Maserati 250F

The last campaign

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History

Introduction

Races are the natural ground for experimentation and innovation, but not always the winning racing car is the most revolutionary one: the motor racing history, in fact, is dotted with cars that had nothing particularly innovative, but they have just restricted themselves to activate, as best, knowledge and technology available at that time. That fact is not to be read as a fault and the history of the 250F is there to prove it. Simplicity and rationality of the project are a reason enough to be interested in that single-seater, but to all that we have to add its extraordinary longevity: the 250F has trodden the boards of F1 in the 1954 Argentine GP, that has been won thanks to Juan Manuel Fangio's magnificent qualities, up to the 1960 States GP, last act in the 2500cc formula. A remarkable "palmarès" piled up in that long period: the single-seater, born in Modena, got 8 pole positions, 12 fast laps, 8 victories, 6 second places, 12 third places and 41 scores on points, out of 281 entries. If all that was not sufficient to smash down the doors for its extraordinary qualities, we may enjoy seeing the endless list of drivers who have driven one of the 35 built cars: they are 62 and, glancing over the list, we can meet the most famous names of that time motor racing.: Stirling Moss, Alberto Ascari, Gigi Villoresi, Phill Hill, Luigi Musso, Peter Collins, Carroll Shelby, Jack Brabham and even a woman, Maria Teresa de Filippis, who, in a male chauvinist world like F1, succeeded in imposing herself, with remarkable results too. On top, certainly, we have Juan Manuel Fangio, who found in the 250F his last race mate to gain his fifth world title in 1957 and run the final races of an extraordinary career. The unhappy part of the story, much unhappier in respect of the previous ones, tells us that the 250F car was the last Maserati single-seater taking part in a F1 championship: in the 1960's the activity of Trident will be restricted to produce sports cars, with the innovative Birdcage series, procure engines to the Cooper company, and then be nearly at the end after the turbulent changes of its owners and a finance and technical crisis. Only after passing under Ferrari's protective wing, Maserati found again its way to races with the GT programme. All that series of data and events is only restricted to F1: it's probably impossible to reckon the collection of results got during hundreds of entries, out of championship, when they were allowed to run a race everywhere and at the wheel of whatever car. Well, what we are going to describe is only the part emerging from an iceberg, too big, made of skill, anecdotes, men, races and passions.

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Introduction

History

The dimmed Trident

To understand what was the 250F in the designer's intentions and what really represented in the history of Trident, we need to go back with respect to that famous 1954, to return to 1950 and to the first Formula One World Championship, reconstructing what happened at that time. After war, the company has changed skin under Adolfo Orsi's impulse, an industrialist from Modena, who took over the property of the three brothers Maserati in 1937. To the building activity of racing cars, that had been the core business since the origin of the company, they added the GT car production. In the new context races were no longer an instrument end to themselves only, but they became the propellant to advertise and sell production-model cars, which, on their turn, had to finance the competitive activity: a virtuous circle that could suddenly turn out into a spiral plunge. Not too far from Modena, at Maranello, Enzo Ferrari was going on the same way, starting a parochial fiery rivalry that went beyond the racetrack. Apparently the contenders' behaviour was quite different between them; Ferrari's behaviour was impetuous and polemic, Orsi's was more gentlemanlike and detached; the Maranello environment was so neurotic as the Modena one was calm and familiar. As a matter of fact, quite heavy "caresses" were flying under external attitudes and Ferrari was in the right to squawk against "those people", particularly after that Adolfo Orsi had tried to cut him off with his intervention at the banks that were financing him. With the newly formed first world championship of F1, both cocks of the walk were at the end beaten on same way. The race queen was the Alfa 158, that reached the top with Farina and repeated its success on the following year (in the variant 159) with Fangio. In 1953, the first regulation change in the F1 history, opened the doors to the less powerful F2 cars: two years later from the its start, championship was already gasping for the lack of competitors and performance. Prescribed changes are always a good opportunity to mix up the values at stake, and with the Alfa Romeo company excluded that could no longer afford to spend a fortune for races, at Maserati's they hoped that their moment would have come. On the contrary, it was Ferrari that took advantage of the situation, whose 500F2, driven by Ascari and designed by Aurelio Lampredi, was simply above the Trident A6GCM, conceived by Alberto Massimino and Antonio Bellentani. Trying to react, Adolfo Orsi succeeded in striking a blow by recruiting Gioacchino Colombo, the brains behind the Alfetta 158 and the first Ferraris. His first task was just to start working on the non very competitive A6GCM. Colombo concentrated on the in-line six-cylinder engine of 1,978 cc, that delivered 180 bhp 7000 rpm: his first move was to play on bore and stroke getting a 1,988cc engine that reached 1000 rounds more than the original one, even if delivering same power. The real improvement was only obtained by the following features: 1,997 cc piston displacement, compression ratio increased 13:1 to 13.75:1 and an ignition with two valves per cylinder: finally engine power reached 190 bhp at 8000 rpm, exceeding the 185 bhp delivered by the 4-cyl Ferrari. At the same time suspensions, braking system were improved and the chassis went on a diet, bringing the single-seater total weight to 650 kg. At last, such treatment obtained the desired results taking the victory at the Italian GP in 1953, i.e. the last race with 2-litre engines: too late. As a matter of fact, problems arisen on A6GCM and relevant worked out solutions gave good grounds for experience so as to permit the construction of next single-seater of Trident: the 250F.

