Great F1 cars of the last six decades: Maserati 250F (Autosport International)

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F1 steering wheels were simpler things in 1954

The Maserati 250F is featured at this year’s Autosport International show as one of the great racing cars of the last six decades.

The 250F earned its place in F1 history with the two world championship titles Juan Manuel Fangio won in it – and thanks to its classical good looks.

It was more a competent than an innovative car. One of the last front-engined machines to win the world championship, it was one of the best examples of its type before nimbler rear-engined racers consigned them to the history books.

In 1954 the works Maserati 250Fs were campaigned by Fangio and Onofre Marimon from the first round. Fangio gave the car a debut win on home ground at Buenos Aires and followed it up with a second win in the third round at Belgium.

But at the very next race he had switched teams – to Mercedes, where he won again in their W196. Fangio went on to win his second championship that year thanks in part to the 250F. Tragically, Marimon was killed driving his during practice at the Nurburgring.

Also driving a 250F in 1954 was Stirling Moss – but he paid for is, entering it as a customer car. It cost him £5,500, which would be around £110,000 today. But Moss specified a few significant detail differences on his car compared to the factory models, such as having the accelerator pedal on the right instead of the left.

He enjoyed one of his breakthrough performances with the car at Monza in 1954. He led the Italian Grand Prix convincingly until the engine seized nine laps from home. Fangio inherited the win, but Moss was acclaimed as the moral victor – and joined Fangio at Mercedes for the 1955 season.

Thanks to its popularity as a customer car, the 250F was still seen at Grand Prix races as late as 1960. During its many years’ service the 250F went through numerous evolutions and developments. One of the most significant of which was the replacement of the original six-cylinder engine with a V12. First appearing in 1957, the new engine increased power from 270bhp to 310bhp.

Fangio also returned to the team in 1957 and won his fifth and final world championship driving the six-cylinder car. The maestro’s final Grand Prix win came at the wheel of a 250F, which he used to overcome a deficit of over a minute to the Ferraris of Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins at the Nurburgring. He passed the pair of them and sealed his title with the win.

Though the 250F’s tally of victories (below) may seem meagre compared to some of the other cars featured at the show, this does not take account of the successes it enjoyed in non-championship races.

But the true significance of the 250F is that it allowed so many people to participate in the world championship. There were races in the 1950s where more than half the field were driving 250Fs, most of them private entrants or independent teams.

That – and the irresistible appeal of a sleek, red Italian racing car – is what makes the 250F great.

Maserati 250F

First race: 1954 Argentinian Grand Prix
Last race: 1960 United States Grand Prix
Total races: 43
Wins: 8
Pole positions: 8
Fastest laps: 10

The Maserati 250F at Autosport International

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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25 comments on “Great F1 cars of the last six decades: Maserati 250F (Autosport International)”

  1. “Oh, no. I’m spinning in a million Pounds.”

    1. you took the words right out of my mouth!

  2. Thanks for HQ pictures!!

  3. The Nude Wizard
    15th January 2010, 6:56

    haha explosiva, I remember it being on Top Gear too, what a noise.. Beautiful.

  4. part of martin brundle’;s excellent 60 years of silverstone series:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6996wALDSo

    top gear:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQatBxAmCHw

    the car was also featured in alain de cadenet’s victory by design series. if anyone can find it, plz post a link.

  5. Great pics, thanks !! What a race-car :)

  6. Magnificent. I imagine actually being there to see Fangio, Moss and others wrestling this beast to its limits would have been something very special.

  7. Wonderful ! lets have more of these

    This makes me think that it would be a good idea to allow F1 teams today to buy race cars from existing teams and then modify them to their liking.
    These days it seems that the competitiveness of a car is not so much due to “hardware” but instead to the smart use of software ( in simulations, setting the car up, etc )
    Cheers

  8. it really makes you wonder how big your … erm, balls had to be to jump in a 270hp car with those tyres…

    1. and those brakes that faded as the race advanced

    2. And I don’t think those safety belts were fitted when it was racing either.

  9. I’m going to have to go and see that tomorrow, along with all the other F1 cars :D

  10. Thanks, Keith.

  11. I just love the big open nose on it.

  12. the nose is probably for cooling the engine.

  13. Still more complex than todays Indycar

    1. Probably more powerful as well

  14. I love the old roadster design.

  15. Another great article, Keith. Excellent pics too!

    Also, is that an upper transverse leaf spring suspension on the rear of the car? Seems like an interesting set-up.

    1. Haha, so it is! Do you reckon there are two or just a single one spanning the whole rear axle?

  16. I was lucky enough to be there and see the 250F at Spa, the Ring, Silverstone. A gorgeous motorcar it lifted your heart to look at it. The problem with it was that great Italian racing cars do need gaskets they are machined so perfectly. Maserati were too broke to employ that calibre of people. So I saw Stirling when a rear hub sheared at Spa, Stirling again in the International Trophy at Silverstone when the crown wheel stripped because less than 10mm was meshing. Worst of all was Stirling in The Italian Grand Prix “The race the winner lost” when he out drove everyone from Fangio down but effectively was beaten by the oil leaks.
    The Grand Prix cars of “back in the day” are not in the right pecking order in historic “racing” because modern mechanics are so highly skilled.

  17. HounslowBusGarage
    15th January 2010, 20:21

    Why are there two filler caps on the rear of the car? They look as though they are different sizes and at different heights from the ground, so they both can’t be feeding the same tank. Did the 250 have some kind of reserve tank, or is the lower/rearmost cap for the radiator?

  18. I was at the Watkins Glen Formula Libre race in 1958, which was won by Jo Bonnier in a 250F. After the race, while stopped in traffic going down the hill into town,we were passed by the winning car driven by it’s mechanic going downhill in the uphill lane! An unforgettable experience to be sure. This car was said to be Fangio’s 1957 championship winner. I didn’t believe it, but years later found it to be true.

  19. I saw one of these in a Glasgow Art Gallery s few years ago- honest! It featured alongside one of Jackie Stewart’s Matras I think. So, not just racing cars, but functional art.

  20. I wonder what this cars price tag is today…

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