Thank you for the kind words
The Complete 1957 Season Preview - Part Two
British Racing MotorsThe return of BRM was hotly anticipated, but then Alfred Owen abandoned the project to set up his own team, and it was picked up by the previous owners of BERO, who proved...not very adept managers. They fluked a podium in the chaotic East German Grand Prix, but otherwise rarely made the grid even at the longer circuits. The acquisition of the geriatric AACs didn't help. Paul Frère was retained, while Flockhart and Behra were ditched in favour of Bob Gerard, coming over from the only marginally better Connaught. A new engine may help, but the chassis remains the same, so improvements are unlikely to occur.
Paul Frère - 40 - BEL
Formula 136 entries
11 starts
4 points
1 podium
Best championship result of 18th (1956)
Non-championship1952 Grand Prix des Frontières winner
2nd place in the 1953 ADAC Eifelrennen
SportscarsWinner of the 1955 Spa Grand Prix
2nd place in the 1955 24 Hours of le Mans (with Peter Collins)
2nd place in the 1956 12 Hours of Reims (with Mike Hawthorn)
3rd place in the 1956 Spa Grand Prix
3rd place in the 1956 Gran Premio di Roma (GT+2.0/S2.0)
4th place in the 1949 24 Hours of Spa (with Jock Horsfall)
OtherBelgian Drivers' Champion in 1955
Bob Gerard - 43 - GBR
Formula 110 entries
4 starts
Best result of 13th place
Non-championship wins1947 Ulster Trophy
1947, 1949 and 1950 British Empire Trophies
1948 and 1949 Jersey Road Races
1953 Joe Fry Memorial Trophy
1953 Curtis Trophy
1955 Daily Record Trophy
Sportscar wins12 British national club wins in Donington, Castle Combe, Snetterton, Oulton Park and Silverstone
Asso di FioriThe team from Bologna, after sitting out 1955, has returned to business, scoring the occasional good result. The O.S.C.A. proved decent enough, although Onofre Marimón had trouble getting used to it. Nonetheless, the expense of making the trip to Bangkok paid off with a fourth place finish guaranteeing a good amount of prize money. Selling off their old Aston Martin machinery to focus on the O.S.C.A. and retaining Marimón for an extra season provides the team with some stability that they may be able to use to launch a more consistent campaign.
Onofre Marimón - 33 - ARG
Formula 118 entries
7 starts
3 points
Best championship finish of 19th place (1956)
Non-championshipWinner of the 1954 Rome Grand Prix
2nd place in the 1953 Modena Grand Prix
4th place in the 1954 Bari Grand Prix
Scuderia Centro SudWhat an interesting off-season it's been for Guglielmo Dei. Despite an encouraging first season in which he scored a point thanks to Luigi Musso, he decided to completely reorganise the team, instead opting to hire two constant drivers rather than a series of one-off drivers. The drivers in question are very different too, consisting of Juan Manuel Fangio and Hans Herrmann, briefly Mercedes teammates in sportscars upon Fangio's return to motorsport at the tail end of 1955. Fangio is a former big name in the sport who's struggled to recapture his former form after his 1954 injury, while Herrmann is a young driver who's been making occasionaly one-off appearances for years now. Certainly an odd couple to take this team forward.
Juan Manuel Fangio - 45 - ARG
Formula 140 entries
38 starts
54 points
5 podiums
3 pole positions
3 fastest laps
2 championship Grand Prix victories (1 each in 1950 and 1953)
Best championship finish of 3rd (in 1950)
Non-championship wins1949 Gran Premio Mar del Plata
1949 and 1950 San Remo Grands Prix
1949 and 1950 Grands Prix de Pau
1949 Grand Prix du Roussillon
1949 Grand Prix de Marseille
1949 Monza Grand Prix
1949 San Martin Grand Prix
1949 Grand Prix de l'Albigeois
1950 Grand Prix d'Angoulême
1950 Grand Prix des Nations
1950 Pescara Grand Prix
1951 Bari Grand Prix
1951 Swiss Grand Prix
1951 Spanish Grand Prix
1952, 1956 and 1957 Buenos Aires Grands Prix
1953 Modena Grand Prix
1954, 1956 and 1957 Argentine Grands Prix
1956 Syracuse Grand Prix
SportscarsWinner of the 1950 500 miles of Rafaela
Winner of the 1952 Interlagos Grand Prix
Winner of the 1952 Boa Vista Grand Prix
Winner of the 1953 Supercortemaggiore
Winner of the 1953 Carrera Panamericana (with Gino Bronzoni)
Winner of the 1955 Venezuela Grand Prix
Winner of the 1956 12 Hours of Sebring (with Eugenio Castellotti)