The first one was a good car

The main restriction that Maserati designers had to deal with on starting from a white sheet, was the simplicity of construction: the single-seater, besides being fast, had to be with easy maintenance, by allowing a quick access to mechanical elements. Maserati had never had its own racing team, even if it could happen that a competitor should enter a race on "Officine Alfieri Maserati" behalf. The real company resource was made by its private clients, who could still afford to run in Formula One at that time. These gentlemanly drivers are not to be confused with present-day and notorious "drivers with suitcase". Private clients were people with resources and extreme enthusiasm for races, they often ran at the same times as professional drivers. Without sponsorship, they provided at their own expense for covering the race entering and travelling costs. Then, there were small racing teams, like the "Centro Sud" (South Centre) that restricted themselves to managing the cars: for that kind of clients, the single-seater had to be necessarily stout and easy for maintenance purposes, as they could not afford to have the resources and means of the official racing teams. Poker of aces made by Bellentani, Massimino, Colombo e Colotti started working with alacrity. Once determined that the new prop shaft would have been an in-line six-cylinder engine, a furious fight broke out among the brains: Colombo made for the door to go back to Maranello. The object of the quarrel was the dimension of bore and stroke, afterwards fixed in 84 mm and 75 mm respectively, for a total displacement of 2,485.5 cc. The new engine unit was characterized by a 12/1 compression ratio and a power of 240 bhp at 7200 rpm, rating bound to the fuel mixture. With regard to that one, the company advised a fuel made of 50% methanol, 35% gasoline with 80 octane rating, 10% acetone, 4% benzol and 1% caster oil: acetone minimized the combustion time, benzol assured the correct mixing of gasoline and methanol, while caster oil reduced the solvent effect of alcohol on the thin lubricating film formed on the walls. Going to extremes of the mixture, they could get a higher rating, obviously to the detriment of mechanic reliability. To have a perfect combustion, they kept the ignition with two valves per cylinder, already existing in the A6GCM. The aluminium engine block had seven main bearings equipped with bearings "Thin Wall" Vandervell, while crankshaft and connecting rods were made of steel. The lubricating system was a dry-sump lubrication, while for the distribution they adopted the already tested system of two overhead camshafts, two valves per cylinder. The feed was supplied by three twin-choke carburettors "Weber 42DCO3" . Thanks to the use of light alloys they succeeded in maintaining the prop shaft at 197 kg, including the single-plate dry clutch built by Maserati. As for the chassis they chose a simple tubular frame, made of chrome-molybdenum steel tubes, 40 mm thick, welded together, a trellis shaped structure that was light and stiff at the same time. To get a better weight distribution, the four speed gearbox was moved to the rear axle, linked in unit with a ZF limited slip differential. The unit was housed in the De Dion rear axle with a trasverse leaf spring, attached to the upper side of the frame. To move the weight towards the barycentre, De Dion bar was placed in front of the differential, like on Ferrari cars. Front suspensions were unequal-length parallel wishbones with Houdaille shock absorbers. The Braking system was assured by four efficient aluminium drums built by Maserati, fitted with two leading shoes front and single leading rear. Frame and mechanical parts were coated by a thin aluminium body panel, according to a neat and tapered style, but traditional enough, dominated on the front side by the big oval shaped mouth. The body side panels were characterized by numerous notches on the plate so as to let heat go out from the engine room and to cool the cockpit; on the left side a long and straight exhaust pipe went out from the bonnet to run towards the tail that supported a big 200 litre tank, taper and streamline shaped. The whole rested on four rims with Borrani 16 inch. spokes, a real symbol of speed, matched with Pirelli Stelvio tyres 5.50x16 front and 7.00x16 rear. Front track was wider than the rear one (1300 mm to 1250) while the wheelbase reached 2280 mm out of an overall length of 4 m approx. The driver's seat, owing to the crankshaft crossing the cockpit, was quite high secured, holding the pilot in a non-very aerodynamic seating position. Same tunnel divided the pedals: on the left hand the clutch, on the right hand the accelerator and brake. Behind the big diameter steering wheel "Nardi" type, there were few essential instruments gathered in a small dashboard; on the right hand, lower, a short gearbox lever with a grid selector. First time in the history of single-seater cars, a bowed windshield replaced the traditional squared little glass, by thinning aerodynamic flux in the cockpit space and improving the driver's protection. Not even the more refined technicians in Mercedes, who were at the same time studying the sophisticated W196 in the wind tunnel, succeeded in working out a so simple and effective solution: when commonsense surpasses technology! The new creature made its debut at the racing circuit of Modena in December 1953: honour and burden to test the qualities of the single-seater were from first granted to Guerrino Bertocchi, the Maserati historic test driver, who passed the 250F with full marks. Meanwhile, at the head office of Viale Ciro Menotti in Modena, there was a shower of orders so as to oblige Maserati to build a temporary variant based on the A6GCM frame matched with the new engine. When also the new frame was ready, the customer returned the single-seater and the prop shaft was moved. The one who invested money and hopes in the 250F couldn't help finding comfort in Juan Manuel Fangio's victory in the first season GP , in his Argentina. However the away race to South America was also useful to highlight the defects of the single-seater, thus starting a continuous development that ended only in 1958.

