1958 Monaco Grand Prix

1958 Monaco Grand Prix
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Race details
Date	18 May 1958
Official name	XVI Grand Prix Automobile
Location	Circuit de Monaco
Course	Street Circuit
Course length	3.145 km (1.954 miles)
Distance	100 laps, 314.5 km (195.4 miles)
Pole position
Driver	Tony Brooks	Vanwall
Time	1:39.8
Fastest lap
Driver	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari
Time	1:40.6
Podium
First	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Climax
Second	Luigi Musso	Ferrari
Third	Peter Collins	Ferrari
Lap leaders

Lotus 12, chassis no 353, (pictured above in 2010) was driven by Graham Hill in his Grand Prix debut at Monaco in 1958

The 1958 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 18 May 1958 at Monaco. It was race 2 of 11 in the 1958 World Championship of Drivers and race 2 of 10 in the 1958 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was the 16th Monaco Grand Prix and was held over 100 laps of the three kilometre circuit for a total race distance of 314 kilometres.

The race was won by French driver Maurice Trintignant in the second and final Grand Prix victory of his long career. The win was the second consecutive victory for the privateer Rob Walker Racing Team. Trintignant took the teams newly acquired Cooper T45 to a twenty-second victory over Italian driver Luigi Musso driving a Ferrari 246 F1 with Musso's British teammate Peter Collins (Ferrari 246 F1) was third.

Trintignant's win put the superiority of front-engined cars in doubt. Musso's second place put him into a four-point championship lead over Moss and Trintignant.

Race report

Vanwall and BRM returned after their Argentine absence and so Stirling Moss, Jean Behra and Harry Schell all went back to their regular drives. In Moss's place at the Rob Walker Racing Team with the new 2000 cc engined Cooper T45 was French driver Maurice Trintignant. The race winning Cooper T43 could not even qualify for the small 16-car Monaco grid, Ron Flockhart was first reserve for the race.

Missing from the field was the previous year's winner and reigning World Champion, Juan Manuel Fangio who did not have a full-season drive. Fangio himself was in America, preparing for an ultimately disappointing Indianapolis 500 campaign with the Dayton-Walther team. Future Formula One impresario Bernie Ecclestone entered two Connaught B-Types to be driven by Bruce Kessler and Paul Emery. Neither could qualify complaining of handling problems so Bernie Ecclestone tested one of the cars to see if he could help identify the cause, but he couldn't. This has given rise to the widely circulated story that he attempted unsuccessfully to qualify. Also failing to make the grid were Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first female driver to enter a World Championship Grand Prix, and 58-year-old Louis Chiron in his final appearance at a Grand Prix. The Monaco local had won the Grand Prix 27 years earlier but Chiron and his Maserati 250F did not make it past qualifying.

Tony Brooks took pole position in his Vanwall VW 5 but Behra won the start. He led until his brakes failed in his BRM P25, and Mike Hawthorn swept by in the Ferrari 246 F1. Moss (Vanwall VW 5) had been duelling with him throughout the race until he retired on lap 38, and Hawthorn followed suit on lap 47 with a broken fuel pump. Graham Hill (Lotus 12) retired from fourth place in his first race on lap 69, after briefly leading. Vanwall pair Brooks and Stuart Lewis-Evans retired, leaving Trintignant to lead home the Ferraris by some 20 seconds giving Rob Walker his second race win of the year. Behind the Ferraris of Luigi Musso and Peter Collins was Jack Brabham in the factory Cooper T45, although three laps down and still looking a long way from becoming the next years champion. Schell in his BRM P25 was a further six laps behind Brabham picking up the final points after Wolfgang von Trips had an engine failure in the closing stages in his Ferrari 246 F1. The only other car still circulating was the second Lotus 12 of Cliff Allison, 13 laps behind Trintignant.

Trintignant's win disproved the belief that rear-engined Cooper victory achieved by Stirling Moss in Argentina was a one-off freak circumstance win, and the smaller British cars would be treated more seriously, although ultimately a Cooper would not win again until 1959. The Rob Walker Racing Teams pair of early 1958 victories would remain the best ever performance by a privateer team until the rise of Tyrrell Racing in the late 1960s.

