Vanwall

Interesting facts

Vanwall was founded by industrialist Tony Vandervell, who blended his own name with 'Thinwall' bearings made at his Acton factory; the team first raced modified Ferraris under the 'Thinwall Special' name. From 1956, Colin Chapman and aerodynamicist Frank Costin reworked the Vanwall's chassis with a spaceframe design, De Dion rear axle and front torsion bars, transforming the car's competitiveness. At the 1957 British Grand Prix, Vanwall (shared between Moss and Brooks) became the first British car to win a World Championship race. In 1958, Vanwall won the very first Constructors' Championship ever awarded, even though neither of its drivers took the Drivers' title (Moss finished second, Brooks third). Young driver Stuart Lewis-Evans crashed fatally at the season-closing 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix, a tragedy that, combined with Vandervell's failing health, effectively ended the works team. A 1958 rule change banning alcohol-based fuels cut Vanwall's engine output from around 290 bhp to roughly 255-262 bhp, accelerating the team's decline. After 1958 Vanwall entered only sporadically (including a failed 1960 French Grand Prix attempt), and a final rear-engined prototype built for the 1961 Intercontinental Formula never raced competitively once that formula collapsed in Europe. Vanwall's Formula 1 history ran from 1958 to 1960, 3 seasons in total as a British team. Vanwall won the Constructors' Championship once, in 1958. The team scored a total of 48 constructors' championship points.