Aggressive evolution

The first big problem of the 250F was its cooling system: if it had not been for a providential storm that altered the values in the field, Fangio could have scarcely taken the victory in the Argentine GP. In Modena they revised the cooling system, moving the 20 litre oil tank to the tail behind the big fuel tank. As for this last they passed from a welded construction to a riveted one that offered major sturdy qualities. By the end of 1954 the Maserati company received a terrible blow with Bellentani and Massimino's resignations, both of them passed to Ferrari. The defection brought Giulio Alfieri on the front line, a young engineer from Parma who had taken charge of the single-seater development from that moment. At the same time the rearrangement of Maserati race dept. was decided: an increasingly level of competitiveness did not permit to rely exclusively on private clients. The formation of a Maserati race team meant only to make explicit what actually had already happened during the 54's season. The crushing leadership shown by Mercedes cars obliged Maserati engineers to look for betterments in every sector so as to try to bridge the gap: in October 1954 a new revised bodywork appeared, fitted with fewer air holes and therefore more streamline shaped. On the right side of the bonnet there was also a long air intake for the feed of carburettors and during the following season, they introduced horizontal fins on the body sides, behind the rear wheels, already introduced in 1951 by Alfa Romeo. In April 1955 it was the turn of a new five speed gearbox, matched with a revised ZF differential. For the first time Weber 45 DCO3 carburettors were also used, although they turned out to be insufficient against direct injection employed by Mercedes. At the season end they risked everything, entering the fray with a streamlined variant of the 250F . As an experiment they used the "2512" chassis, that had a sinister reputation, on that car, in fact, Marimon lost his life on the terrible course of Nurburgring, while Sergio Mantovani compromised his career seriously in a crash at the GP in Turin. The car re-numbered "2518", was equipped with side tanks filling the room between front and rear wheels: although dangerously positioned in case of accident, they allowed a better weight distribution, nose and tail were redesigned wider, so as to fair the wheels and minimize turbulences caused by them, while cockpit sides were raised to protect and wrapped up the driver's area in a better way. Even if very fine profiled, the new dress wasn't sufficient to reverse its inferiority situation towards the W196 cars: the car lined up at the GP of Italy, gained the fourth place with Jean Behra at the wheel. In the same month, it took part in the GP in Siracusa, ending fifth. The streamliner (monoposto aerodinamica) was quickly put aside and in the summer of 1956 was damaged by a fire: the frame was saved but we haven't heard any more about the bodywork. Meanwhile studies were going on to improve the engine performance. Alfieri himself remembered his efforts in an interview given a few years ago: "the starting power was 240/245bhp, by feeding the prop shaft with a mixture of petrol and alcohol. We reached 270bhp with petrol. Between 1956 and 1957 I made a study on flame actuators that permitted to get up to 290bhp. Consumptions were high, but at the end the benefit was such as to allow one more pit stop for filling up with petrol." It was also studied a better outlet for exhaust gas, the two main manifolds being unified in a terminal one. The GP at Monza in 1956 was again an opportunity to show important novelties: known as "Fuoricentro" the 2525 and 2526 chassis mounted an engine, angled slightly "fuoricentro" off to the left to move the transmission shaft and allow a lower seating position. The two cars showed also a revised streamlined bodywork, featured by a more outlined