The 1958 Formula One season was the ninth season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1958 World Championship of Drivers^[1] which commenced on January 19, 1958, and ended on October 19 after eleven races. It also included the 1958 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers,^[2] won by Vanwall, which was contested concurrently with the World Championship of Drivers, won by Mike Hawthorn after a close battle with compatriot Stirling Moss.

The season was one of the most important and tragic seasons in Formula One's history.

[edit] Season summary

Englishman Mike Hawthorn won the 1958 World Championship of Drivers at the wheel a Ferrari Dino 246

Although the engine formula remained the same, minimum race lengths were reduced to 300 kilometres or two hours, and the use of commercial petrol became compulsory, in place of specialized alcohol-based racing fuels. The International Cup for F1 Manufacturers was awarded for the first time, but Ferrari's Mike Hawthorn won the driver's championship from Stirling Moss, despite the latter having won four of the ten grand prix to Hawthorn's one.

Rear-engined Cooper-Climaxes, entered by the private owner Rob Walker, shocked the establishment by winning two early-season races: Moss, driving for Walker in Argentina because Vanwall had not entered, beat the Ferraris by superior race craft, and Maurice Trintignant outlasted the opposition at Monaco.

Moss' teammate at Vanwall, Tony Brooks also won three races, his success in the Italian race, overtaking Hawthorn after Moss had retired, ensured the title went to the final round in Morocco. Moss needed to win, with a fastest lap and Hawthorn third or lower to win the title. With Moss leading, Brooks and team-mate Stuart Lewis-Evans attempted to hold Hawthorn in third, however both their engines failed - Lewis-Evans' tragically resulting in severe burns he did not recover from. Hawthorn finished second to win his first title, his greater consistency and reliability, along with crucial points for fastest laps, giving him the title by a single point. Vanwall won the inaugural Constructors Competition, mere consolation following the events in Morocco.

Hawthorn retired after winning the Championship, but died in a road accident in early 1959. His death compounded a tragic season for Formula One, after Luigi Musso died in the French Grand Prix, Peter Collins a month later in the German Grand Prix - just two weeks after winning his home race, and Lewis-Evans in hospital following his fire in Morocco.

Maria Teresa de Filippis became the first woman to drive in a world championship event. Reigning five-time Champion Juan Manuel Fangio, the dominant driver of the 1950s and one of the greatest of all time, competed in only two races as a privateer, retiring after the French Grand Prix.

[edit] Season review

Rnd	Race	Date	Location	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
1	Argentine Grand Prix	January 19	Oscar Gálvez	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax	Report
2	Monaco Grand Prix	May 18	Monaco	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Climax	Report
3	Dutch Grand Prix	May 26	Zandvoort	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	Report
4	Indianapolis 500	May 30	Indianapolis	Jimmy Bryan	Epperly-Offenhauser	Report
5	Belgian Grand Prix	June 15	Spa-Francorchamps	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	Report
6	French Grand Prix	July 6	Reims	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	Report
7	British Grand Prix	July 19	Silverstone	Peter Collins	Ferrari	Report
8	German Grand Prix	August 3	Nürburgring	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	Report
9	Portuguese Grand Prix	August 24	Boavista	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	Report
10	Italian Grand Prix	September 7	Monza	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	Report
11	Moroccan Grand Prix	October 19	Ain-Diab	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	Report

Note: The Indianapolis 500, being run to rules other than Formula One, did not count towards the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers

[edit] 1958 World Championship of Drivers - final standings

Points were awarded on an 8-6-4-3-2 basis to the first five finishers at each race. An additional point was awarded to the driver setting the fastest race lap. The best six results from the eleven races were retained.

