1958 Formula One Season: Hawthorn's One-Point Title and Vanwall's Year

The 1958 Formula One season was the 12th year of FIA Formula One and the ninth World Championship of Drivers. British drivers and cars took most of the wins, and Mike Hawthorn of Ferrari became the first British driver to win the title, by a single point over Stirling Moss.

Why was 1958 a turning point?

The 1958 season ended the run of Italian teams at the front and closed the career of five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio. British drivers won almost every race, and the rear-engined Cooper-Climax cars began a change that would dominate Formula One from 1959 onwards.

Fangio took pole in the first round in a Maserati, but after a leave to test for the Indianapolis 500 he finished fourth again in his second race and retired. Maserati's works team had already withdrawn for financial reasons, and private teams kept racing its 250F, which was still competitive. Fangio's exit marked the end of an era for the Italian marque as well as for the driver.

The two early Cooper-Climax wins came from Rob Walker's private team rather than the Cooper factory. The newcomer Vanwall, with a conventional front-engined car, then won six of the eight races that followed, and it took the Manufacturers' Cup. Ferrari won twice and was quick and reliable enough to collect six second places and the Drivers' Championship.

Vanwall won six of the eleven races, but one point decided the title between two men who respected each other.

How did the teams and drivers change in 1958?

Maserati withdrew its works team after 1957 for financial reasons, and private entrants carried its chassis forward. Lotus made its debut, and the team founded by Colin Chapman later collected six Drivers' titles and seven Constructors' titles over the next two decades. BRM ran its first full-time season and hired ex-Maserati drivers Jean Behra and Harry Schell.

Cooper kept its 1957 line-up and entered more races than ever. Jo Bonnier moved to BRM for the final two races of the year, while Giulio Cabianca and Hans Herrmann finished the season for his team. The field was shaped by these moves as much as by the racing.

Ferrari's year was overshadowed by loss. Luigi Musso was fatally injured at the French Grand Prix, and his teammate Peter Collins was killed in a similar accident at the German Grand Prix. Ferrari brought in the sports car drivers Olivier Gendebien and Phil Hill to fill the gaps. Hawthorn, who had decided to retire at the end of the season after Collins's death, was himself killed in a road accident three months later.

What rules applied in 1958?

A new International Cup for F1 Manufacturers was handed out for the first time. The minimum race distance dropped to 300 km (190 mi) or two hours, whichever came first. Sharing cars was discouraged by withholding championship points, and commercial petrol replaced the specialised alcohol-based racing fuels.

The fuel regulations were drawn up late, and many British teams were not ready for the opening race in Argentina. Points went to the top five classified finishers, with one more for the fastest lap, and only the best six results counted. Formula Two cars were not eligible for points, and no points were awarded for shared drives. The Manufacturers' Cup counted only the highest-finishing driver for each race, and fastest-lap points were excluded.

An example of the sharing rule came in Italy, where Gregory and Shelby finished fourth but received no championship points for their shared car. The change encouraged drivers to take a car from start to finish.

What happened in Argentina and Monaco?

Stirling Moss won the Argentine opener in a Cooper for Rob Walker Racing after gambling on not making a pit stop. At Monaco, Maurice Trintignant won for the same privateer team, its second straight win, ahead of Musso and Collins.

The Argentine race had just ten entrants, the smallest field of the year, because three Ferraris, six private Maseratis and Moss's Cooper were the only cars ready. Fangio qualified on pole in one of the Maseratis he had taken over from the works team, ahead of Hawthorn and Collins. Collins broke a driveshaft at the start, and Hawthorn led briefly before Fangio passed him. Fangio then pitted for fresh rear tyres around halfway, and Moss stayed out on worn rubber, with the canvas showing on both rear wheels, and held on.

That Argentine win carried several firsts. It gave Cooper its first win as a constructor in the championship, and the first win for a rear-engined car, the first for a privateer team and the first for a car powered by another manufacturer's engine. Moss finished just ahead of Musso and Hawthorn.

Monaco came four months later, with around thirty drivers trying to qualify for sixteen places. Tony Brooks took pole for Vanwall, ahead of Behra for BRM and the Coopers of Brabham and Salvadori. Hawthorn was the fastest man on track, but the Ferrari's fuel pump worked loose on lap 46 and his race ended. Trintignant, who had started fifth, completed the 100 laps to win, and Musso and Collins took the next places.

How did the Dutch and Indianapolis rounds go?

Moss won the Dutch Grand Prix for Vanwall, with Lewis-Evans and Brooks alongside him on the front row. Both of Moss's teammates retired, and Schell took BRM to second place, while Hawthorn was the first Ferrari in fifth.

Moss took the lead at the start, and Lewis-Evans was in close contention until his race ended. Schell moved up to third and then to second on lap 12, and Behra completed the BRM podium. Moss kept out of trouble and his Vanwall held together to the finish.