2nd place in the 1953 Mille Miglia (with Giulio Sala)
2nd place in the 1955 Tourist Trophy (with Karl Kling)
2nd place in the 1955 Targa Florio (with Karl Kling)
2nd place in the 1956 1000km Nürburgring (with Eugenio Castellotti)
2nd place in the 1956 Venezuelan Grand Prix
3rd place in the 1950 Mille Miglia (with Augusto Zanardi)
3rd place in the 1953 Targa Florio (with Sergio Mantovani)
3rd place in the 1956 Supercortemaggiore (with Eugenio Castellotti)
Other wins1940 and 1941 Turrismo Carretera Argentina
1940 Gran Premio Internacional del Norte
1941 Gran Premio “Getulio Vargas” Brasil
1941 Mil Millas Argentinas
1947 Premios Primavera Mecánica Argentine
1947 Premio de Mecánica Argentina
1947 Premio de Mecánica Rioplatense
1948 Premio Doble vuelta Ciudad de Coronel Pringles
1948 Gran Premio Otoño
1948 Gran Premio Ciudad de Mercedes
1949 Premio Jean Pierre Wimille
1949 Premio Fraile Muerto
1950 Gran Premio de Paraná
1950 Gran Premio del Presidente Alessandri
1952 Uruguay Grand Prix
1952 Montevideo Grand Prix
1953 Vues des Alpes
Hans Herrmann - 29 - GER
Formula 14 entries
1 start, no finishes
Non-championship3rd place in the 1954 Berlin Grand Prix
4th place in the 1953 International Avusrennen
Sportscar winsGerman Sportscar Champion (S1.5 class) in 1953, 1954 and 1956
1953 Eifelrennen Nürburgring (S1.5)
1953, 1954 and 1956 Rheinland Nürburgring (S1.5)
1953 Schauinslan (S1.5)
1956 Solituderennen (S1.5)
Cooper Car CompanyThe saga of the Cooper T41 remains controversial to this day. As of writing, 66% of the intellectual property belongs to Colin Chapman, who intends to cease production, leaving Cooper without any significant source of income aside from lending existing cars and prize money. Intending to enter three cars to many events this year, both of these opportunities seem limited, although Reg Parnell, Maria Teresa de Filippis and the handful of other local drivers will be trying their hardest to prolong Cooper's survival at the very least into 1958.
Reg Parnell - 45 - GBR
Formula 138 entries
37 starts
61 points
9 podiums
3 pole positions
4 fastest laps
3 championship Grand Prix victories (1 each in 1951, 1952 and 1953)
Best championship finish of 3rd (1952 and 1953)
Non-championship wins1946 Gransden Lodge Trophy
1947 Winter Grand Prix
1947 Stockholm Grand Prix
1947 Jersey Road Race
1948, 1949 and 1950 Goodwood Trophies
1948, 1949 and 1950 Richmond Trophies
1951 International Trophy
1952 Scottish Daily Express National Trophy
1954 Lavant Cup
1954 BARC Formula 1 Race
1954 Crystal Palace Trophy
1954 August Cup
1954 Redex Trophy
1957 New Zealand Grand Prix
Sportscar wins1953 National Charterhall Unlimited
1953 British Empire Trophy
1953 British Grand Prix support race
1953 National Snetterton (S+2.0)
1953 Charterhall International Sports Unlimited
1953 9 Hours of Goodwood (with Eric Thompson)
1953 National Castle Combe (S+1.5)
1954 National Silverstone
1955 Silverstone International
1955 National Silverstone (S3.5)
1955 Charterhall International (Invitation Race)
1955 Oulton Park International
Other wins1949 Goodwood Easter Formula Libre
1950 and 1951 National Gamston Formula Libre
1956 Southland Road Race
1957 Dunedin Road Race
Maria Teresa de Filippis - 30 - ITA
Formula 137 entries
23 starts
5 points
Best championship finish of 21st (in 1954 and 1955)
Sportscars2nd place in the 1952 and 1953 Circuito di Sassari
2nd place in the 1954 and 1956 Naples Grands Prix
2nd place in the 1955 Pergusa Grand Prix
3rd place in the 1951 Coppa Ascoli
3rd place in the 1954 Circuito di Reggio Calabria
3rd place in the 1955 10 Hours of Messina (with Giulio Musitelli)
4th place in the 1952 12 Hours of Pescara (with Roberto Sgorbati)
4th place in the 1951 Coppa Cidonio
4th place in the 1955 Giro delle Calabria
Horace Gould - 38 - GBR
Formula 11 entry
1 start, retired
Non-championshipWinner of the 1956 Aintree 100
2nd place in the 1953 Bristol MC & LCC F2 Race
2nd place in the 1953 Joe Fry Memorial Trophy
2nd place in the 1955 Daily Record Trophy
2nd place in the 1955 Avon Trophy
2nd place in the 1956 Naples Grand Prix
2nd place in the 1956 Vanwall Trophy
3rd place in the 1953 London Trophy
3rd place in the 1955 Grand Prix d'Albi
3rd place in the 1955 Daily Telegraph Trophy
SportscarsMultiple podiums in national British races, including 3 race victories.
