Vanwall

For the 21st century endurance racing team, seeVanwall Racing Team.

Vanwallwas a Britishmotor racingteam and racing car constructor that was active inFormula Oneduring the 1950s. Founded byTony Vandervell,the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of hisThinwall bearingsproduced at the Vandervell Products factory atActon,London. Originally entering modifiedFerrarisin non-championship races, Vanwall constructed their first cars to race in the1954 Formula One season.The team achieved their first race win in the1957 British Grand Prix,withStirling MossandTony Brookssharing a VW 5, earning the team the distinction of constructing the first British-built car to win a World Championship race. Vanwall won the inauguralConstructors' ChampionshipinFormula Onein1958,in the process allowing Moss and Brooks to finish second and third in the Drivers' Championship standings, each winning three races for Vanwall. Vandervell's failing health meant 1958 would be the last full season; the squad ran cars in a handful of races in the following years, but finished racing in 1961.

Vanwall

Full name	Vanwall
Base	Acton,London,United Kingdom
Founder(s)	Tony Vandervell
Noted staff	Colin Chapman Frank Costin
Noted drivers	Stirling Moss Maurice Trintignant Harry Schell Stuart Lewis-Evans Tony Brooks
Formula OneWorld Championship career
First entry	1954 British Grand Prix
Races entered	29 (28 starts)
Engines	Vanwall
Constructors' Championships	1 (1958)
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	9
Podiums	13
Points	57
Pole positions	7
Fastest laps	6
Final entry	1960 French Grand Prix

Vanwallas a Formula One engine manufacturer

Formula OneWorld Championship career
First entry	1954 British Grand Prix
Last entry	1960 French Grand Prix
Races entered	29 (28 starts)
Chassis	Vanwall
Constructors' Championships	1 (1958)
Drivers' Championships	0
Race victories	9
Podiums	13
Points	57
Pole positions	7
Fastest laps	6

The fourth, and last,Thinwall Special.Used between1952and1954.

The winning Vanwall VW5 before the1957 British Grand Prix.

History

Tony Vandervell's Vanwall Company madeBabbitbearings(UK White Metal bearings) under licence from theCleveland Graphite Bronze Company;W. A. Robothamof Rolls-Royce said that "it was an exceedingly difficult task... knowing the American company well".

Tony Vandervell was one of the original backers ofBritish Racing Motors.In the early 1950s he entered a series of modifiedFerrarisinFormule Libreraces under the name "Thinwall Special".

The first actual Vanwalls were known as Vanwall Specials and were built for the new Formula 1 regulations in 1954 atCox Green,Maidenhead.Thechassiswas designed byOwen Maddockand built by theCooper Car Company. The 2.0 L engine was designed byNortonengineerLeo Kuzmicki,and was essentially fourManxsingle-cylinder 498 cc (30.4 cu in) (86.1 mm × 85.6 mm (3.39 in × 3.37 in)) engines with a commonwaterjacket,cylinder head(a copy of the Norton's) andvalvetrain,with induction by fourAMALmotorcyclecarburetors.This combination was fitted to aRolls-RoyceB40 military enginecrankcase, copied inaluminium.Designed forFormula Two,which was supplanted before it appeared,the car debuted in aGrande Epreuvein the 1954British Grand Prix.Against 2½ litreFormula Onecompetition, it was at a decided disadvantage. TheGoodyeardisc brakes(built by Vanwall) proved successful,but the front suspension and fuel and cooling systems were troublesome.Development continued with a switch toBoschfuel injection(thanks to Vandervell's "persuading"Daimler-Benz,a major Bosch customer, to allow it),while retaining the AMALthrottle bodies;they were plagued with throttle linkage trouble, due to vibration from the big four-cylinder.Vanwall also increased thecapacityof the engines, first to 2,237 cc (137 cu in) (91.0 mm × 86.0 mm (3.58 in × 3.39 in)) for Peter Collins at Monaco 1955, and then a full 2,489 cc (151.9 cu in) (96.0 mm × 86.0 mm (3.78 in × 3.39 in)). Vanwalls then ran for a season in F1 without much in the way of success. At the end of the 1955 season, it was plain that the engine was sound, but that theFerrari-derivedchassis needed improvement. It was suggested to Vandervell that he should hire the services of a young up-and-coming designer to improve their cars. The designer wasColin Chapman.

The new 1956cars designed by Chapman (along with the aerodynamicistFrank Costin) were ofspace frameconstruction, theDe Dionrear axle'sunsprung weightreduced and fronttorsion baradded.(None of these ideas were revolutionary, but Chapman was happy simply to be meticulous.)Furthermore, a fifth gear andPorschesynchromeshwere added to thetransmission.The driving seat was placed above this and could not be reduced below 13 in (330 mm) above the road, making the height very problematic (the top of the driver's helmet was fully 50 in (1,270 mm) from the road surface, while the vertically mounted engine made a reduction impractical in any case),and the handling was suspect despite Chapman's best efforts.The solution which today is obvious, mounting the engine behind the driver, would take two more years to be accepted. Costin made the most of it, and produced a car "much faster in a straight line than any of its rivals".

