Maserati Tipo 250F 1957

Browse pages
Current page

1

Current page

2

Current page

3

Current page

4

Current page

5

Current page

6

Current page

7

Current page

8

Current page

9

Current page

10

Current page

11

Current page

12

Current page

13

Current page

14

Current page

15

Current page

16

Current page

17

Current page

18

Current page

19

Current page

20

Current page

21

Current page

22

Current page

23

Current page

24

Current page

25

Current page

26

Current page

27

Current page

28

Current page

29

Current page

30

Current page

31

Current page

32

Current page

33

Current page

34

Current page

35

Current page

36

Current page

37

Current page

38

Current page

39

Current page

40

Current page

41

Current page

42

Current page

43

Current page

44

Current page

45

Current page

46

Current page

47

Current page

48

Current page

49

Current page

50

Current page

51

Current page

52

Current page

53

Current page

54

Current page

55

Current page

56

Current page

57

Current page

58

Current page

59

Current page

60

Current page

61

Current page

62

Current page

63

Current page

64

Current page

65

Current page

66

Current page

67

Current page

68

Current page

69

Current page

70

Current page

71

Current page

72

Current page

73

Current page

74

Current page

75

Current page

76

Current page

77

Current page

78

Current page

79

Current page

80

Current page

81

Current page

82

Current page

83

Current page

84

Current page

85

Current page

86

Current page

87

Current page

88

Current page

89

Current page

90

Current page

91

Current page

92

Current page

93

Current page

94

Current page

95

Current page

96

Current page

97

Current page

98

Current page

99

Current page

100

Current page

101

Current page

102

Current page

103

Current page

104

Current page

105

Current page

106

Current page

107

Current page

108

Current page

109

Current page

110

Current page

111

Current page

112

Current page

113

Current page

114

Current page

115

Current page

116

Current page

117

Current page

118

Current page

119

Current page

120

Current page

121

Current page

122

Current page

123

Current page

124

Current page

125

Current page

126

Current page

127

Current page

128

Current page

129

Current page

130

Current page

131

Current page

132

Current page

133

Current page

134

Current page

135

Current page

136

Current page

137

Current page

138

Current page

139

Current page

140

Current page

141

Current page

142

Current page

143

Current page

144

Current page

145

Current page

146

Current page

147

Current page

148

Current page

149

Current page

150

Current page

151

Current page

152

Current page

153

Current page

154

Current page

155

Current page

156

Chassis No. 2528

Engine No. 2528

The first two cars of the famous trio of “lightweight” models were completed in time for the Argentinian season at the beginning of 1957 and Behra drove 2528 as he was the official number two driver to Fangio. In the two races in Buenos Aires he finished second behind the team Ieader. Back in Europe the works team went to the Siracuse GP and Behra should have driven 2528 but while it was being warmed up the water seized so he transferred to an older car and Harry Schell took over 2528. He only lasted two laps and retired with 2528 boiling like a kettle. However, two weeks later Behra used 2528 to record an easy win at the Pau GP, there being little opposition apart from privately owned Maseratis. The first European event in the World Championship series was the Monaco GP and for this event Schell was co-opted into the team and given 2528 as Behra was convalescing after a road accident. During practice Fangio compared his new car, 2529, with Schell’s car and decided he preferred the feel of 2528 so they changed over for the race. After much of the opposition had eliminated itself in a multiple accident Fangio went through to dominate the race and chalk up another victory for 2528.

At the French GP which was held at Rouen in 1957 Behra was once more back in 2528 but he could not match the performance of Fangio or the other top aces of the day. After a pit stop to change the left-rear tyre the Frenchman drove his heart out and caned the engine unmercifully so that it eventually went sick but was able to limp round to the finish, classified fifth even though he was seven laps behind the winner. The weekend after this everyone went to the Reims GP but Maserati were getting short of engines so the damaged 2528 went back to the factory and did not appear for the Reims race. By the British GP held at the Aintree circuit 2528 was back in good fettle, with Jean Behra once more on board. After the leaders had run into various troubles Behra took over the lead and held it until disaster struck. The official reason given was that the clutch had disintegrated, showering bits and pieces across the track, but later it transpired that it was the crankshaft that had broken. At the German GP on the Nürburgring Behra drove 2528 into a rather unimpressive sixth place and then at Pescara he retired when an oil pipe broke. For the Italian GP at Monza Behra elected to drive one of the new V12 Maseratis so Schell took over 2528 and was lying fifth near the end of the race when once more an oil pipe broke and he was forced out.

To round off the season 2528 really behaved itself and Behra recorded two victories. The first was round the Aero-Autodromo of Modena, on the car’s home ground, and the second was in the inaugural race at Casablanca in Morocco. With four Grand Prix victories to its credit 2528 can be said to have earned its keep as a works team car. The Maserati factory withdrew the official works team in 1958 and most of the cars were sold off, 2528 going to the Spaniard Francesco Godia-Sales. He was wealthy amateur sportsman who raced for the fun of the thing, but who was not really in the Grand Prix class as far as World Championship events were concerned. He started off well enough, with third place in the Siracuse GP in Sicily, but then failed to qualify for the grid at the Monaco GP. He just scraped onto the grid at Spa-Francorchamps for the Belgian GP but retired with piston trouble. In the French GP at Reims he spun off into retirement and then withdrew from the Grand Prix scene. 2528 went back to the factory in Modena and was not raced again in 1958. At the end of the season, after Fangio had announced his retirement the BP petrol company, with whom he had a long contract, made a film about him as a tribute. Part of this was taken by a camera mounted on the tail of a 250F Maserati as he did a quick lap of the Modena Aero-Autodromo. It was quite well done and gave a good idea of opposite-lock slides as the camera looked over his shoulder at the road ahead and the front wheels. The car used for this filming was 2528, borrowed from the customer department, where it had been sitting for a long time awaiting a new owner.

The days of the 250F Maserati were over as far as serious Grand Prix racing was concerned, so even one of the “lightweight” cars did not interest any potential Grand Prix drivers. Many years later Charles Lucas, who was racing Formula 3 cars, was approached in an Italian bar and asked if he wanted to buy an old racing car. It was 2528 which the vendor had for sale, and Lucas bought it as Historic racing was beginning to get under way. He drove it in various historic events with all the brio and panache of Fangio or Carlos Menditeguy, sliding it through Woodcote corner (before the chicane was built) at Silverstone with great armfuls of opposite-lock. It all looked most impressive and a lot of fun, but time had gone by and his lap times were barely equal to that of a well-driven, Mini-Cooper!

Eventually Neil Corner bought 2528 off Lucas, and retains it to this day, giving it the occasional airing in historic races. Of all the Maserati 250F cars built it is one of the most original, for it had a short, but successful, life at the front of the Grand Prix scene and then was fairly inactive, so that it did not become modified, improved, altered or crashed. 2528 is a truly Historic Grand Prix car, with four Grand Prix wins to its credit. — D.S.J.