as a result of the ruptured fuel tank. Levegh was thrown from the race car, and killed. The car, made of magnesium, erupted into a blazing inferno which was made worse unwittingly by those who attempted to extinguish it with water. The fire and flying debris from the crash killed 80 spectators who were watching the race from behind the barrier mound. The race continued despite the tragedy to avoid a crush of spectators departing the scene and impeding the ambulances. Hawthorn went on to win at Le Mans. But the victory was shrouded in accusation and sorrow. Although an official investigation cleared Hawthorn of responsibility for the accident, there were attempts to villify him in the press and many blamed him for the tragedy. Hawthorn did not celebrate his victory out of respect for the killed. It was, like his life, bittersweet. In 1958, once again driving for Ferrari, Mike reached the pinnacle of his career.

It was a year that saw British F1 fans with divided hearts as their countrymen Mike Hawthorn and famed driver Stirling Moss competed for the World Drivers Championship. Although Mike Hawthorn had won just one Grand Prix in contrast to Moss's four first place showings, he had racked up five second places and won the 1958 championship, beating Moss by just 1 championship point. Dogged by bad press, saddened by the tragic death of his former teammate and close friend Peter Collins and suffering ill health as a result of a chronic kidney ailment, Mike Hawthorn announced his retirement from racing the same year he had attained the most sought-after title in his sport. A few short months later, Hawthorn was killed in an accident in his Jaguar, driving on the A3 Guildford Bypass near his Surrey home. He was 29 years old. The cause of the accident has never been completely determined. He may have been racing with Rob Walker, who was driving his Mercedes on the same road. It was night, it was raining. Driver error, bad weather and excessive speed almost certainly contributed to the crash although it has been speculated that Hawthorn may have suffered a blackout.

What is known is that his Jaguar skidded off at a corner and traveled backwards, landing up against a tree. Hawthorn was a shooting star, blazing brilliantly across the F1 firmament, shining brightly for a few dazzling moments but extinguished all too soon. Posted 19th February 2009 by Anja Poulsen Mike Hawthorn's Biography from his Tribute Site - part of comprehensive coverage for the World Champion driver. 'To me it was heaven to watch the cars thundering round those towering cliffs of concrete where the banking curved under the Members Bridge' Mike in his Cooper Bristol 1952 ï¿½ Things could certainly have been different had Leslie taken up his allocation of one of the new Jaguar C-types late in 1952. Jaguar's service manager Lofty England, who managed Jaguar's competition activities, then knew little of one Les Hawthorn, who was consequently placed bottom of the 'possibles' list. But Lofty soon took note of young Michael's prowess in the Cooper Bristol, and travelled to see him perform at Boreham, Essex in the International meeting of August 2 1952. Another of Mike in his Cooper Bristol 1952.

Hawthorn's supportive father Leslie is on the far right apparently topping up the oil tank ï¿½ Said Lofty of this occasion: "I saw him drive at Boreham, and it rained like hell in the afternoon. He passed and led Villoresi in a 4.0 litre Ferrari - in the wet - in his little Cooper Bristol. I thought,'this is my boy'. So I rang his father Leslie on Monday morning and told him to bring the lad to Silverstone on Wednesday, which he did. We put him in an upgraded, specially prepared C-type and within five laps he was under the lap record. Mike Hawthorn and Rudi Fischer Silverstone 1952 ï¿½ So I said to Leslie,'he is a born racing driver and he is ours for the next year!'" From that moment on, Mike Hawthorn, just 23, was special to Lofty England. The first Ferrari contract But while Lofty felt Michael should join Duncan Hamilton, Tony Rolt and Stirling Moss in the Jaguar works team, Michael had also impressed Ferrari.

While an accident testing the Cooper Bristol put him out of action for 1952, Ferrari offered him a contract for 1953. Mike Hawthorn about to be push started for the Formula 2 international race at Turnberry in Scotland. The car is an A Type Connaught Chassis A1 which Mike only drove on this one occasion , loaned to him by Kenneth McAlpine ï¿½ But this barred him from racing any other make, preventing a Jaguar team drive. Michael was, in fact, the first driver to be signed up by a major European works team since Dick Seaman drove for Mercedes Benz before the war. Leslie was ecstatic and cancelled his option on XKC 011. It was to be two years before Michael would drive another Jaguar, by which time he would be an international star. Mike Joins Jaguar During the Ferrari period Michael suffered a terrible crash at Syracuse in 1954 and was badly burned. Then towards the end of 1954, he was admitted to Guys Hospital for surgery in connection with a kidney complaint which had dogged him for some years.