Classification

Qualifying

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Time	Gap
1	30	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	1:39.8
2	6	Jean Behra	BRM	1:40.8	+1.0
3	16	Jack Brabham	Cooper–Climax	1:41.0	+1.2
4	18	Roy Salvadori	Cooper–Climax	1:41.0	+1.2
5	20	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper–Climax	1:41.1	+1.3
6	38	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	1:41.5	+1.7
7	32	Stuart Lewis-Evans	Vanwall	1:41.8	+2.0
8	28	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	1:42.3	+2.5
9	36	Peter Collins	Ferrari	1:42.4	+2.6
10	34	Luigi Musso	Ferrari	1:42.6	+2.8
11	8	Harry Schell	BRM	1:43.8	+4.0
12	40	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	1:44.3	+4.5
13	24	Cliff Allison	Lotus–Climax	1:44.6	+4.8
14	46	Giorgio Scarlatti	Maserati	1:44.7	+4.9
15	26	Graham Hill	Lotus–Climax	1:45.0	+5.2
16	58	Jo Bonnier	Maserati	1:45.0	+5.2
17	22	Ron Flockhart	Cooper–Climax	1:45.9	+6.1
18	50	Ken Kavanagh	Maserati	1:49.0	+9.2
19	48	Gerino Gerini	Maserati	1:49.8	+10.0
20	12	Bruce Kessler	Connaught–Alta	1:50.5	+10.7
21	14	Paul Emery	Connaught–Alta	1:50.8	+11.0
22	44	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Maserati	1:50.8	+11.0
23	56	André Testut	Maserati	1:51.4	+11.6
24	52	Giulio Cabianca	O.S.C.A.	1:52.0	+12.2
25	54	Luigi Piotti	O.S.C.A.	1:52.4	+12.6
26	42	Horace Gould	Maserati	1:54.0	+14.2
DNQ	12	Bernie Ecclestone	Connaught–Alta	2:43.3	+1:03.5
DNQ	50	Luigi Taramazzo	Maserati	No time
DNQ	56	Louis Chiron	Maserati	No time
DNQ	4	Paco Godia	Maserati	No time
Source:

Race

Pos	No	Driver	Constructor	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	20	Maurice Trintignant	Cooper-Climax	100	2:52:27.9	5	8
2	34	Luigi Musso	Ferrari	100	+20.2 secs	10	6
3	36	Peter Collins	Ferrari	100	+38.8 secs	9	4
4	16	Jack Brabham	Cooper-Climax	97	+3 Laps	3	3
5	8	Harry Schell	BRM	91	+9 Laps	12	2
6	24	Cliff Allison	Lotus-Climax	87	+13 Laps	13
Ret	40	Wolfgang von Trips	Ferrari	91	Engine	11
Ret	58	Jo Bonnier	Maserati	71	Accident	16
Ret	26	Graham Hill	Lotus-Climax	69	Halfshaft	15
Ret	18	Roy Salvadori	Cooper-Climax	56	Gearbox	4
Ret	38	Mike Hawthorn	Ferrari	47	Fuel pump	6	11
Ret	28	Stirling Moss	Vanwall	38	Engine	8
Ret	6	Jean Behra	BRM	29	Brakes	2
Ret	46	Giorgio Scarlatti	Maserati	28	Engine	14
Ret	30	Tony Brooks	Vanwall	22	Engine	1
Ret	32	Stuart Lewis-Evans	Vanwall	11	Overheating	7
DNQ	22	Ron Flockhart	Cooper-Climax
DNQ	50	Ken Kavanagh	Maserati
DNQ	48	Gerino Gerini	Maserati
DNQ	12	Bruce Kessler	Connaught-Alta
DNQ	14	Paul Emery	Connaught-Alta
DNQ	44	Maria Teresa de Filippis	Maserati
DNQ	56	André Testut	Maserati
DNQ	52	Giulio Cabianca	Osca
DNQ	54	Luigi Piotti	Osca
DNQ	42	Horace Gould	Maserati
DNQ	10	Ron Flockhart	BRM
DNQ	12	Bernie Ecclestone	Connaught-Alta
DNQ	50	Luigi Taramazzo	Maserati
DNQ	56	Louis Chiron	Maserati
DNQ	4	Paco Godia	Maserati
Source:

Notes

• ^1 – 1 point for fastest lap

Additional information

This was the debut World Championship race for Cliff Allison, future double world champion and five time Monaco winner Graham Hill, Ken Kavanagh, Bruce Kessler, Maria Teresa de Filippis, André Testut, Giulio Cabianca, Bernie Ecclestone, and Luigi Taramazzo. It also marked the debut race for Team Lotus in Formula One.

Luigi Musso scored his final podium and points this race, while Maurice Trintignant claimed his final victory.

Championship standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings

	Pos	Driver	Points
1	1	Luigi Musso	12
1	2	Stirling Moss	8
8	3	Maurice Trintignant	8
1	4	Mike Hawthorn	5
5	5	Peter Collins	4
Source:

Constructors' Championship standings

	Pos	Constructor	Points
	1	Cooper-Climax	16
	2	Ferrari	12
	3	Maserati	3
	4	BRM	2
Source:

• Note: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.