Only a short time afterwards came the Indianapolis 500. Fangio had skipped the Dutch race to chase a place there but could not make the grid. Pat O'Connor died in a first-lap pile-up, and Jimmy Bryan won the race. The result counted towards the Drivers' title but not the Manufacturers' Cup. After the Dutch round Moss led the Drivers' Championship on 17 points, ahead of Musso and Trintignant, while Cooper led the Manufacturers' table with 19 points.

How did Belgium and France play out?

Brooks won the Belgian Grand Prix for Vanwall, twenty seconds ahead of Hawthorn, after Moss destroyed his engine with a bad gear change. In France Hawthorn won, but Luigi Musso ran wide on lap 10, and his car struck a ditch and somersaulted.

Belgium was the honorary European Grand Prix, and it marked the first start in Formula One by a woman, Maria Teresa de Filippis. The lead passed between Brooks, Collins and others several times before Ferrari's car overheated and retired. Brooks finished three minutes ahead of Lewis-Evans, and all three cars that were running at the end broke down as they coasted past the line.

In France, Hawthorn and Musso qualified on the front row, and Hawthorn set the fastest pace throughout. Musso chased him until lap 10, when he pushed too hard. He was taken to hospital by air with serious head injuries and died there the same day. Hawthorn won ahead of Moss and Wolfgang von Trips, the first of his two Formula One victories that season.

What happened in Britain and Germany?

Peter Collins won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, with Hawthorn second and Salvadori third, giving Ferrari a 1-2 finish. At Germany, Collins was killed after a crash on lap 11, and Tony Brooks won the race after Hawthorn's clutch failed.

At Silverstone, Moss, Schell and Salvadori were the British names on the front row, but Collins and Hawthorn ran first and third after the first lap. Moss held second until his engine blew on lap 26. Salvadori's third place was his first career podium, and Fangio retired after the race.

In Germany Hawthorn started on pole ahead of Brooks and Moss. Moss took the lead, set several lap records and led by seventeen seconds before his ignition failed. Brooks used his Vanwall's agility through the twisty sections to pass the Ferraris. On lap 11 Collins went off the road, struck a ditch, flipped and hit a tree. He died in hospital later that day. Hawthorn retired with clutch trouble on the next lap, and Brooks won with several minutes in hand.

How did Portugal and Italy shape the title race?

Moss won in Portugal, but Hawthorn's second place was first taken away and then restored after a push start. In Italy Brooks won for Vanwall, with Hawthorn second and Phil Hill third.

Portugal was part of the championship for the first time, at the Boavista street circuit in Porto. Moss and Hawthorn were separated by 0.05 seconds in qualifying, with Moss on pole. Rain before the start gave Hawthorn the early lead, but Moss retook it on lap 8 and pulled away. Hawthorn stopped to have his brakes tightened, and on the last lap he spun and stalled. He tried to push-start the Ferrari himself, but the car rolled the wrong way and officials disqualified him. Moss had waved the crowd away on his victory lap, and the decision was reversed late that night.

At the Italian Grand Prix, the British teams had Vanwalls on the front row with Moss and Brooks. Von Trips hit the rear wheel of Harry Schell, and Schell's BRM rolled, but Schell stayed in the cockpit. Von Trips was injured in the leg and missed the finale. Phil Hill, running his first race for the Ferrari F1 team, led comfortably until a wheel change on lap 7. Moss retired on lap 17 with gearbox trouble, and Brooks took the lead on lap 60 to win.

How was the title settled in Morocco?

Moss won the Moroccan Grand Prix, but Hawthorn finished second, which was enough to take the title by a single point. Stuart Lewis-Evans crashed with a burning car and died six days later.

Moss needed to win and hold Hawthorn to third place or lower, since an equal points total would go to him on countback. Hawthorn started on pole but dropped to third at the start. Moss led, while Phil Hill outbraked himself on lap 3. At half distance Moss led Hill by twenty seconds, and three drivers crashed in the next ten laps. Lewis-Evans's engine exploded, his car caught fire and he suffered serious burns. Hawthorn was back in second, so Moss won comfortably but could not secure the title.

Tony Vandervell, who owned Vanwall, stepped back from the team, partly because of the accident and partly because his own health was failing. Bernie Ecclestone sold his Connaught team and left the sport until 1965.

What were the final standings in 1958?

Hawthorn finished on 42 points, Moss on 41 and Brooks on 24. Vanwall won the Manufacturers' title on 48 points, with Ferrari on 40 and Cooper on 31. The title split between different teams would not happen again until 1973.

Hawthorn became the first British Formula One World Champion, and he did it with a single race win. Only one other champion, Keke Rosberg in 1982, has won a title with one race win. Moss, who won four races, was once again the runner-up.

Who won each round in 1958?

Vanwall won six of the eleven races, Ferrari and Cooper won two each, and Jimmy Bryan won the Indianapolis 500, which counted towards the Drivers' title only. Moss won four races in all. The table lists each event in the order it was contested.