It had been a bad year in many ways, poor Leslie had been killed in a car accident whilst Michael was hospitalised in Italy and the press had accused, unfairly, him of avoiding National Service. On top of this, his earnings barely paid his medical expenses and he seriously considered retiring to concentrate on the garage business. Eventually he decided not to renew his contract with Ferrari for 1955. Of the many offers for his services, the one from his great friend, Lofty England, attracted him most. It was to replace Stirling Moss who had left to join Mercedes Benz. Not only to replace Stirling, but also to be Jaguar team leader in 1955. A deal was struck. Michael was to drive for Jaguar in the sports car events and Vanwall in the Grand Prix events. Mike drives at Sebring Briggs Cunningham, the millionaire business man who raced his own sports cars and D-types, approached Mike on Lofty's recommendation to drive a 'D' at Sebring, Florida. Lofty felt a few days in the Florida sunshine would aid Michael's recovery and prepare him for the new season. Needless to say he accepted the offer.

Both Mike and his co-driver Phil Waters beat off heat exhaustion and the Ferrari challenge to win the event after twelve hours of gruelling driving. The win, despite protests by the Ferrari camp over lap scoring, really gave Jaguar valuable publicity in the American market and was Mike's first success in a Jaguar. Meanwhile, back home, Lofty confirmed his team for the new season. Apart from Rolt and Hamilton there was Mike Hawthorn, Jimmie Stewart, Desmond Titterington and Don Beauman. Don had been Mike's protege earlier and had bought the Riley Imp from him in 1952. He was now in effect the sixth man, or reserve driver. At the Daily Express Silverstone meeting early in May, Lofty decided that Michael, Tony Rolt and Duncan Hamilton would drive the D-types. Michael would also drive a Mk VII in the saloon car race. In XKC404, Michael dominated both practice and the sports car race against Aston and Ferrari, breaking the lap record in one minute and forty seconds. Unfortunately the top hose blew and he finished fourth.

In the saloon car race he drove Moss's old mount LWK 343 (in which Stirling had won the 1952 and 1953 touring car races).The old car proved still to be a good war horse and he broke the lap record with that too. Of the Mk VII Michael said: "It was great fun because the big saloon had an exhaust note like a D-type, and leaned over at a spectacular angle, but cornered extremely fast." LWK had a D-type head, triple plate competition clutch and a straight through twin exhaust system. No wonder it sounded like a 'D'! While he enjoyed instant success with Jaguar, his Grand Prix drives for Vanwall were plagued with problems. The great days for Vanwall had not yet arrived. Lancia offered him top position in their team after the tragic death of Ascari, and Tony Vandervell sportingly released Mike from the contract. So he was now leader of a top Grand Prix and sports car team, albeit the former short lived because cash-strapped Lancia pulled out of racing altogether, leaving Mike without a Formula I drive.

1955 Le Mans Ivor Bueb had now joined the Jaguar team, replacing Jimmy Stewart and partnering Michael in XKD505 for the fateful 1955 Le Mans race. Norman Dewis, Jaguar's chief tester, partnered Beauman. Race day was fine and dry with the early laps run in sunshine. The Jaguar D-types prior to the race at Le Mans 1955. Mike drove No 6, chassis XKD 505 Castellotti set the pace early on with his Ferrari but within an hour Michael had caught and passed him, after the Italian had spun at Mulsanne corner. Fangio in the Mercedes 300 SLR was catching Hawthorn, and the two drivers set about consistently braking the lap record during the second hour's racing. It was like the French Grand Prix at Rhiems 1953, both men driving to their absolute limit, neck and neck for thirty-two laps.To Mike's delight, the long-nose'D' was faster down the Mulsanne straight and was better braked, though the Mercedes with its independent rear suspension really shone on the fast bends. Here the Jaguar was let down by its old fashioned live rear axle.

With Fangio working the monstrous air brake, he could leave his braking almost as late as the disc braked Jaguar. Miek hawthorn leads at Le Mans 1955 The Accident The titanic struggle continued relentlessly, with Mike holding a small lead. His refuelling time came and after being counted down over the two previous laps, he pulled over to the right to come into the pits. As he did so, Lance Macklin in his Austin Healey pulled over to the left and was hit by the 300SLR of Pierre Levagh in the perilously narrow road - it had hardly been altered since the 1920s when cars were averaging 80mph past the pits rather than 150; it was a disaster waiting to happen. The Mercedes was launched over the bank into the public enclosure, disintegrating amongst the crowd. Ultimately over 80 people were found to have died. Michael was in a state of shock and rolled past his pit, so Lofty waved him on for another lap. When he pulled in second time around, he jumped out of the 'D' in near hysteria, threatening never to drive again.

