1958 Monaco Grand Prix: An Unlikely Frenchman Steals the Show…Again
By: Jeremy McMullen
In 1955, perhaps the most unlikely of drivers would survive the attrition and the beckoning Monaco harbor to claim his only victory in Formula One. Some three years later, and more unlikely than ever to even win a second race at any circuit, the same Frenchman would steal the crown jewel to become just the second man in Formula One history to earn two or more victories on the streets of the principality. Maurice Trintignant's victory in the chaotic and drama-filled 1955 Monaco Grand Prix was certainly more than just a tad bit unlikely heading into the race. Though behind the wheel of a Ferrari, Trintignant would have little hope with a car that had proven to be off the pace of the Mercedes, Lancias and the Maseratis. In some respects, Ferrari had to approach the race looking to minimize damage.
The start of the race suggested the team might need to save face as Farina would stop after the first lap and would join a couple of the other drivers for the team already well down in the order. The only one at the start in even a relatively strong position would be Trintignant and he would make a poor start and would be forced to make up for lost ground.
But the Frenchman would do just that and he would be up to 3rd place heading into the final half of the race. It was more than remarkable, but Trintignant certainly had some help. Still, he didn't care. That is what racing was all about: speed and stamina.
Then came that chaotic point just about 20 laps from the end. Moss would pull out of the race with his Maserati and Ascari would take a drink in the drink. Suddenly, the highly unlikely Trintignant would be promoted to the lead and, eventually, the victory. Whether Providence, the stars aligning, lightning striking…whatever, the reality would be Maurice would earn his first-ever Formula One victory after having only scored a 2nd place twice before in his World Championship career.
A win is gift no matter what. A victory on the streets of Monaco was like inheriting a fortune. The recipient should treat the experience with reverence since the likelihood of it happening again, historically, is almost impossibly remote for those not considered among Formuila One royalty already.
Heading into the 1958 there would be a couple of other things going against Trintignant pulling off another victory around the Monte Carlo streets. To start with was his age. While Fangio would continue winning World Championships into his late-40s, Maurice was by no means Fangio. And, by early 1958, he was 40 years of age, and well past his prime. Furthermore, after his surprise victory in 1955, the man from Sainte-Cecile-les-Vignes would fail to complete an entire race distance in 1956 and would only have a 4th and a 5th place to his credit in 1957. So, with his age factored into the equation, the poor results indicated Maurice was in his final years of racing.
The fact Trintignant would not even take part in the first round of the '58 World Championship season signified he was no longer the first pick for any team. Instead, he was the solid, steady veteran that provided a team a strong performance, but not that spark of a champion.
Rob Walker Racing Team would have its spark at the beginning part of the 1958 season. Vandervell Products would not attend the first round of the World Championship in Argentina. This opened a door of opportunity to Rob Walker. Walker was an heir to the famous whisky brand bearing the family name. He had the means to go racing and he was intent on making the trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina in early 1958, especially when it was agreed that Stirling Moss would drive for the team.
Walker could not have been more relieved when Moss showed up in Buenos Aires, started from the second row of the grid in the Climax-powered Cooper and ended up going on to victory defeating Luigi Musso by a margin of just under three seconds.
The victory would be the first for the Walker Racing Team in Formula One and appeared to be a gift handed to them by Moss. It worked out beautifully. In agreement to drive for the team, Moss would give them their first victory. Walker couldn't have dreamt for more, but more was coming.
The drive by Moss for Walker would be a one-off situation, for, when the World Championship returned to Europe for the second round, Moss would be back with Vandervell. Walker now needed a competitive driver with the ability to take what was essentially still a Formula 2 car and deliver a strong enough performance to come away with a potential points-paying result.
And a points-paying result was certainly a possibility at a circuit like Monaco with its tight hairpins and relatively short straights. Placing a premium on handling and acceleration and braking, the 1.95 mile circuit did not play to the strengths of out-right horsepower and top-end speed. A good handling car had the ability to give a faster, more powerful car, fits around the streets of Monte Carlo, and, with its mid-engine arrangement and light weight, the new Cooper T45 certainly had the better handling part in its corner.
Honestly, many of the very top drivers were already in contract with other teams for the race. Furthermore, there were very few available that even had a podium result in a Formula One race, let alone a victory. Trintignant, however, offered Walker a bit of everything. He was consistent and certainly made few mistakes. He was also very experienced and knew when to push and when to play it smart. Furthermore, he was a victor on the streets of Monaco on top of just being a grand prix winner. So, despite being 40 years of age, Trintignant offered Walker a whole lot more positives than negatives.
Trintignant would join Ron Flockhart at Walker Racing and would end up being given the team's new T45 while Flockhart would have to make do with the slightly older T43. Even still, the task before Trintignant would be no less challenging. He would come into a new team before the biggest race of the season and would need to be comfortable behind the wheel of a car with entirely different handling characteristics of that of the front-engined cars filling up much of the grid.
In spite of all this, Trintignant would look immediately comfortable behind the wheel of the Cooper as he would end up on the second row of the grid having posted a fastest lap time of 1:41.1. The fastest man around the circuit in practice would be Tony Brooks in the Vanwall. He would lap the circuit in 1:39.8 taking the pole by a whole second over Jean Behra in a BRM P25. Jack Brabham would complete the front row in the first of the mid-engined Coopers. His best time would be 1:41.0 and would be just mere hundredths of a second quicker than Roy Salvadori, his Cooper factory teammate.
Heading to the start of the race, Trintignant would need to take care and make sure he got away from the grid as quickly as possible. Otherwise, he faced the potential of being swallowed up by those behind him and then dealing with the very real possibility of incurring damage through contact in the tight Gazometre hairpin.