and longer nose, a cockpit with higher walls and a wider air intake on the bonnet. At the end of 1956 the Maserati finances had already been worn out by motor sport activities, but Adolfo Orsi intervened to cover over holes, also because, meanwhile, the company Maserati had hired Fangio for next season. The Argentine driver, besides having an extraordinary talent for driving, he could envisage what car could be the winner. To propitiate the win; the Trident house did not skimp on means; gathering experience and the experiments of the preceding years, revised the single-seater project deeply, launching the new "Tipo 2". The aerodynamic betterments, already introduced by the "Fuoricentro" were matched with the new conception of a stiffer and lighter chassis, thanks to the use of smaller tubular elements. The overall weight of the car decreased in this way from 670 kg to 630 kg. All together three "Tipo 2" chassis were built up: 2527,2528 and 2529, with the second one preferred by Jean Behra, characterised by a 2240 mm wheelbase. Continual research brought Maserati engineers to experiment the construction of a new V-12 60 degree prop shaft. The new 2,476 cc unit, fed by three Weber "35 IDM" carburettors and fitted with twin plug ignition per cylinder, delivered the exuberant power of 300 bhp at 10000 rpm. The performance benefits that could be given by this unit were eliminated by a rear tyre minor lifespan and a higher fuel consumption, V12 was only used in two events: during practices for the GP at Monaco with Fangio, and on the occasion of the Italian GP with Jean Behra, who retired because of overheating. Even without 12-cyl power, Fangio was in a position to bring the world title to Modena. Maserati, exhausted by finance efforts, could finally announce its withdrawal from Formula One, continuing only to support private clients. In the spring of 1958 the company went into receivership, and went out of it thanks to the commercial success of GT cars. Notwithstanding the withdrawal of the official team and finance troubles, the 250F had a further development: thanks to the shortened races distance in GPs, it was possible to build smaller sized cars. The Tipo 3, or "Piccolo" had a sorter chassis, a weight limited to 550 kilo only and a more streamlined nose. The 2532 chassis was employed by Fangio in his last appearance at the French GP, in 1958, and then it was sold to the Temple Buell, together with the chassis 2533. The American race team employed both cars to let Carroll Shelby and Masten Gregory run the race. The 2532 had the honour to take part in the last race of the 2.5 litre formula: the 1960 United States GP . The last chassis built up, the 2535, was started by Maserati, but finished by Valerio Colotti in his new workshop," Officina Tecnica Meccanica" from which it took the name of "Tec-Mec". Among the about 35 built chassis, each one with its glorious history, two of them are worth mentioning: the first is the 2509, bought by the Owen Racing Corporation in 1954, entrant for British Racing Motors (BRM). The English drivers, preparing themselves to take part in the Formula One, mounted rims and Dunlop disk brakes on their model in order to test their effectiveness. The second chassis was the 2513; also finished in 1954, it was supplied to the Vandervell Products Ltd, manufacturer of the famous bearings "Thin Wall", officially like t-car. As a matter of fact, Tony Vandervel, the company's founder and BRM's former partner, thought of a F1 manufacturing of his own to break the intrusive dominium of the continental racing cars, and in particular, the Italian cars. In 1957 the Vanwall, from the name of its Team, gave a lot of trouble to the 250F driven by Fangio and next year the company won the first Constructors Cup in the history of the F1: the English teams were starting to lay hands on the championship thanks to Vandervell's example. And also partly due to the 250F.

