A British driver was guaranteed to win the Formula 1 title at the season-ending Moroccan Grand Prix in 1958. It was just a matter of which driver would claim the championship. Stirling Moss won four races that year – including the showdown in Casablanca – but better consistency saw he title go to Mike Hawthorn who scored a solitary win in his Ferrari.
Hawthorn was a larger than life character, immediately recognisable by his striking blonde hair and trademark bow tie, which he wore even when racing. Having survived a deadly era of racing Hawthorn retired from the sport following his Formula 1 title triumph, only to be killed shortly afterwards in a road accident.
Graham Hill and Jim Clark
Graham Hill was another outgoing member of the Grand Prix circus. He won his maiden Formula 1 championship in 1962, driving for BRM. In 1968 he won again, this time for Lotus. His victory raised the morale of a team devastated by the loss of Jim Clark, who was also a close friend of Hill.
After retiring from the sport Hill established his own Formula 1 team and hired the very promising Tony Brise to drive. Tragically both men were killed in a plane crash in 1975, along with several other team members.
Jim Clark was the yardstick by which all drivers were measured during the 1960s. The quiet, unassuming Scotsman became synonymous with Colin Chapman and Lotus. He won more than one third of the Grands Prix he started, taking the title in 1963 and 1965. If it hadn’t been for poor reliability he would have won even more. The racing world was shocked to the core when Clark lost his life during a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim in 1968.
F1 and Motorcycle Ace John Surtees
John Surtees was already a motorcycle racing legend by the time he switched his attention to racing cars. In 1964 he became the only person to win motorcycle world championships and the Formula 1 title when he won for Ferrari. The championship was won in contentious fashion, when Ferrari driver Lorenzo Bandini collided with title rival Graham Hill.
Surtees raced in Formula 1 for several more seasons, notably for Honda. He then started his own Grand Prix team. His son Henry also pursued a career in motor racing. Sadly, he died in a Formula 2 crash at Brands Hatch in 2009.
The sixties was a golden decade for British Formula 1 drivers. The seventies would also bring success, with Jackie Stewart and James Hunt.
Kevin Guthrie - Kevin is based in Fife, Scotland, where he works as a music teacher, professional drummer and freelance writer. At an early age he ...
