Gallery: Mike Hawthorn, 60 years on
Doug Nye
Today marks 60 years since the death of Britain's first Formula 1 World Champion, Mike Hawthorn.
Encouraged by his father Leslie, a motorsport enthusiast, what began as a weekend hobby, racing a relatively simple, inexpensive Riley, blossomed into an impressive Formula one career.
His first drive in a single seater was at Goodwood in the 1952 Easter Meeting, behind the wheel of a Formula Two Cooper-Bristol borrowed from a family friend. Not only did he claim pole position but he won the race, against drivers like Juan Manuel Fangio and Froilan Gonzalez. It was this surprise win that caught the attention of Enzo Ferrari, and within eight months he was given a works Ferrari contract.
Although Hawthorn had to wait until the 1958 season to claim his first and only Formula 1 world championship title, and despite being involved in the 1955 Le Mans disaster, a crash that claimed the lives of 84 spectators and Mercedes driver Pierre Levegh, he was regarded as one of the bravest, funniest and most brilliant Grand Prix drivers of his time.
Having lived through such a dangerous period for racing drivers and fans alike, Hawthorn was killed just three months into his retirement on 22nd January 1959, skidding off the road near his home in Farnham. He was 29-years-old.
Mike Hawthorn
Formula 1
Motorsport
