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<\/a>During the 1950s and 1960s a different code of sportsmanship held sway. Second drivers almost always showed loyalty to their team leader. It was an era of honor and chivalry, outwardly at least. In an age when pit stops were frequent, during longer races it was a simple mattter to change drivers and a number one would, in extremis, call for a more junior driver to hand over his car and sacrifice his own race. This happened several times in Fangio\u2019s favor when he was \u2018assisted\u2019 to two Grand Prix victories by taking over healthier cars \u2013 Fagioli\u2019s Alfa 159 at Reims in 1951 (the pre-war Mercedes driver was so disgusted he never raced in F1 again), Musso\u2019s Ferrari at Argentina in 1956 and most significantly of all at Monza in 1956 where Peter Collins, who also had a chance to win the World Championship, volunteered his healthy Lancia Ferrari to Fangio enabling the Argentinian to claim second place and a fourth world title.<\/p>\n
Collins\u2019 chivalrous behavior was matched by Moss in 1958 when he challenged protests against Mike Hawthorn at the final race of the 1958 F1 season. His honesty and decency lost Moss the title but handed it to his British rival.<\/p>\n Behind these headlines lie the stories of many highly competent racing drivers who for one reason or another proved to be less able or consistent than their illustrious peers. Space dictates that not all can be covered here but think Froilan Gonzales and Maurice Trintignant in the 1950s. Both two-time Grand Prix winners they even shared a Ferrari to win the 1954 Le Mans 24 Hours. However, both drove in the shadows of greats like Ascari and Moss. Enzo Ferrari was both a genius and a tyrant: He encouraged gifted hopefuls to drive beyond their abilities and in short order young guns Eugenio Castelotti, Luigi Musso and Alfonso de Portago lost their lives at the wheel of a prancing horse.<\/p>\n Moving to the 1960s, the rear-engined tide promulgated by Cooper challenged the Italian majors and attracted the dismissive title of \u2018garagistes\u2019 from Enzo Ferrari. Prime mover after Cooper\u2019s two championship victories in 1959 and 1960 was Colin Chapman\u2019s innovative Lotus team. While Chapman forged an almost unbeatable team with Jim Clark he took a leaf out of Enzo\u2019s book by hiring a succession of capable young Brits including Alan Stacey, Innes Ireland, Trevor Taylor, Peter Arundel and Mike Spence, Jackie Oliver, John Miles, Reine Wisel, Dave Walker and more as the 1970s rolled on. A combination of Lotus fragility and focus on the true Lotus F1 heroes \u2013 Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi, Ronnie Peterson and Mario Andretti \u2013 saw all these young guns lose their seat or worse in a period of 15 years.<\/p>\n I mention this catalogue of drivers because although few, if any, would ever have beaten the genius that was Jimmy Clark, none of them ever won a Grand Prix despite showing huge promise in junior formulae. It was almost as if Chapman had his number one and only entered a second driver to garner the starting money.<\/p>\n<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure>\n<\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure><\/a>\r\n\t\t\t\t<\/a>\r\n <\/div><\/figure>\n
