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1959 F1 Season Review

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Behra 1959 Holland

© P-H Cahier / F1-photo.com

The 1959 F1 season started with the surprise withdrawal of the Vanwall team over the winter, just as it was reaching peak competitiveness. Nevertheless the British honour was upheld by BRM, Cooper and Lotus.

After the tragedies of 1958 Ferrari underwent big changes. Brooks joined from Vanwall and was joined by Behra from BRM. Phil Hill, who was an occasional Ferrari driver in 1958 but was awarded a full time drive for 1959. Sterling Moss meanwhile would split his time between Walker’s Cooper-Climax and BRM.
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1958 F1 Season Review

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© P-H Cahier / F1-photo.com

The 1958 F1 season was the year that the Formula One Constructors championship was launched having been a driver only championship since its inception in 1950.

1958 was the year Englishman Mike Hawthorn finally won the world championship after a thrilling battle with Sterling Moss and Vanwall were victors over the Ferraris. The season however had both moments of elation and tragedy.
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1957 F1 Season Review

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© P-H Cahier / F1-photo.com

The 1957 Formula One season was the eighth season of FIA Formula One motor racing.  Once again, Juan Manuel Fangio drove to victory, marking his fourth consecutive title and fifth in total – an astonishing achievement and one which would not be matched for nearly fifty years.

Both Fangio and Sterling Moss switched teams from the previous season.  By this stage, Vanwall had developed their car into a serious prospect for the championship and Moss joined them to help refine the machine.  Fangio, meanwhile, replaced Moss’ previous role and found himself driving the sensational looking Maserati 250F; a car which perfectly complimented his elegant driving style.
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1956 F1 Season Review

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© P-H Cahier / F1-photo.com

The 1956 F1 season started without the Mercedes team who withdrew from 1955 leaving Fangio and Moss searching for new drives. Fangio joined Ferrari who’s cars were modified by Lancias for the ’55 season, while Moss searched for a British team but settled for Maserati.

Italian teams were again a dominant with Ferrari partnering Fangio with Luigi Muss, Eugenio Castellotti and Englishman Peter Collins, while in the Maserati camp Moss was supported by Jean Behra and Cesare Perdisa. Fangio would leave Ferrari at the end of the season to join Maserati having doubted  the quality of the preparation.
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1955 F1 Season Review

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Used with permission from PD-AR Photo

The 1955 Formula 1 season opened with a promise of exhilarating competition between Mercedes, Lancia, Ferrari and Maserati.  By the end of the season, both Mercedes and Lancia would suffer tragic driver losses and events would unfold which would result in Mercedes retiring from motor racing.

The season-opening Argentine Grand Prix proved to be one of the most gruelling events in Formula 1 history. Extreme temperatures led to no less than sixteen driver changes. Juan-Manuel Fangio drove his Mercedes to victory in his home Grand Prix, but suffered burns in the cockpit which left him permanently scarred. Maserati driver Roberto Mieres was the only other driver to complete the race distance on his own.
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1954 F1 Season Review

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© P-H Cahier / F1-photo.com

The 1954 F1 Season finally saw a review of the rules that stated Formula One races were run to Formula Two rules, and with that the restrictions to a 2.5 litre engine were out. The second big news story was that Mercedes would return to Grand Prix racing and they did so determined to win.

Mercedes signed Juan Manuel Fangio and it was clear from the off that they would pose a serious threat. Despite spending five successful seasons with the Ferrari marque Alberto Ascari decided he needed a stronger team and left for Lancia who were developing a new car.
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1953 F1 Season Review

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© P-H Cahier / F1-photo.com

The 1953 F1 Season was in keeping with the Formula Two rules used for a second consecutive season. This meant that there was a small number of Formula One teams surrounded by numerous lesser formulae teams and, as with prior years, the F1 championship races were ran alongside Formula Two races. However, only the Formula One races would count towards the championship.

1953 was predicted to be a battle between the dominant Ferrari and the improved Maserati team. Fangio had made a full recovery from the injuries that saw him miss the 1952 season and spearheaded the Maserati team. Fangio was supported by his protege Onofre Marimon and the very quick Gonzalez. At Ferrari 1952 world champion Ascari was joined by Farina, Villeresi and new recruit Mike Hawthorn. Hawthorn’s fantastic performances in 1952 being enough to impress Enzo Ferrari.
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1952 F1 Season Review

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© P-H Cahier / F1-photo.com

The 1952 Formula One season started after undergoing a rule restructure at the end of the 1951 season. In an effort to promote competition, and in particular to prevent a Ferrari dominated championship now that Alfa had withdrawn, the FIA ran Formula One under Formula Two rules. The changes worked and wealth of new teams sprung up, although none of them were able to challenge Ferrari.

Ferrari started as strong favourites after Alfa failed to find the funding needed to field a competitive team. Ferrari launched their new car, a 4 cylinder Tip 500 and it would be Alberto Ascari who drove it brilliantly to a dominant championship campaign.
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1951 F1 Season Review

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The 1951 Formula One season was the second FIA Formula One world championship, and this time Ferrari was determined to push the Alfa team harder.

The Alfa Romeos that dominated the 1950 world championship were coming to the end of their development potential while Ferrari brought out their unsupercharged 4.5 litre contender which appeared to be extremely fast. The 1950 season saw the Ferrari of Alberto Ascari score just 12 points in the inaugural year and finishing a distant fourth place, but at the last championship even in Monza there were signs that this dominance could be broken.
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1950 F1 Season Review

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Nino Farina - first F1 champion

© P-H Cahier / F1-photo.com

The first Formula One championship was formed in February 1950. The Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) linked six Grand Prix in to one competition with points being awarded for each race.

Points were awarded to the top five finishers (8, 6, 4, 3, 2) and 1 point being awarded to the driver with the fastest lap). Only the best four of seven scores were counted towards the world championship in an effort to not penalise drivers heavily for unreliability. The driver with the most would be crowned the world champion.
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