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The car and the others

It's odd the story between the 250F and Juan Manuel Fangio: since his debut in Argentina, this Argentine driver looked like the predestined bridegroom of the new monoposto. Two Maserati cars for Fangio and his protégé Marimon, said "Pinocho", landed at the racing circuit in Buenos Aires. The strongest contenders seemed the three Ferrari cars driven by Farina, Gonzales and Hawthorn, and in fact, it was just the Italian driver who gained the pole position, relegating Fangio to the third place and Marinon to the sixth. On Sunday, a providential storm saved Fangio from overheating problems of his single-seater, and let him take the lead of the race ahead Farina and Gonzales. Nothing doing for Marinon, whose engine breathed its last. In Belgium, at the Spa Francorchamps circuit the 250 F team was enriched by other drivers: to Fangio, Marinon and Sergio Mantovani, entered for Officine Alfieri Maserati, they added Stirling Moss who drove a single-seater, managed by his team and the Prince Bira's. Pole position was still gained by Farina, but in race it was Fangio who dominated the contenders. With that victory the romance between the Argentine driver and Maserati ceased, since the beginning both of them knew it would have not last for a long time, given that Fangio had already an agreement with Mercedes. Only a delay in setting up the German single-seater obliged the crack racing driver to look for another car for the season first GPs. Maserati lost the man who could make a difference, but Fangio gained a single-seater that seemed to appear out of the blue. To say that W196 was revolutionary may seem restrictive: designed by Professor Nallinger and set up by Eng. Uhlenhaut, the German single-seater is characterized by a tubular space frame, independent suspensions on four wheels and a straight 8, direct injection, engine. Thanks to its streamlined profile, allowing 1 second's lead over the contenders on high speed circuits, the W196 car has much more to do with a sports car than with a real F1. Obviously, there is no rose without a thorn : W196 is sophisticated, complicated to get the perfect setup, not so easy from maintenance point of view and above all heavy, considering its 680 kg. Besides, on low speed circuits the streamlined bodywork is a nuisance for the drivers who could not see their wheels. Fangio's heated criticisms persuaded German managers to prepare a more conventional variant for the less speed circuits. The debut at Reims meant a quite clear visiting card for contenders: Fangio and Kling dominated far and wide, lapping all other contenders. Maserati tried to answer for the resignation given by the Argentine Master by taking on Ascari and his faithful squire Villoresi, both away from Ferrari and temporarily out of work as they were waiting for the new D50 Lancia. Alberto's debut at the wheel of the 250F was not so encouraging: third on practice, on Sunday he was left out for transmission troubles. Villoresi did better finishing fifth three laps behind the winner. Not even the following British GP seemed to be very successful for Ascari: the Italian driver was stopped by the engine failure just the day when Gonzalez and the Ferrari proved that Mercedes cars could be beaten. Given that Alberto was lack of feeling for the 250F. there will be not a third attempt. Among the eight Maserati cars entering the race, the best one was the car driven by Marimon, who gained the third step of podium. On next German and Swiss GPs "silver arrows" newly dominated. At Nurburgring GP, Stirling Moss came to light, by then the Trident man of reference, who was third in practice, while in race had a default caused by a wheel bearing breakdown. The finishing line was only seen by the Maserati driven by Sergio Mantovani, who finished fifth, about nine minutes from Fangio, the winner. In Switzerland, Moss was still third in practice, but in race the oil pump failed. The best 250F was the car driven by Mieres, who saw the checked flag third placed, ahead of the twin single-seaters driven by Mantovani and Wharton. The Italian GP let Maserati have a temporary illusion when Moss took the lead preceding Fangio, obliged to calm down after leaving the