Pos. Driver ARG MON NED 500 BEL FRA GBR GER POR ITA MOR Pts.[3] 1 Mike Hawthorn 3 Ret* 5 2* 1* 2* Ret 2* 2 2 42 (49) 2 Stirling Moss 1 Ret 1* Ret 2 Ret Ret* 1 Ret 1* 41 3 Tony Brooks Ret Ret Ret† 1 Ret 7 1 Ret 1 Ret 24 4 Roy Salvadori Ret 4 8 11 3 2 9 5 7 15 5 Peter Collins Ret 3 Ret Ret 5 1 Ret 14 6 Harry Schell 6 5 2 5 Ret 5 Ret 6 Ret 5 14 7 Maurice Trintignant 1 9 7 Ret 8 3 8 Ret Ret 12 8 Luigi Musso 2 2 7 Ret Ret 12 9 Stuart Lewis-Evans Ret Ret Ret† 3 Ret 4 3 Ret Ret 11 10 Phil Hill 7 9 3* 3 9 11 Jean Behra 5 Ret 3 Ret Ret Ret Ret 4 Ret Ret 9 12 Wolfgang von Trips Ret 3 Ret 4 5 Ret 9 13 Jimmy Bryan 1 8 14 Juan Manuel Fangio 4* 4 7 15 George Amick 2 6 16 Johnny Boyd 3 4 17 Tony Bettenhausen 4* 4 18 Jack Brabham 4 8 Ret 6 6 Ret 7 Ret 11 3 19 Cliff Allison 6 6 4 Ret Ret 10 Ret 7 10 3 20 Joakim Bonnier Ret 10 9 8 Ret Ret Ret Ret 4 3 21 Jim Rathmann 5 2 — Masten Gregory Ret Ret 4~ 6 0 — Bruce McLaren 5 13 0 — Graham Hill Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret Ret 6 16 0 — Olivier Gendebien 6 Ret Ret 0 — Jimmy Reece 6 0 — Don Freeland 7 0 — Carlos Menditeguy 7 0 — Maria Teresa de Filippis DNQ 10 Ret Ret 0 — Paco Godia 8 DNQ Ret Ret 0 — Jack Fairman Ret 8 0 — Jud Larson 8 0 — Carroll Shelby Ret 9 Ret 4~ / Ret 0 — Hans Herrmann Ret Ret 9 0 — Gerino Gerini DNQ 9 Ret Ret 12 0 — Giulio Cabianca DNQ Ret 0 — Horace Gould 9 DNQ 0 — Eddie Johnson 9 0 — Troy Ruttman 10 0 — Bill Cheesbourg 10 0 — Carel Godin de Beaufort 11 Ret 0 — Al Keller 11 0 — Giorgio Scarlatti Ret Ret 0 — Ian Burgess Ret 7 0 — Johnnie Parsons 12 0 — Ivor Bueb Ret 11 0 — Johnnie Tolan 13 0 — Bob Christie Ret 0 — Robert La Caze 14 0 — Wolfgang Seidel Ret Ret Ret 0 — Dempsey Wilson Ret 0 — André Guelfi 15 0 — Ron Flockhart DNQ Ret 0 — A. J. Foyt Ret 0 — Paul Russo Ret 0 — Shorty Templeman Ret 0 — Rodger Ward Ret 0 — Billy Garrett Ret 0 — Eddie Sachs Ret 0 — Johnny Thomson Ret 0 — Chuck Weyant Ret 0 — Jack Turner Ret 0 — Bob Veith Ret 0 — Dick Rathmann Ret 0 — Ed Elisian Ret 0 — Pat O'Connor Ret 0 — Paul Goldsmith Ret 0 — Jerry Unser Ret 0 — Len Sutton Ret 0 — Art Bisch Ret 0 — Alan Stacey Ret 0 — Christian Goethals Ret 0 — Dick Gibson Ret 0 — Brian Naylor Ret 0 — François Picard Ret 0 — Tom Bridger Ret 0 — Mike Magill DSQ 0 — Ken Kavanagh DNQ 0 — Bruce Kessler DNQ 0 — Paul Emery DNQ 0 — André Testut DNQ 0 — Luigi Piotti DNQ 0 — Bernie Ecclestone DNQ 0 — Luigi Taramazzo DNQ 0 — Louis Chiron DNQ 0 Pos. Driver ARG MON NED 500 BEL FRA GBR GER POR ITA MOR Pts.

Key Colour Result Gold Winner Silver 2nd place Bronze 3rd place Green Points finish Blue Non-points finish Non-classified finish (NC) Purple Did not finish (Ret) Red Did not qualify (DNQ) Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ) Black Disqualified (DSQ) White Did not start (DNS) Race cancelled (C) Light blue Practiced only (PO) Friday test driver (TD) (from 2003 onwards) Blank Did not practice (DNP) Excluded (EX) Did not arrive (DNA) Withdrew entry before the event (WD)

• * Fastest lap (1 point awarded)
• † Position shared between more drivers of the same car
• ~ No points awarded for shared drive

[edit] 1958 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers - final standings

Points were awarded on an 8-6-4-3-2 basis to the first five finishers at each race. However a manufacturer only received points for its highest placed car and only the best six results from the ten races were retained.

Place	Manufacturer	Points[3]
1	Vanwall	48 (57)
2	Ferrari	40 (57)
3	Cooper-Climax	31
4	BRM	18
5	Maserati	6
6	Lotus-Climax	3
—	Connaught	0
—	OSCA	0
—	Porsche	0

[edit] Non-Championship race results

Other Formula One races also held in 1958, which did not count towards the World Championship.

Race Name	Circuit	Date	Winning driver	Constructor	Report
VI Glover Trophy	Goodwood	April 7	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	Report
VIII Gran Premio di Siracusa	Syracuse	April 13	Luigi Musso	Ferrari	Report
XIII BARC Aintree 200	Aintree	April 19	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax	Report
X BRDC International Trophy	Silverstone	May 3	Peter Collins	Ferrari	Report
VI Grand Prix de Caen	Caen	July 20	Stirling Moss	Cooper-Climax	Report

[edit] Notes & references

1. ^ FIA Yearbook, 1974, Grey section, page 118
2. ^ FIA Yearbook, 1974, Grey section, page 120
3. ^ ^{a b} Only the best 6 results counted towards the Championship. Numbers without parentheses are Championship points; numbers in parentheses are total points scored.

[edit] External links

• Race results and images from the 1958 World Championship of Drivers Retrieved from www.f1-facts.com on 7 August 2009