First Race In World Drivers' Title Next Month

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28866, 10 April 1959, Page 14

First Race In World Drivers' Title Next Month

the first round of the 1959 world racing drivers* championship just a month away, speculation is rife as to who will succeed the late Mike Hawthorn. There can be little doubt that Stirling Moss, at 29, is the finest racing driver in the world. He has had incredibly bad luck in his quest for the title, and even the best car in the world last year was not able to bring him success. With Fangio in retirement, Moss stands head and shoulders above the drivers who will battle for the title this year, and retains his fervent aim to win the title in a British car.

Disappointment

Moss finished last season a very disappointed man. He had failed by the narrowest of margins to win the title, for he had four first placings to Hawthorn’s one. But under the system of awarding points in the championship, Hawthorn gained points with four seconds to Moss’s one. Hawthorn picked up another six points with a third and fifth placing, but Moss's name is notably absent from the lower placings. Had he been content to finish in a placing rather than win each race, his cars may have lasted the dis-, tance and given him the title. This should not detract from Hawthorn’s fine effort. In world championship races Hawthorn gained fastest lap times on five occasions; Moss gained that distinction only three times.

Cooper B.R.M.

Moss’s chances in this season hinge largely upon the untried Cooper-B.R.M. This is one of the biggest risks any first-rate driver has taken, but Moss must know full well it is worth taking. The B.R.M. engine has established itself as one of the best 2|-litre units ever built, and the Cooper chassis is famous. With one of the finest racing mechanics the world has seen, Alf Francis, tending his car, Moss could sweep all before him if his luck changes. It is reasonable to expect that the car will make a good showing on the slow circuits with its excellent cornering and outstanding acceleration, but what will happen about the faster rate of wear on a Cooper's small tyres on a fast circuit?

Therefore Tony Vandervell’s offer to make one car available to

Moss has provided an answer. He could drive the Cooper-B.R.M. on the tight circuits and the proven Vanwall on the others. But the Vanwall will be last year’s model, and the new Ferraris may have the better of it.

Moss’s Cooper-B.R.M. will be entered by a private owner, Rob Walker, and a second car, with a 2>-litre Coventry-Climax engine, will be driven by Maurice Trintignant, who had a fine win at Monaco last year. Leading the Ferrari team will be C. A. S. “Tony” Brooks, a driver who has made the grade the hard way and will not easily be dispensed with. Last year he won the Grand Prix d'Europe and set up the fastest lap. and won at

the German and Italian events as well. The season marked his sudden rise to prominence and he is certain to do his Ferraris justice. Behra's Chances

Ferrari can also look to Jean Behra, a driver who is inclined to be impetuous, but has a big heart. He had a season last year which was marked by just as much illfortune as Moss’s, and some lucky escapes from injury. He will make a strong second-string to Brooks. The American, Phil Hill, is also signed up with Ferrari, and Moss rates him very highly. The bestperformed American driver since the war, he is still improving after two third placings in Ferraris last year. Cliff Allison, who made a grand showing with Lotuses, and Olivier Gendebien, who partnered Hill in their epic Le Mans win last year, are also signed up. The B.R.M. can look to this season with a great deal of hope. It would raise an interesting position if the final tussle was between a ; B.R.M. driver and Moss, but Bonnier, Schell, and Flockhart, as yet I fall short of world champion 'drivers. Schell, perhaps, has the ; best chance.

Cooper’s little Surbiton cars are certain to make their presence felt in the championship and New Zealand has a special interest here with Bruce McLaren as a team driver.

The cars will this year have potent 2J-litre engines, developing about 20 per cent, more power than the former units. Jack Brabham is also signed up, but in the case of Masten Gregory and Roy Salvadori, Aston Martin may have first call if its Formula I racer proves a success and is able to enter in the later races of the series.

American Challenge

Lance Reventlow will add great interest to the championship with his monoposto Scarabs, but it is unlikely these cars will make much impression in their first season. Chuck Daigh and Reventlow himself will pilot two of the three team cars. Lotuses have so far only signed up Graham Hill as No. 1 driver. The plans for Maserati are uncertain. but the American, Temple Buell, will race two cars powered by the new four-cylinder Maserati engine.