John Michael Hawthorn was a British racing driver.
31 Facts About Mike Hawthorn
2.
Mike Hawthorn became the United Kingdom's first Formula One World Champion driver in 1958, whereupon he announced his retirement, having been profoundly affected by the death of his teammate and friend Peter Collins two months earlier in the 1958 German Grand Prix.
3.
Mike Hawthorn died in a road accident three months after retiring.
4.
Mike Hawthorn was born in Mexborough, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Leslie and Winifred Hawthorn, and educated at Ardingly College, West Sussex, followed by studies at Chelsea technical college and an apprenticeship with a commercial vehicle manufacturer.
5.
Mike Hawthorn's father owned the Tourist Trophy Garage in Farnham, franchised to supply and service several high performance brands, including Jaguar and Ferrari.
6.
Mike Hawthorn's father raced motorcycles and supported his son's racing career; when he died in a road accident, in 1954, Mike Hawthorn inherited the business.
7.
Mike Hawthorn won the Ulster Trophy Handicap at Dundrod and the Leinster Trophy at Wicklow that year.
8.
Mike Hawthorn made his Formula One debut at the 1952 Grote Prijs van Belgie on the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, finishing in fourth place.
9.
At Scuderia Ferrari for the 1953 season, Mike Hawthorn immediately showed his worth with victory, at his ninth attempt, in the French Grand Prix at Reims, outmanoeuvring Juan Manuel Fangio in what became dubbed 'the race of the century' with the top four drivers finishing within five seconds of each other after 60 laps.
10.
Mike Hawthorn won the BRDC International Trophy and the Ulster Trophy as well as the 24 Heures de Spa Francorchamps with Ferrari teammate Giuseppe Farina.
11.
In January 1955, Mike Hawthorn joined the Jaguar racing team, replacing Stirling Moss, who had left for Mercedes.
12.
Mike Hawthorn won the 1955 les 24 Heures du Mans following what has been described as an inspired drive in which he set a lap record of 4 minutes and 6.6 seconds during a three-hour duel with Fangio in the early stages.
13.
The official inquiry into the accident ruled that Mike Hawthorn was not responsible for the crash, and that it was merely a racing incident.
14.
Whilst sharing the Jaguar D-Type with Desmond Titterington during the 1955 RAC Tourist Trophy at Dundrod, Mike Hawthorn passed Fangio twice, and set the lap record for the RAC Tourist Trophy on the Dundrod Circuit, only to lose in the final stages when, running on full tanks, he was passed by Stirling Moss when the D Type's engine failed on the last lap.
15.
However, when it appeared, usually only in British races, the new 2.5 BRM was very fast while it lasted, and Mike Hawthorn held off Fangio, leading the first 25 laps at Silverstone in the British GP.
16.
Mike Hawthorn retired the car before half distance owing to deteriorating handling and brakes.
17.
Deeply unhappy with the BRM team's management and car preparation, Mike Hawthorn walked out of the team at this point.
18.
Mike Hawthorn had left Ferrari because driving for the British Jaguar sports car team was his first priority.
19.
Mike Hawthorn was favoured to win at Le Mans again, but lost ten laps in the pits early in the race, and while the D type repeatedly set fastest laps, the fuel consumption rules meant he could only finish sixth.
20.
Mike Hawthorn had put the original Jano version of the car on the front row at its debut in the final F1 race of 1955 at Oulton Park.
21.
Mike Hawthorn rejoined the Ferrari factory team in 1957, and soon became friends with Peter Collins, a fellow Englishman and Ferrari team driver.
22.
Mike Hawthorn won the 1958 Formula One Championship despite achieving only one win, against four by Moss.
23.
Mike Hawthorn won the 1958 French Grand Prix at Reims, in which Musso was fatally injured while in second place.
24.
Mike Hawthorn benefited greatly from the gentlemanliness of Moss, as demonstrated at the 1958 Portuguese Grand Prix at Porto.
25.
Mike Hawthorn was disqualified for bump starting his stalled car downhill in the opposite direction, on the way to a second-place finish.
26.
Mike Hawthorn began a series of books for children featuring not only the wholly fictional Carlotti but himself and other drivers of the day.
27.
Mike Hawthorn was noted for wearing a bow tie when racing; to the French, he became known as 'Le Papillon'.
28.
Mike Hawthorn never married, but fathered a son, Arnaud Michael Delaunay, with Jacqueline Delaunay, whom he met in Reims after winning the French Grand Prix in 1953.
29.
Mike Hawthorn was engaged at the time of his death to the fashion model Jean Howarth, who later married another racing driver, Innes Ireland, in 1993.
30.
On 22 January 1959, only three months into his retirement, Mike Hawthorn died in a car accident on the A3 Guildford bypass while driving his comprehensively modified 1958 Jaguar 3.4-litre saloon VDU 881 to London.
31.
On entering a right-hand bend shortly after passing the Mercedes, Mike Hawthorn clipped a 'Keep Left' bollard dividing the two carriageways, causing him to lose control.