Duncan Hamilton talked sense to him and Lofty instructed him to get back in the car and finish the race. To quote Lofty "There was never going to be a problem with this incident, because Mike did everything I told him to". Driver changes came with Moss taking over from Fangio and Bueb from Hawthorn. Beauman's car had slid into the sand while the Hamilton/Rolt Jaguar suffered a seized gearbox and went out too. With the Fangio/Moss car leading, instructions came direct from Germany: the Mercedes-Benz team were to withdraw from the race. It was left for Jaguar to win the event in the pouring rain. A great event, overshadowed by the worst motor racing disaster ever Michael was deeply affected by the terrible sight but he looked to his captain for inspiration, and got it. He wrote later of Lofty: "During those terrible hours he was a tower of strength while people went back and forth debating what should be done. He saw the situation quite clearly and simply. Nothing he could say or do would alter the consequences of the accident.

He had come to Le Mans to win a motor race, and as long as it kept going, it was his job to win it." It was a month before he raced the 'D' again, this time on home ground at the British Grand Prix, Aintree. On a high note he had signed for Ferrari, who had consented to the Jaguar sports car drives, but on a low note, fellow team member and friend Don Beauman was killed in Ireland. At Aintree, he had an unhappy time. Moss won the Grand Prix, and in the sportscar event, Michael in the D-type found that Aintree's slow corners really showed up the 'D' type's somewhat crude rear suspension and Aston Martins triumphed. He finished fifth. Jaguar were now scaling down their racing programme. Basically the new 2.4 saloon was about to be launched and racing was becoming a distraction. But Ecurie Ecosse and Briggs Cunningham were readily supported with factory preparation, drivers and sometimes mechanics. Michael was released to drive Ferrari sports cars as well as Jaguars, Browns Lane not intending to field a full team for 1956.

However, three D-types were entered for the Dundrod Tourist Trophy race in Ireland, a high profile event that would receive good press coverage. To compete with the Astons, Jaguar had experimented with a De Dion rear suspension in the lead car, XKD505.This not proving successful, Mike and Desmond Titterington drove the spare car, XKD 506. Drama in the TT Action for Mike at the 1955 Dundrod TT race Bob Berry, driving Jack Broadhead's production D-type, led initially from the Le Mans type start, though Moss in the 300 SLR moved ahead after the first lap with Michael in second. After a couple of laps the drivers could see a plume of smoke appearing from Deer's Leap.The yellow flags were out: seven cars had been involved in a pile up. Meanwhile Fangio in the other 300 SLR had been steadily picking his way through the pack, and by the fourteenth lap he caught and passed Michael. From here on the two of them brought the crowd to their feet as they continually swapped places.

Michael was driving to the absolute limit over those narrow roads so unsuited to a D-type and by lap 17, he drew clear of Fangio and kept him there. By lap nineteen, he set an all time lap record of 4 mins and 42 secs, two seconds quicker than either of the SLRs could manage. Although Mike gained the lead as the Mercedes refuelled, Moss overtook him later.Then the 'D' broke its crankshaft and lost what was seeming a safe second place. No more Tourist Trophy races were held at Dundrod.The race had claimed the lives of several drivers including those of Bill Smith (who Lofty had earmarked for a test drive), Jim Mayers and Richard Mainwaring.The last was an old school mate of Michael's. At the beginning of 1956 the media expected Jaguar to withdraw from racing altogether. However, as a result of 1955 season's tragic accidents, rule changes kept the 'D' type competitive and a works team was entered once more. Michael in the meantime had received his contract from Ferrari and was surprised to find that he would not be allowed to drive for Jaguar after all.

He refused to sign, staying loyal to the Coventry firm and, for Grand Prix events, drove for BRM. Mercedes-Benz had now pulled out of racing altogether and Moss had signed with Maserati. This allowed Lofty to approach Moss to drive again for Jaguar, as joint No 1 with Mike. Unfortunately for Jaguar, Moss specifically wanted to be the No 1 driver and could not agree terms; he eventually drove an Aston during the new season. Meanwhile, Jaguar had carried out extensive testing of XKD 504 with a new Lucas fuel injection system, Mike testing it with Ivor Bueb at Silverstone. By February XKD 601 (one of the six new cars produced for 1956), with fuel injection, was tested successfully at Goodwood prior to being shipped over to Florida for Mike to drive at Sebring for Briggs Cunningham. Unfortunately, on the big day the car dropped out with brake failure. Back home, Mike was having the same disasters as last season with the BRM.

At Silverstone, where Jaguars normally did well, a steering seizure caused Mike's 'D' to fail again while his first time out with the new 2.4 saloon failed dismally too after a valve spring broke. The lead up to the 1956 Le Mans was a mixture of triumph and disaster. At the Nurburgring 1000k race, Mike's car broke its half shaft but at Rhiems, the Jaguars took the first four places, a brilliant result so near to the most important event of the year. Mike was second, partnered by Paul Frere. 1956 Le Mans Le Mans itself was fraught for Jaguar. Two of the three works 'D' types were sidelined by an early accident and after Hawthorn and Bueb had built up a good lead in the remaining car, it developed a bad misfire. It took the pit team seven hours and innumerable pit stops to find the problem, a cracked fuel pipe. Michael was now well down in 20th place. So, in his own words, he decided to drive like hell to finish sixth overall.

