Tragedy And Change - 1955

1955 Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix

1955 Drivers Championship

1. Juan Manuel Fangio - 40
2. Stirling Moss - 23
3. Eugenio Castellotti - 12

(Constructors title not introduced until 1958)



Moss joined Fangio at Mercedes for the 1955 season, and the problems that had dogged the W196 the previous year were resolved. Both the improved car and driver line-up made Mercedes look like the team to beat...

"Only two go the distance"

The first race, in Argentina, was in such extreme heat that only two drivers, Fangio and Roberto Mieres, were able to finish without having to hand over to others. Fangio won, and Mieres was fifth in his Maserati, but other than that point allocation was a nightmare.The second-placed Ferrari had been driven by Gonzalez, Farina and Trintignant; the latter two had also done a turn in the third-placed Ferrari, along with Umberto Maglioli. The Mercedes which came in fourth had been shared by Moss, Kling and Herrmann. Fangio's 9 points were his alone; he had also set the fastest lap. Both Ascari and his team-mate Villoresi failed to finish.
Monaco saw the next round. Ascari was leading when his Lancia hit straw bales and headed into the harbour, but he was uninjured. Fangio led for 50 laps, then retired; Moss took over, but also failed to finish. Ferrari's Trintignant moved through the ranks steadily and won.

"Ascari killed in practice"

Ascari was invited to give his team-mate Eugenio Castellotti's Ferrari a practice run at a deserted Monza a few days later, but took a bend full-speed and went straight on. He was killed. Lancia then withdrew from racing, leaving the potential of the D 50 unfulfilled, though Castellotti entered one privately in the next round in Belgium. He was going well but his engine failed on the 16th lap, and the race was a comfortable one-two for Fangio and Moss. Mike Hawthorn's time at Ferrari had made him the most successful British driver, eclipsing Moss, but he had decided to join Vanwall for 1955. Following mechanical problems culminating in an early departure from the Belgian race, Hawthorn returned to Ferrari for the rest of the season.

"83 people die in Le Mans tragedy"

The next race was at Zandvoort, but before that many drivers competed at Le Mans. Here, on Saturday, ii June, tragedy struck — on a massive scale. Two and a half hours into the race, Pierre Levegh's Mercedes hit Lance Macklin's Austin Healey and spun over the safety barrier, exploding into the crowd. Eighty-three people, including Levegh, died. The French, Spanish, German and Swiss Grands Prix were cancelled.

"Aintree Grand Prix"

There were three more rounds. Fangio and Moss led the rest home again at Zandvoort. Despite his return to Ferrari, Hawthorn suffered gearbox trouble; he did manage to finish, but seventh. Mercedes was outstanding at Aintree, which hosted the British race for the first time. Moss edged Fangio out by a matter of inches, and there was speculation that Fangio had allowed him a home victory. Kling and Taruffi occupied third and fourth places for Mercedes. The race also marked the debut of Jack Brabham, driving a Cooper.
The last round was at Monza, on the high-speed banked circuit. Moss set the fastest lap of more than 134mph but failed to finish; Taruffi followed Fangio home in another one-two for Mercedes. Castellotti finished less than a minute behind Taruffi in third, and that was where he came in the final table. His tally was just 12 points; Moss finished on 25, but Fangio had reached the 40-point mark for a second successive season, giving him his third world title.

"Champions to quit"

At the end of 1955 Mercedes announced that it was withdrawing from racing, so Fangio and Moss were seeking new teams. Fangio was looking for a car that would keep him at the top, Moss for one that would help him depose Fangio.