Wednesday 10th September 2014

Monaco Grand Prix 1957: Time For Tea?

Maserati's 60th anniversary tribute to the 250F isn't very good; this works much better

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Given its status as an icon of front-engined F1 cars, that Maserati doesn't doesn't make more of the 250F's success is quite surprising. But as part of its centenary celebrations, 60 years of the 250F will be marked also. Maserati's own video is a little overwrought really, two and a half minutes of booming operatic music over black and white footage. It's all very fast paced and dramatic but we think the 250F deserves greater appreciation.

In the 1957 Monaco GP seen here, 250Fs finished first and third when only six cars made it past the chequered flag. Fangio won and, though not as dramatic as his Nurburgring victory in the same year, this lovely colour video is still a fine reminder of the car and his talent.

Monte Carlo in the 50s just looks desperately cool. F1 in the 50s looks desperately cool. You'll hear plenty about the circuit, the cars and the drivers before the racing begins at 13:15. For some reason the start is repeated in the video a couple of minutes laater but there's still plenty of footage to enjoy. Fangio's victory was comfortable in the end.

You'll need an especially large mug of tea for this video, but 20 minutes of old F1 in colour is certainly worth it. Happy 60th Maserati 250F!

Watch it here.

 

[Lead image: LAT]

[truck71]

Excellent, Monaco (and the boats) looks so much better than the monstrosity it is today.

[kramv8]

Fantastic film and what a brilliant, smooth, relaxed delivery the commentator has? He doesn't sound like the usual Chumley Warner from the 50's. Has a real Jazz Club vibe imho!!!

10/10.

[oldtimer2]

The Maserati looks right, its what I think a GP car should look like. Todays aerodynamic contrivances just do not compare. Also a reminder of how exposed the pits and the viewing public were back then. Certainly justified the Motor Racing is Dangerous warning.

[MonkeySpanker]

Niiiiiice!!!

[WCZ]

it always takes me over 20 minutes to drink a cup of tea because they are so hot initially

[rogerhudson]

25 minutes of pure pleasure, a super film.
Unfortunately it shows how much Monte Carlo has been mucked up in the intervening years.
I was 7yrs old that year and had to make do with Dinkey toys. The Maserati 250F is my all-time favorite.

[canucklehead]

fantastic. the 50s were an unutterably cool decade...post-war prosperity, a generation who wanted to live life to the full after the horrors of the war, uber-stylish cars, fashions, films.......

• sigh*

not to mention everyone seemed to spend the whole decade in complete and utter bacchanalian excess - my parents seem to have spent the entire 50s partying very very hard indeed, from the UK to the south of France. all the stories involve fast sports cars, and a lot of partying. i sometimes think we have lost something in the intervening decades.

and as for the 250F, wow. maybe the perfect F1 car of all time. certainly puts today's barge-board ridden contrivances in their place.

[250GTE]

canucklehead said:

fantastic. the 50s were an unutterably cool decade...post-war prosperity, a generation who wanted to live life to the full after the horrors of the war, uber-stylish cars, fashions, films.......

• sigh*

not to mention everyone seemed to spend the whole decade in complete and utter bacchanalian excess - my parents seem to have spent the entire 50s partying very very hard indeed, from the UK to the south of France. all the stories involve fast sports cars, and a lot of partying. i sometimes think we have lost something in the intervening decades.

and as for the 250F, wow. maybe the perfect F1 car of all time. certainly puts today's barge-board ridden contrivances in their place.

All we have gained is life expectancy.

[bubney72]

Superb video, thanks.
The angled V8 in the Lancia Ferrari is hilarious.

[3304hl]

I notice that the commentator has Fangio on a Ferrari in the second practice...

[chelme]

Really enjoyed this - great find Matt -the year of Maserati, Fangio and Grace Kelly, the Princess of Monaco. Can it get better??

[Johnspex]

"Moss tried the Ferrari for size"- like that would happen these days.

[coppice]

canucklehead said:

fantastic. the 50s were an unutterably cool decade...post-war prosperity, a generation who wanted to live life to the full after the horrors of the war, uber-stylish cars, fashions, films.......

• sigh*

not to mention everyone seemed to spend the whole decade in complete and utter bacchanalian excess - my parents seem to have spent the entire 50s partying very very hard indeed, from the UK to the south of France. all the stories involve fast sports cars, and a lot of partying. i sometimes think we have lost something in the intervening decades.

and as for the 250F, wow. maybe the perfect F1 car of all time. certainly puts today's barge-board ridden contrivances in their place.

Having grown up in the 50's too let me disabuse every young person who thinks your experience was in any way typical. Not where I grew up(West Yorkshire ) it wasn't - grey , dirty, no money, rubbish food, infantile TV (and I was only 8 in 1960), ghastly radio and a general air of fatigue. Add in cold war horrors , patronising and elitist politicians (yup even worse than now ) and not too much prospect of improvement and it was just bloody awful, especially when every grown up never stopped talking about the bloody war and how grateful I was supposed to be to just about everybody .

Stirling Moss will still drone on endlessly about picking up crumpet whilst warming up his bloody Maser old boy and smoking a Craven A but the lights in my world didn't come on until 1966- Pirate Radio , a race circuit I could get to on the bus (Rufforth ) and a growing sense of disenchantment with the Establishment made the late 60s a very exciting time, even though free love seemed in short supply in Castleford. And the music ...sublime ..so much better than most 50s pap.

250 F is indeed lovely but shaded for me by then Dino 246 F1 car whose V6 sounds even better than the 250F's straight six.

PS the fashions were awful(A line dresses, not a thigh in sight and tight jeans a pipe dream ) compared to what followed and most films were toe curlingly dreadful too. And very few British cars had more style than a sack of spuds - unlike the Italians ...

Nostalgia sure ain't what it was even though the sainted(and increasingly tiresome ) Goodwood does its best to reninvent a non existent past.

Edited by coppice on Friday 12th September 18:37