An incredible effort by any standards, he broke the lap record and, pulling into the pit lane for the last driver change, he said to Ivor "Well, mate, at least we've earned some money for the fastest lap". Then someone in the pit said "There's no fastest lap money this year!" Still, Ecurie Ecosse won the event with their ex-works D-type. But by October, Jaguar had announced their withdrawal from racing, although the 'comp. shop' would be on hand to assist selected private entrants. Michael, returning to Ferrari, managed to secure a deal whereby he could still drive for Jaguar, who no longer posed a real threat. He therefore was able to take part in what was essentially the final full works effort, the 1957 Sebring 12 hours. But XKD 605, running in Cunningham colours, was again afflicted with brake problems, though Mike managed to bring it home third behind Fangio and Moss. Michael still made himself available to Jaguar for testing, these including E1A, the first E-type prototype.

He was part of the Jaguar family now and was to return to Browns Lane in October 1957 to collect a new 3.4 saloon, a belated gift for his contribution to Jaguar's racing successes. The 1958 world drivers' championship was decided by the last race of the season when Mike Hawthorn finished second to Stirling Moss in the Morocco Grand Prix in October and secured the World Championship by just one point. Ferrari were ecstatic and would have offered Hawthorn virtually any contract he wished for in 1959. But immediately the race was over he declared his intention to retire; badly affected by the loss of his 'Mon ami mate' Peter Collins, the sport no longer appealed to the 29-year-old. Maybe his serious kidney complaint helped tip the balance too. His entire racing career had lasted barely eight years, with Ferrari playing the dominant FI role. But very important, too, were his Jaguar connections. As a works driver in 1955 he won the Sebring 12-hour race in March and the ill-fated Le Mans in June. He also tested for Jaguar not just D-type variants but in 1957 the first E-type prototype as well.

They thought a good deal of him at Browns Lane and the feeling was reciprocated. On the subject of Mike's racing income, Lofty England once said, "I doubt if Mike got more than ï¿½20,000 per year from Ferrari, and when he was with Jaguar we paid him a ï¿½1,000 retainer and he kept all he won in prize and bonus money." Jaguar saloons In particular, he forged a close friendship with racing team manager (apart from much else) FRW 'Lofty' England. We remember him for his stirring drives in Jaguar saloons. Though he raced them only four times, all at Silverstone, he won in 1955 (Mk VII), failed to finish with the new 2.4 saloon in 1956, but won in 1957 with the new 3.4 and again in 1958 with VDU 881 , the 3.4 saloon in which he was eventually to die. Had he lived, the New Year of 1959 would have been an exceptionally busy one for John Michael Hawthorn.

The latter part of 1958 had brought the new World Champion many more offers of business, sponsorship and product endorsement. Final tragedy for Mike Shortly after he retired, Mike died in an automobile accident on the A3 Guildford bypass in Surrey, England on January 22, 1959. He was driving his Jaguar Mark 1 and lost control. What exactly happened that day we analyse and cover in great detail on this site, but it was most probably due to a combination of high speed and bad weather. Mike and his fiancee, model Jean Howarth, early in their relationship The next day he had been due to drive to Yorkshire to spend the weekend with his 21 year-old girlfriend Jean Howarth - they had intended announcing their engagement that Spring but it was never to be. She spent the afternoon of his death walking on the moors to get away from everything, accompanied only by her boxer puppy 'Ferrari' that Mike had given her as a present. Mike was already dying Sadly, Mike would have died fairly soon anyway - he was already suffering from an incurable kidney disease and also another medical problem we'll reveal elsewhere here.

We have extensive analysis and coverage of the fatal accident separately and it is well worth reading if you are unsure of the facts. Please select our Mike's Death link. Memorials Mike Hawthorn's Funeral took place on 28th January 1959 at West Street Cemetery in Farnham, Surrey - his home town - after a service in the Parish Church. Mike's Mother wanted a private funeral - despite this, the church was occupied by more than two hundred mourners with a similar number outside. At the same time, the crash site took hundreds of visitors and needed police to control it as large numbers of floral tributes were left. Mike has a memorial headstone erected to him in the cemetery at Farnham where he is buried. It receives regular visits each year from fans on each anniversary of his death. There is also a more recent and much larger bronze memorial erected to Mike at the Goodwood Race Circuit in West Sussex, UK. It was paid for entirely by donations and through the efforts of a number of dedicated fans. Visit our Memorials page for much more information on memorials in general.

For a comprehensive account of the unveiling of the sculpture and to find out how it was created, visit our Mike Hawthorn and Lofty England Sculpture page.

Question: What make of car was Mike Hawthorn driving when he won the F1 World Drivers Championship in 1958
Answer: Ferrari