1958 French Grand Prix (partially found footage of Formula One World Championship race; 1958)

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This article has been tagged as NSFL due to its discussion of a fatal motor racing accident.


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Mike Hawthorn on route to achieving his final Formula One win.

Status: Partially Found

The 1958 French Grand Prix was the sixth race of the 1958 Formula One Season. Occurring on 6th July at the Circuit de Reims, the race was ultimately won by Ferrari's Mike Hawthorn, his last Formula One World Championship victory. The event also marked an end of an era, as it was five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio's final Formula One race, with future champion Phil Hill making his debut. However, the race is also infamous for the fatal accident of Ferrari driver Luigi Musso.

Background

The 1958 French Grand Prix was the eighth running of the event in the Formula One calendar,[1] with the race lasting 50 laps.[2] The 37th French Grand Prix overall,[1] the race has been held at a variety of circuits, with the last one held at Reims occurring in 1966.[3] After the race was dropped from the schedule in 2009, it returned in 2018, where it has consistently been held at Circuit Paul Ricard.[3][1]

Heading into the race, Ferrari had high confidence of success following a suspension change to its 246s..[4][5] The team was ecstatic when Hawthorn achieved pole position with a time of 2:21.7, which also set a Reims lap record.[6][4][5][2] Directly behind him was teammate Musso, with BRM's Harry Schell lining up third.[4][2][6][5] In contrast, Vanwall was struggling with overheating cars, with star drivers Tony Brooks and Stirling Moss only qualifying fifth and sixth respectively.[5][4][2] Meanwhile, Fangio competed in a new works Maserati, but faced disappointment, [4][5] qualifying eighth out of 21 competitors, though he had seemingly grown tired of driving an underpowered Maserati against up and coming drivers and cars.[6][5][2] Future champion Phil Hill made his World Championship debut in a Maserati, qualifying 13th on the grid.[5][4][2] Unlike with previous races, the field also appeared to contain a balance of green (British) and red (Italian) cars.[4]

The Race

With the starting order decided, the 1958 French Grand Prix commenced on 6th July.[2] Schell beat Hawthorn and Musso at the start, but Hawthorn managed to regain it prior to the back straight.[4][5][6][2] Schell then lost multiple places a lap later, with Ferrari's Peter Collins making it a 1-3.[4][5] However, he then lost a metal air-scoop situated above the Ferrari's magneto, which ended up behind the brake pedal.[4] He was forced to remove it on the escape road, dropping him to the back of the field.[4][5] Hawthorn controlled proceedings, and began to lap cars after 10 laps.[4][6] Suddenly, Musso suffered his fatal accident, promoting Brooks to second.[4][5][6][2] He did not remain there, as two laps later, he entered the pits with a failing gearbox, retiring on lap 16.[4][5][2] The race for second, therefore, began to emerge between Moss, Fangio, and BRM's Jean Behra.[4][6]

On lap 25, Fangio dropped out of contention to resolve gearbox issues, dropping to sixth behind Ferrari's Wolfgang von Trips and the recovering Collins.[4] He was unable to make ground due to the sheer pace of those ahead, but did move up to fifth when Behra retired on lap 40 following a fuel pump failure.[4][5][6][2] Moss was well-ahead in second, but simply could not challenge Hawthorn, who set a lap record on lap 45.[4][5][2] Hawthorn, therefore, claimed his first victory in four years, and eight points in the Drivers' Championship, with him, awarded another for the fastest lap.[4][6][5][2] Moss finished second, with von Trips taking third.[2][6][4] Collins ran out of fuel on the final lap, allowing Fangio to move into fourth despite spinning on the same lap.[4][5][6][2] This proved to be the five-time champion's final Formula One race, with Hawthorn refusing to lap the Argentine so he could complete the full race distance.[6][4][5][2] Collins pushed his car over for fifth, with Hill finishing a clean race in seventh.[4][6][2]