André Pilette - 38 - BEL
Formula 130 entries
20 starts
11 points
1 podium
1 pole position
Best championship finish of 9th (1951)
Non-championship2nd place in the 1954 Grand Prix des Frontières
2nd place in the 1954 Grand Prix de Cadours
SportscarsWinner of the 1955 Coupes de Paris
2nd place in the 1949 Findel Grand Prix
2nd place in the 1956 Coupe d'Automne
3rd place in the 1950 Paris Grand Prix (with Hermann Roosdorp)
Wolfgang von Trips - 28 - GER
Formula 13 entries
1 start, retired
Non-championship6th place in the 1957 Argentine Grand Prix (with Peter Collins and Cesare Perdisa)
8th place in the 1957 Buenos Aires Grand Prix (with Peter Collins)
SportscarsWinner of the 1956 Berlin Grand Prix (GT+2.0/S1.5)
2nd place in the 1954 Eifelrennen Nürburgring (GT1.6)
2nd place in the 1956 Solituderennen (S1.5)
2nd place in the 1956 Swedish Grand Prix (with Peter Collins)
3rd place in the 1954 Rheinland Nürburgring (GT1.6)
3rd place in the 1955 Tourist Trophy (with Karl Kling and André Simon)
André Testut - 30 - MON
Formula 1Nothing to see here.
Sportscars3rd place in the 1956 Coupes d'Automne
Other2nd place in the 1956 Vuillafans-Echevanne hillclimb
Connaught EngineeringNo one seems to really know what's happening at Connaught, including the owners themselves. They entered at the tail end of 1956 with Stuart Lewis-Evans and Bob Gerard, and while they succeeded in recording results, they were not very convincing. With confusion surrounding which engines they will be using, Bob Gerard jumped ship to BRM, while Stuart Lewis-Evans returned after a stint at B.C.M.A.. Luigi Musso was tempted to join the team through the promise of O.S.C.A. engines, although this supply remains uncertain.
Luigi Musso - 32 - ITA
Formula 110 entries
4 starts
1 point
Best championship finish of 28th (1956)
Non-championshipWinner of the 1954 Pescara Grand Prix
Winner of the 1956 Argentine Grand Prix (with Juan Manuel Fangio)
2nd place in the 1955 Grand Prix de Bordeaux
2nd place in the 1955 Naples Grand Prix
2nd place in the 1955 and 1956 Syracuse Grands Prix
2nd place in the 1957 Buenos Aires Grand Prix
Sportscar wins1953 Giro dell'Umbria (with Giuseppe Maria Favero)
1953 Avellino Grand Prix
1954 Naples Grand Prix (S+1.1)
1954 Circuito di Caserta
1954 Circuito di Senigallia (S2.0)
1955 Supercortemaggiore (with Jean Behra)
1956 Gran Premio di Roma (S1.5)
1956 1000km of Buenos Aires (with Masten Gregory and Eugenio Castellotti)
Stuart Lewis-Evans - 26 - GBR
Formula 19 entries
7 starts
1 point
Best championship finish of 23rd (in 1955)
Non-championship2nd place in the 1956 BRSCC F1 Race
SportscarsWinner of the 1954 Circuito di Senigallia (R750)
2nd place in the 1956 National Brands Hatch (Fibreglass bodied Handicap)
5th place in the 1955 Charterhall International (S1.5)
5th place in the 1955 National Brands Hatch (Fibreglass bodied)
British Formula 3 record1951 Brands Hatch Open Challenge
1951 Junior Brands Hatch Championship
1952 International Trophy support race
1952 Brands Hatch Senior Race
1953 Crystal Palace Elizabethan Trophy
1953 Great Auclum meeting
1953 Brighton Speed Trials
1953 Redex Trophy support race
1954 Brough Scratch race
1954 Brands Hatch Easter Monday Open Challenge & Senior Race
1955 Charterhall meeting
1955 and 1956 Brands Hatch first finals
1955 and 1956 Sporting Record Trophies
1955 and 1956 John Bull Trophies
1956 Mallory Park first final
1956 AMOC Speed Trial
3rd place in the 1955 British Formula 3 Championship