track, a couple of times, without consequences. It's still the lubricating system to cheat the young English driver, who is obliged to waste 44" at pitstop to fill up with oil. After newly joining the fight, Stirling proved he could still make up for lost time over the Argentine champion, but the oil pressure again dropped dangerously and he had to give up: with the remaining oil circulating he finished tenth, overtaken by the Maserati cars driven by Mantovani and Rosier. In Spain on Pedralbes circuit, the W196 cars dominium was once again interrupted: it doesn't matter, because Fangio, also thanks to the two victories gained with Maserati, had already widely captured his second World Championship. The protagonist was the eagerly awaited Lancia D50 that, thanks to Ascari's talented drive, ran easily away from the contenders, before a failure prevented him to enjoy the win. Hawthorn took the lead at the wheel of Ferrari, tailed by the Maserati driven by Harry Schell, while Moss was grappling with his usual "tête à tête" with the oil pump. Hawthorn, in spite of his showing off papillon and impeccable style, in race everybody knew well that he wasn't a real gentleman and he didn't hesitate for a moment to make poor Schell leave the track. Thus the second step of podium was gained by Luigi Musso at the wheel of the 250F, a young Roman champion that Maserati company practically brought up at home. In 1955 Maserati was going through a lean period: Moss joined Fangio going to Mercedes and Trident relied on Schell, Behra, Perdisa and Musso, but it was this last who got the best score: he came third in the Dutch GP. The rest is reduced to a powder. The continuous technical up-dating was not sufficient to stop the Mercedes cars that won 4 GPs with Fangio and one GP with Moss. Only the Monaco GP was won by Ferrari 625 driven by Trintignant. During that Grand Prix, Ascari fell into the sea at the chicane of the port at the wheel of his Lancia D50: he was fished out of it unharmed, but after a couple of days Alberto will lose his life during a Monza practice session, at the wheel of the Ferrari. The only positive fact that, at the end of the year Marcedes withdrew from races for evident superiority. Fangio was again on drivers' market and he could also go back to Maserati to continue the talk interrupted in 1954: he knew the car and also knew that the familiar environment at Ciro Menotti avenue was congenial to his nature. However, on the following season he chose to go to Maranello, where "Commendatore" Ferrari, with Fiat's aid, has taken over all the motor race equipment belonging to Lancia, that ceased every motor sport activities after Ascari's tragedy. The Argentine was very well aware that, Mercedes cars excluded, the car to be defeated was the D50. Ferrari and Fangio didn't love each other but, but at that moment they needed each other: the union of convenience will lead to many victories but also to aftermaths of poisonous controversies. At the horsy court also Luigi Musso landed. In Maserati they tried to alert the young Roman driver of the ambiguity that often characterized Ferrari environment, but Luigi was charmed by siren call and he changed team. In return, at the Maserati sport race direction two drivers were coming: Nullo Ugolini, who ran away from Ferrari, and Stirling Moss, who was also orphaned by Mercedes, and will be running by Behra's side, the former Belgian motorcycle racer: to those three men was entrusted the hard task to bring home the desired title. Outbreak of hostilities in Argentine, at Fangio's home; obviously it was he who won, but things were not going off smoothly as they hoped. Due to engine failure, the Argentine had to borrow the single-seater from Musso, whom he shared the score with. Maserati, lost Moss quickly for engine failure, took the lead for a few laps driven by Carlos Menditeguy, before its axle shaft was breaking down. Fangio took again the lead of the race and captured the victory over the Maserati cars driven by Jean Behra and Mike Hawthorn, the latter car was managed by the Owen Racing Organisation. Next Monaco GP was the scene of a hard battle between Moss and the D50 driven by Fangio, who was then obliged to retire for a suspensions trouble and get on Collins