© Porter & Porter Ltd 2006
Stirling’s big achievement in July 1955 was his first Grand Prix win. He had so nearly won the Monaco GP in May but fate played a cruel role when he retired from a comfortable lead with just 19 of the 100 laps still to go.
Though Stirling himself insists that Fangio was the greater driver in single seaters, there were a number of occasions during the season when the young Englishman was actually quicker than the maestro. Above all, Fangio was a great sportsman and would not have approved of the tactics seen in F1 in recent years.
“One of the first to congratulate me after becoming the first Brit to ever win the British GP was Fangio.”
1955 July
For the British GP at Aintree in front of a record crowd estimated at 145,000,
Stirling and the great Argentinian World Champion, Juan Manuel Fangio, diced
throughout the race with Stirling taking victory by a whisker. They were team
mates, with both driving Mercedes-Benz W196 open wheelers, and to this day
Stirling has no idea whether Fangio gifted him his home race or not. “I don’t
know whether he let me win or not. But I do know I went like hell. At the last
corner, on the last lap, I pulled right over and waved him on but my foot was
flat on the floor with 298 horsepower doing it’s stuff. I thought if you’ve got
any more, you’ll pass me but of course he couldn’t.”
See also:
1955
1955
1955
1955
1955