Tony Vandervell's bearing fortune bought Britain its first constructors' championship — and he quit as soon as he had it.
Seasons
1954–1960
Identities
1
Race wins
9
Titles
1 CWC · 0 WDC
Identity timeline
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Vanwall existed for one purpose: to beat the Italian teams with a British car. Once it did, in the first year the constructors' championship existed, there was nothing left for its owner to prove.
Written history by identity
1954 — 1960
1954–1960: the green cars that beat Ferrari
Vanwall
First constructors' champion, 1958.
Industrialist Tony Vandervell, who made the Thinwall bearings that Formula One engines depended on, began with modified Ferraris before commissioning a Colin Chapman chassis and Frank Costin body for 1956.
Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks shared victory at Aintree in 1957 — the first British win for a British car in a championship Grand Prix — and in 1958 Vanwall won six races and the inaugural constructors' championship.
Stuart Lewis-Evans died of burns after the season's final race. Vandervell, in poor health and shaken, withdrew the team; only occasional entries followed before it closed for good.
Reference material used to compile and verify the Vandervell Products (Vanwall) lineage data on this page. GridXTrax is an independent fan archive; follow the links to check any figure at source.