single-seater. The Argentine succeeded in placing behind Stirling, followed on his turn by an effective Jean Behra. In Belgium the Ferrari-Fangio couple burst out: launched to a certain victory, Juan Manuel had to retire, he told then because someone had neglected the oil-top up. In his mind it was a sabotage with the aim to let Collins, his team mate, win. Notwithstanding the contender's misfortune, at Maserati it was no laughing matter, Moss after being second on the start grid, found himself off the race because of a lost wheel. Behra, not in good form, closed seventh and only the third place got by Cesare Perdisa permits a wan smile. No improvement in the following French GP: Moss, after qualifying brilliantly, is obliged to retire due to gearbox troubles. Behra captured the third place by force, but Collins won once again, while Fangio was obliged to withdraw in consequence of a mysterious accident: the breakdown of the fuel-pressure gauge caused a squirt that hit him full in his face. The Argentine felt more and more as he were in the middle of a plot, but on next British GP the victory favoured him again, while Moss was still suffering. Fortified by his pole position, Stirling tried to break with negative series, but his 250F betrayed him again with the axle shaft breakdown. The best Maserati car was still the one driven by Jean Behra, who finished third. In the German GP, Moss finally saw the finishing line again but he came second, 46 " from Fangio, the winner. On the contrary, Behra went on with his subscription for the third place. In the Italian GP, the season last act, Moss was by then done for the title running, it was a matter between Fangio and Collins, but a victory is always a victory. On the grid Castellotti and Musso, both at the wheel of the D50 Ferrari cars, got the better of it, but after four laps they ran to the pit stop to change the left rear wheel. Fangio took the lead for one lap, but he had to let Moss pass and the Vanwall car driven by Schell. Obliged to retire, the Argentine driver succeeded in convincing Collins of cutting himself from the race for the championship and to give him the car, just while Moss was going back to the pit stop for refuelling. Musso took the lead, but after only two laps he had to retire due to the front left wheel that was almost locked, returning the first place to Moss, while Fangio was making a forceful comeback behind him: both of them will cross the finishing line with a few sec.' gap between each other. Moss left Maserati for the 1957 season to join the Vanwall company: the English single-seater had an innovative chassis designed with Collin Chapman's aid and a careful streamlined bodywork, the result of Frank Costin's intuitions. Powered by a Norton engine, the car achieved a high competitive standard and it seemed it could be included among the contenders for the 1957 title. Instead of Moss, Fangio arrived: aware of having lived a season characterized by too many favours from his team mates, he was looking for taking his moral revenge and the way to put behind him the polemics that marked his year in Ferrari. The season started in Argentina, and it was a triumph: four Maserati cars first four places. The victory was carried off by Fangio, followed by Behra, Menditeguy and Schell. Moss, who had accepted to run once again at the wheel of the 250F as he was waiting for the Vanwall car, finished eighth even if breaking the fastest lap record. Ferrari drivers in difficulties as they were struggling against clutch troubles. At Monaco Fangio was still the winner, favoured by the withdrawals of all three drivers Moss, Collins and Hawthorn, excluded from the race because of an accident. Brooks arrived behind the Argentine at the wheel of his Vanwall, but the Maserati driven by Masten Gregory scored the third place. With regard to that race, there is a funny anecdote reported by Leo Turrini in his Enzo Ferrari' s biography: " Fangio gave to understand that in 1957, just to make him lose his concentration at the eve of the Monaco race, it was Ferrari himself who would have convinced a famous actress to offer the Argentine to spend a passionate love night with her. Offer, moreover, rejected by the driver (Enzo's comment on this concern: "If I had really