Vanwall
| Surname | Vanwall |
|---|---|
| Companies | Vandervell Products Ltd |
| Company headquarters | Acton near London |
| Team boss | Tony Vandervell |
| statistics | |
| First Grand Prix | Great Britain 1954 |
| Last Grand Prix | Morocco 1958 |
| Race driven | 28 |
| Constructors' championship | 1 (1958) |
| Drivers World Championship | 0 |
| Race wins | 9 |
| Pole positions | 7th |
| Fastest laps | 6th |
| Points | 48 |
Vanwall was an English Formula 1 racing team. In 1958 he won the Formula 1 constructors' championship, which was held for the first time that year.
prehistory
The successful, but also short, career of this team began with the wish of the British industrialist Tony Vandervell , given the dominance of the Italian teams Alfa Romeo and Ferrari until the 1953 Formula 1 season and the temporary superiority of Mercedes-Benz in 1954 and in 1955 to build a competitive British racing team. The UK offered a large and good driver potential. The technically optimal material was usually found on the European mainland.
Beginnings
Vandervell was initially involved in the ambitious plans for the BRM project. However, since this had considerable start-up problems, he decided to try it on his own. In 1949 he acquired some Ferrari - seaters from the 1.5-liter Type 125 - which was open to any financially strong private citizen at the time - she was by his engineers and mechanics take apart and modify slightly. After the cars had been repainted in the traditional British Racing Green (which Vandervall was more of a turquoise green ), they were called Thinwall Special . Journalists spoke of the English Ferrari given the origin of the car .
In-house construction
In 1954 Vanwall tried its own design, the Vanwall Special . The name was combined from the first syllable of the holder and the last of the test vehicle. Since this year Formula 1 was held World Championship after the new 2.5-liter regulations, commissioned Vandervell its designer John Cooper , a new chassis for his own on the basis of four Norton - motorcycle engines designed 2-liter -Motor to construct. Vandervell was able to “borrow” this from the renowned English brand because his father CA Vandervell was a board member of this company. For the cladding, Frank Costin was commissioned to design an extremely streamlined outer skin.
Two second placements showed the potential of the construction. However, frequent material defects annoyed Mike Hawthorn , who switched to arch-rival Ferrari. Neither Peter Collins nor Ken Wharton , who "played" the test pilot for a long time, or Harry Schell could achieve outstanding results. It was not until 1955 that an almost competitive 2.5-liter unit was available.
successes
When developing the engine, the young Colin Chapman earned his first merits as a designer. When the engine was first used in 1956, with its 285 hp it proved to be on a par with the competition. In Silverstone at the BRDC International Trophy , which is not part of the World Cup , Stirling Moss was able to record the first victory in the debut of the completely redesigned model. At the French Grand Prix, Schell overtook the Ferraris of Collins and Castellotti and did not let Juan Manuel Fangio shake him off.
The year 1957 brought further successes. After a hard fight against Jean Behra in the Maserati , Moss finished the British Grand Prix as the winner. For the first time since 1923 a British driver had won his home Grand Prix on British equipment. The experiment with a streamlined racing car driven by Roy Salvadori in Reims in 1957 , however, was unsuccessful.
With a total of nine Grand Prix victories by 1958, Vanwall was one of the top teams; however, the reliability of the car was often insufficient. In 1958, the drivers of the racing team were involved in many internal disputes and took points away from each other. At the end of the 1958 Formula 1 season , Mike Hawthorn became the first British Formula 1 driver's world champion in a Ferrari. Stirling Moss , Tony Brooks and Stuart Lewis-Evans , who died in an accident during the season, won the constructors' championship for Vanwall. The death of Lewis-Evans, whose driver's seat went up in flames from the heat of the engine at the Morocco Grand Prix , took away the joy of Vandervell's success.
retreat
In the following two years Vanwall could not build on these results. After Vandervell had achieved his goal and demonstrated not only the equality but also the superiority of British technology in racing, he is said to have lost his interest in motorsport. In addition, his health was compromised. The racing stable was dissolved in 1960, and Vandervell died seven years later.
Vanwall car types
| Type | Deployed | driver |
|---|---|---|
| Special | 1954/1955 | Mike Hawthorn , Peter Collins , Ken Wharton , Alan Brown , Harry Schell , Desmond Titterington |
| Vanwall | 1956/1958 | Stirling Moss , Roy Salvadori , Tony Brooks , Mike Hawthorn , José Froilán González , Maurice Trintignant , Piero Taruffi , Stuart Lewis-Evans , Harry Schell |
| Vanwall | 1959/1960 | Tony Brooks |