A rear-engined car had achieved the first grand prix victory since the days before the Second World War. Furthermore, Rob Walker would end up the first privateer team to win a Formula One race. Therefore, Trintignant had a chance of earning a strong result in the 100 lap race.
A bright sunny day greeted the principality. The Walker Racing Cooper with Trintignant would be in a strong position and the revolution in Formula One was truly coming to the fore. The cars would be lined up on the grid and the spectators would overflow every balcony and every foot along the walls. The race was about ready. The flag was about to drop, Behra would jump-start slightly but would come to a halt before the flag actually dropped. Then, finally, the race would be on with the cars powering their way toward the tight hairpin for the first time.
Pouring into the hairpin from all angles, Salvadori would attempt to assert himself into the lead by diving in late to the corner. This would cause a great deal of mayhem and consternation to those around him. Salvadori would end up going wide into the corner and would end up being hit in the side by another car causing him to limp around the circuit. Behra would slip through into the lead with Brooks, Brabham and Moss following along closely behind.
At the conclusion of the first lap it would be Behra still holding onto the lead over Brooks. Moss would take advantage of his experience around the circuit to take 3rd place away from Brabham. Trintignant would be in 5th place and within striking distance.
Behra would lead over Brooks throughout the first 20 laps, or so, of the race. Mike Hawthorn would come charging up through the field and would end up in 3rd place before 10 laps had passed. This pushed Moss down a place right along with Brabham and Trintignant.
The Coopers were showing well despite Salvadori's problems that dropped him to the tail-end of the field. Trintignant and Brabham battled it out until Brabham ran into trouble and would end up dropping down the running order. Up at the front, Behra would still be in the lead with Hawthorn having moved up to 2nd place. Brooks would be in trouble and would begin to slide down the order himself. In fact, by the 22nd lap, Trintignant would be by to take over 4th place.
The Cooper T45 was suiting Maurice quite well as he maintained his pressure on the trio ahead of him. Then, just prior to the 30th lap, Behra would have the brakes on his BRM fail him taking him out of the race. Moss would gather himself and would begin to take the fight back to Hawthorn. These two Brits would each enjoy spells in the lead but would battle back and forth until Moss dropped out of the race just prior to the 40th lap as a result of a failing engine. Suddenly, and quite similar to 1955, Trintignant would be riding the wave of attrition to the front of the field. He would find himself in 2nd place behind Hawthorn and more than ready to pounce if presented the opportunity.
That opportunity would come just less than 10 laps after Moss retired from the race. All the while Moss and Hawthorn battled for the lead, Trintignant would end up being not far behind in 3rd place. The Frenchman looked like a rejuvenated man, full of speed and vigor for a man now over 40. Following Moss' retirement, Hawthorn had looked in control at the front. Furthermore, Trintignant was just one Cooper holding back a sea of red. There was plenty of time for the Ferraris to catch and pass the Walker Racing driver.
But they would have to catch him first, and this was proving to be much more difficult than it would have appeared at the start of the race. Trintignant was on the downward side of his career. Behind him was the fast Musso, von Trips and others. It seemed a foregone conclusion the Cooper would not be able to hold back such a tide. Instead, however, it would be Hawthorn that would not be able to hold back Trintignant. The fuel pump on the Ferrari would fail leaving him unable to produce any kind of power. Able to keep within yards of the Ferrari, Trintignant would recognize his moment and would sweep into the lead. It would be remarkable to have the revolutionary Cooper in the lead for the second World Championship race in a row, and with the rather sedate Trintignant behind the wheel.
Musso was some 40 seconds behind with 40 laps remaining in the race; plenty of time for the Ferraris to mount a challenge. However, with each passing lap, Trintignant would hold onto a steady margin preventing the Ferrari of Musso to mount any kind of a challenge. The Italian would grow closer and closer, but not seemingly at the rate he needed to put the victory in doubt.
Ever-consistent, Trintignant would be smooth and comfortable in the lead, despite Musso having brought the lead down to around 25 seconds. Maurice knew he had the race in hand as long as he didn't make any mistakes throughout the remaining 10 laps of the race. Known for his ability not to make mistakes, the race appeared well in hand.
And it would be. Amazingly, the back-up driver for Walker Racing would round Tabac for the final time and would flash across the line to take his second Formula One World Championship victory and second on the streets of Monaco. It would be truly dumbfounding to think the Frenchman would have to be considered amongst one of the greats around the streets of Monte Carlo, but he certainly was. The victory meant he joined Fangio as the only other driver to have secured two victories around the principality since the inception of the Formula One World Championship. For Rob Walker, the victory was even more astounding. Having earned victory in the Argentine Grand Prix, the team had scored two-straight victories and led the new Constructors' Championship. Trintignant, the hired stand-in would be in a tie with Stirling Moss for 2nd place in the Drivers' Championship standings.
The whole affair would be astounding. The rear-engined revolution was certainly upon Formula One. All throughout the race, Trintignant showed glimpses of the talent that had been stolen away by the war. Late in the race Musso had closed up a little too close for Walker's comfort. Maurice would be given the signal to pick up the pace and the Frenchman would respond with a lap time that would be very nearly a lap record. This stabilized the time to ensure the victory, but it also spoke to the abilities the Frenchman still possessed.
Though he had qualified well and the Cooper showed a great deal of promise, indications before the start of the race were that Walker's team stood very little chance of victory, especially not with Trintignant behind the wheel of one of the cars. However, after nearly three hours of hard racing, the Frenchman would steal the show…again.
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