1958 Formula 1 World Championship
Mike Hawthorn Beat Stirling Moss to the F1 Title
With three races remaining in the 1958 Formula 1 season the World Championship was finely balanced. Ferrari driver Mike Hawthorn and Vanwall driver Stirling Moss were the men in contention for the title. It would go all the way to the final race of the year.
Moss Beats Hawthorn in Portuguese Grand Prix
The Portuguese Grand Prix was held over the Oporto street circuit, which featured such novel obstacles as cobbles and tram-lines. Moss qualified on pole and led from the start on a damp track. Hawthorn nosed ahead briefly, but he could not match the Vanwall.
Moss won the Grand Prix, but Hawthorn had a mishap on his final lap. After spinning and stalling his Ferrari he push started it and crossed the line in second. Later, he was threatened with disqualification for pushing his car against the flow of traffic. In a remarkable show of sportsmanship Moss came to the rescue, and assured the stewards that Hawthorn pushed the car along an escape road, not the circuit. Hawthorn got to keep his points, and they would prove crucial.
Brooks Wins for Vanwall at Monza
The Italian Grand Prix at Monza was the penultimate round of the 1958 World Championship. After starting from pole and leading the race Moss’s weekend fell apart. He was forced to retire his Vanwall when the gearbox broke. This gave Hawthorn an opportunity to clinch the title, but only if he won. Moss’s Vanwall team-mate Tony brooks ensured that he did no, taking victory himself. The World Championship would be decided in the final race of the year, the Moroccan Grand Prix.
Hawthorn Wins Formula 1 World Championship in Tragic Finale
The title contenders were first and second on the grid in Morocco, with Hawthorn ahead of Moss. The race developed into a high speed game of chess involving Hawthorn, Moss and their respective team-mates.
Vanwall’s race was not a happy one. Brooks retired with an engine failure and was there fore unable to help Moss. Later on something far worse happened to Vanwall driver Stuart Lewis-Evans. His engine seized, resulting in his car leaving the circuit and hitting a tree. The Vanwall was ablaze and, although Lewis-Evans got himself out of the car, he was terribly burned.
Moss did all he could to take the title, setting the fastest lap of the race on his way to victory. Hawthorn lay in third place, but his Ferrari team-mate Phil Hill moved over. Hawthorn got the second place he needed to win the championship by a single point.
A few days after the race Lewis-Evans succumbed to his injuries. Hawthorn announced his retirement, but he did not have a chance to enjoy it. Early in 1959 he was killed in a road accident on the Guildford bypass in England.
1958 F1 runner-up Stirling Moss
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