The result left Hawthorn level on points with Moss in the Drivers' Championship, with this also marking the Brit's final victory in the sport.[7][6][4] But despite Hawthorn's win and Fangio's last race being marked, no ceremony would occur as news spread of Musso's death.[6][4] Post-race, Fangio stated "I stopped the car in the pits and a decision was made. I would stop racing. But there was no ceremony for me and no joy for Hawthorn. I then went to the hospital to see poor Musso. But poor Musso was gone."[6]

Death of Luigi Musso

On lap 10, Musso was running in second behind Hawthorn.[8][4][5] According to Musso's girlfriend Fiamma Breschi, Musso was involved in an intra-team rivalry with Brits Hawthorn and Collins.[8] The latter pair worked together in races, as they agreed to split their winnings equally, essentially creating a two-vs-one duel with the Italian.[8] Breschi revealed Musso was running into debt heading into the race, and considering that the French Grand Prix boasted the largest prize pot of all Formula One Grand Prix, he was seemingly placing vital importance on winning the event.[8]

Musso was only around fifty metres behind Hawthorn heading into lap 9, and in the following lap, they began to lap backmarkers.[8][4][6][5] As they approached the Courbe du Calvaire, Musso hit an inside kerb at around 150 mph.[8][5][4] According to Fangio, Musso did not give himself enough room for the corner, causing the Ferrari's front wheel to hit the kerb.[6][4][8][5] It caused the Ferrari to flip into a ditch and roll three times into a wheat field, with Musso being thrown free of the vehicle.[5][8][6][4] Musso's skull was fractured on impact; while he was airlifted to hospital by helicopter, a safety feature recently unveiled, Musso passed away from his injuries, aged 33.[8][6][5][4] The winner of the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix, Musso also achieved ten-second places in his career and was considered a "courageous and brave driver" according to Motor Sport.[8][4]

Availability

According to Issue 1,808 of Radio Times, footage was included in a report by Sportsview on 9th July, with Moss himself providing commentary.[9][10][11] It is unclear how long the segment lasted, as the 30-minute program also included reports on the AAA Championships and the White City Jubilee.[9][10] The broadcast has yet to publicly resurface, although other race footage exists thanks to a British documentary. No footage of Musso's fatal accident and its aftermath is known to be available.

Gallery

Video

Colour footage of the race from a British documentary.

Images

  • Programme for the race.

    Programme for the race.

  • The start of the race.

    The start of the race.

  • Start of the race from the back.

    Start of the race from the back.

  • Fangio ahead of Moss.

    Fangio ahead of Moss.

  • Fangio during the race.

    Fangio during the race.

  • Behra ahead of Moss and Fangio.

    Behra ahead of Moss and Fangio.

  • Hill during the race.

    Hill during the race.

  • Von Trips during the race.

    Von Trips during the race.

  • Hawthorn celebrating his win.

    Hawthorn celebrating his win.

  • Issue 1,808 of Radio Times listing the Sportsview broadcast.

    Issue 1,808 of Radio Times listing the Sportsview broadcast.

  • Aftermath of Musso's crash.

    Aftermath of Musso's crash.

  • Luigi Musso.

    Luigi Musso.

See Also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Ultimate Car Page listing every French Grand Prix. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 Racing-Reference detailing qualifying and race results of the event. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 F1 Destinations detailing the history of the French Grand Prix. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
  4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 Motor Sport providing a detailed race report. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11 5.12 5.13 5.14 5.15 5.16 5.17 5.18 5.19 5.20 5.21 5.22 Grand Prix summarising the race and Musso's crash. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
  6. ↑ 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 6.15 6.16 6.17 6.18 6.19 ESPN summarising the race and Fangio's post-race comments. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
  7. ↑ GP Racing Stats noting this was Hawthorn's final Formula One victory. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 8.9 Motorsport Memorial page for Luigi Musso. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 BBC Genome archive of Radio Times issues detailing the Sportsview broadcast of the race. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Issue 1,808 of Radio Times listing the Sportsview broadcast. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
  11. ↑ List of Formula One television broadcasts noting the BBC provided race highlights. Retrieved 17th Aug '22
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