had that woman on my disposal, I would have kept her, but certainly I wouldn't have sent her to him")." In France, Fangio ran away in the championship thanks to the third consecutive victory, while Schell and Behra were finishing fifth and sixth respectively. Ferrari cars recovered ground and snatched a second place with Musso. In the British GP, raced on such occasion on the Aintree circuit, the positive series of Trident was suddenly broken off. The race away from home came to a bad end: Fangio retired because of the engine failure, as Menditeguy did on account of transmission, Behra for clutch, while Schell had the water pump completely gone. The victory was gained by a great Moss, who crossed the finishing line with 25 sec.' lead over Musso. At Nurburgring Fangio recorded the finest victory in his career: favoured by his pole position, on the start grid the Argentine ran away from his contenders, but an unforeseen stop to change the tyres left him 50 sec. behind Hawthorn and Collins in the leading Ferraris. Fangio joined the fight and performed an incredible comeback that took him again in the lead, winning the German GP three years in a row. It is said that Fangio was the only driver who passed completely on the bump before the finishing line, making the single-seater jump from one edge to the other of the track with absolute precision so as to gain a handful of seconds over his contenders. Only in 1957, for the famous Pescara Grand Prix, he got the validity for the Formula One Championship. On the Abruzzo circuit, Moss dominated before Fangio, Schell and Masten Gregory, the last at the wheel of the 250F of the" Scuderia Centro Sud". The season ended at Monza: Moss started as quick as lightning and took the lead of the race, but after four laps he had to surrender to the 12-cyl Maserati driven by Behra. Moss took again "ill-gotten gains" when the Belgian driver was faced by an engine failure. Fangio was the only one to hold out against the Vanwall hectic rhythm, but he had to content himself with the second place, before the Ferrari driven by Von Trips. Fangio won the fifth championship of his career and the Maserati could withdraw after achieving the dreamed and pursued target for a long time. Two single-seaters of the race team were sold to Fangio and Menditeguy, who intended to race as private customers in the 1958 season. The Argentine champion never went further than the fourth place and after the tragic French GP, where Musso lost his life, he realized he had enough of races and retired. The way was still long for the 250F, more and more behind the line-ups, more and more full of "aches and pains". Nevertheless, there were still many drivers who relied on that car and tried the F1 adventure: some just for fun, others, young people and with little money, hoping to highlight their qualities. It wasn't sufficient the revolution of fast, small-sized and mid-engined "monoposto" to sweep away the old tiger. The last word came from the changed rules that in 1961 envisaged 1500 cc engines . The 1960 United States GP saw the last 250F taking part in a race. Bob Drake crossed the finishing line thirteenth, 7 laps' gap between him and the winner. The lady was really too old.

Stefano Costantino

• Capps D., "Classic Red: the Maserati 250F series", www.8w-forix.com.
• Guzzardi G., Rizzo E., "Cento Anni di automobilismo sportivo"( A hundred years of sport motor racing) Ed. White Star, Vercelli, 2001.
• Montagna P., "Il leggendario Gran Premio d'Italia" (The legendary Italian Grand Prix) A.C. Promotion, Milano, 1989.
• Moroni E., "Quelle vittorie "Lanciate" (Those victories "Lanciate"), in "Ruoteclassiche", January 1994.
• Moroni E., "Sei cilindri per fare cinque" (Six-cylinders to do five). in "Ruoteclassiche", February 1994.
• Rancati G., "Da Tazio a Jean Manuel Fangio (From Tazio to Jean Manuel Fangio), in "Ruoteclassiche", May 1996.
• Stassano A., "Cinque uomini e un Tridente" (Five men and a Trident), in "Ruoteclassiche", November 2001.
• Stassano A., " Non smise mai di crescere" (Never stopped to grow up), in "Ruoteclassiche", December 1999.
• Turrini L., "Enzo Ferrari, un eroe italiano" (Enzo Ferrari, an Italian hero), Mondadori, Milano 2002.

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