Mike Hawthorn – “Le Papillon” 2/2

Mike finished the 1953 season in fourth place with 19 championship points. He had been nicknamed “le Papillon” after his victory in France, and although he was considered a great driver, some accused him of being too used to partying and chasing girls. In England the newspapers were constantly looking for scoops concerning him and he was even accused of having deserted military service, when in fact he had been regularly rejected due to a kidney disease. In short, Mike had become a Star.

At the beginning of 1954, the Englishman was the victim of a bad accident while he was the first to test the new Ferrari on the Syracuse circuit. He miraculously escaped alive, but suffered bad burns on his arms and legs. A month later his father Leslie, to whom Mike was deeply attached, passed away: all these events pushed him into a tunnel of doubts and lack of consistency in his results in Formula 1. In fact, although he recorded three second places and a victory at the last race of the season in Spain, as a great favourite, he had to settle for third place in the drivers' standings, watching from afar as Fangio's Mercedes W196 won the world championship by storm.

A risky choice led Mike to race the '55 season with the uncompetitive Vanwall, so slow that the Englishman changed his mind after a few races. He therefore decided to return to Ferrari paired with Eugenio Castellotti, but without achieving any significant results. Furthermore, in that year he participated in the 24 hours of Le Mans, with Jaguar. During that legendary race he engaged in a close 3-hour duel with Fangio, and it was Mike himself, during that fight, who triggered Pierre Lavegh's terrible accident on the main straight (in which 83 spectators were killed). Team Mercedes decided to withdraw, while Jaguar continued and went on to win alone. Hawthorn won but it was not a satisfying or in any way joyous victory. The '56 season was more or less a photocopy of the disappointing one that had just ended: Mike raced with 3 different teams: Vanwall, BRM and Maserati and finished twelfth with just 4 world championship points.

These disappointments in the sporting field with the other teams led him to choose Ferrari once again to try to win the much desired world championship once and for all. In the Ferrari team he found a fierce rival in Luigi Musso, but also a faithful friend in Peter Collins. The two soon became friends, also thanks to their very similar character: they enjoyed joking together, looking for girls and above all competing furiously. The two Englishmen then engaged in a particular type of rivalry with their Italian teammate: they had agreed to split the winnings if one of them won, so as not to hinder each other too much during the race. It was basically a two against one, in which the Italian driver found himself alone against his two teammates. Mike ended the season in fourth place, with 13 championship points, taking two podiums, in England and Germany.

1958 was the good year. Mike felt at home in Ferrari. In the first races of the season he did not obtain any victories, but only good placings which allowed him to reach equal points with Stirling Moss after his victory in France at Reims, when Moss had already won two races. The turning point of the season, however, was the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring. Mike saw his closest friend and teammate Peter Collins die while trying to catch Brooks' Vanwall which had just taken the lead. Mike withdrew from the race upset. He was contemplating immediate retirement from competitions. Racing no longer fascinated him, he had now experienced firsthand the dangers of the world of car racing.

“If a driver doesn't have the courage, the courage, the cold blood to try his hand at a track like the Nurburgring, it's better for him to say goodbye to this sport. Peter Collins, whom we all remember with particular affection and regret, knew all this, he knew the difficulties of the German circuit and he would not have attempted it if he had not felt capable of doing so honourably." [Mike Hawthorn]

In that moment of crisis, the support of his friend and teammate Phill Hill was fundamental, who convinced him to continue at least to finish the season. Mike achieved an extraordinary string of second places in the final races of the season which allowed him to remain at the top of the standings despite two further victories for Moss. Moss won in Portugal, but had to retire at Monza due to gearbox trouble, while Hawthorn once again finished second. Same script also for the last race in Morocco, where Stirling Moss won, but Hawthorn came second also thanks to Phill Hill, who left him the way to victory in the world championship by just one length over his direct opponent. Mike became the first British driver to win the Formula 1 world championship. A celebrity who decided to retire at the height of his career.

“Better to be asked why you retired than to be asked why you didn't retire”[Mike Hawthorn]

Now that he had retired from that world that had taken away his best friends, he could finally enjoy life. But mocking fate played the last of its tricks on him: on January 22, 1959, just a few months after his last grand prix, Mike Hawthorn died in a car accident while driving his car towards London. The circumstances surrounding his death are still very unclear: from the driving error on that dangerous and wet road, to the mechanical failure, to even an illegal race with Rob Walker. However, the accident probably occurred due to fainting while driving: Mike had in fact recently suffered from fainting caused by his kidney problems. His illness was slowly taking him away, and his fate was sealed: he would live for more than three more years.

Matteo Bramati.