The new car showed early promise in 1956 by winning thenon-championship F1 raceatSilverstoneagainst strong opposition. It set the lap record atSyracuseStirling Mossdrove the car to victory in what was his only drive for Vanwall that year, as he was still contracted to drive forMaseratiin F1. Talented driversHarry SchellandMaurice Trintignantwere the full-timers for the season. However, neither of them had much success although the car showed obvious potential.

With the car developing and becoming ever more competitive, Moss eventually decided to drive for the team in 1957. He was joined by two Englishmen,Tony BrooksandStuart Lewis-Evans.As the 1957 season unfolded, the cars became faster and more reliable. Moss and Brooks duly shared Vanwall's first Grand Prix victory in Britain atAintree,and Moss went on to win both theItalian(where only being piloted byFangioenabled theMaseratito run with the Vanwalls, for Moss finished with 41 seconds in hand even after apit stop)andPescaraGrands Prix.

At the end of 1957, alcohol fuels were banned and replaced by a compulsory 130-octaneaviation gasoline.This caused problems for Vanwall and BRM with their large bore engines that required methanol for engine cooling. As a result, the Vanwall's power dropped from 290 bhp (220 kW) at 7,500 rpm(308 bhp with nitromethane) to 278 bhp (207 kW) on the test bed. During the race, where revs were reduced, only 255–262 bhp at 7,200–7,400 rpm was available. This put them at a disadvantage to the new Dino Ferrari V6 cars with a claimed 290 PS (286 bhp) at 8,300 rpm. The Vanwall's superior road holding (thanks to suspension changes, new steel wheels, and newnylon-cordDunlopR5 racing tyres),streamlining, 5-speed gearbox, and disc brakes helped to offset this.

All three drivers stayed with the team in 1958, and Moss (wins in the Netherlands, Portugal and Morocco) and Brooks (wins in Belgium, Germany and Italy) each won three championship races that season. Vanwall became the first team to win theConstructors' Championship,held for the first time that season. However, Moss lost out toMike Hawthornin theDrivers' Championshipby a single point to finish second, with Brooks ending the season in third. Their triumph at the end of the season was sadly marred when, during the final race of the year inMorocco,Lewis-Evans was fatally injured in an accident.

The1958 seasonwas the last one in which Vanwall entered every race. Vandervell's health was failing and he had been advised by his doctors to rest. The team continued half-heartedly. Brooks made one appearance in a lower and lighter Vanwall at1959 British Grand Prix,proving less successful against the newmid-enginedCoopers,and the team tried again with another car in the 1960French Grand Prix.These efforts lacked the seriousness of the past however and they were unsuccessful.

The last racing Vanwall was an "unwieldy"rear-engined machine produced for the 1961 3.0 litreIntercontinental Formula.Although showing promise when campaigned byJohn Surteesin two races, development was stopped short when the formula did not find success in Europe. The engine was enlarged to 2,605 cc (159 cu in) (96.0 mm × 90.0 mm (3.78 in × 3.54 in)), rated at 290 bhp (220 kW) on 100 octane petrol.

TheDonington Collectionhad a complete example of each model, including the rear-engined car.

In 2003 Vanwall Cars was formed by Arthur Wolstenholme, producing the Vanwall GPR V12, a single-seater road-legal car bearing a strong resemblance to early Vanwall racing cars, and the Sports Racer, a two-seater of a similar style.In 2012 the trademark was acquired from Mahle Engine Systems UK by Sanderson International Marketing Ltd. In Summer 2016 Vanwall completed and sold an official replica 1957 Vanwall and then in October 2020 Vanwall 1958 Ltd, majority owned by Iain Sanderson, announced the commissioning of Hall & Hall to build 6 original 1958 specification 'continuation cars'.

Formula One World Championship results

(key)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Points	WCC
1954	Vanwall Special	VanwallL4	P		ARG	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	SUI	ITA	ESP			n/a	n/a
				Peter Collins					Ret			7	DNS
1955	Vanwall VW 55	VanwallL4	P		ARG	MON	500	BEL	NED	GBR	ITA					n/a	n/a
				Mike Hawthorn		Ret		Ret
				Ken Wharton						9	Ret
				Harry Schell						9	Ret
1956	Vanwall VW 2	VanwallL4	P		ARG	MON	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	ITA				n/a	n/a
				Maurice Trintignant		Ret		Ret		Ret		Ret
				Harry Schell		Ret		4	10	Ret		Ret
				Mike Hawthorn					10
				Colin Chapman					DNS
				José Froilán González						Ret
				Piero Taruffi								Ret
1957	Vanwall VW 5	VanwallL4	P		ARG	MON	500	FRA	GBR	GER	PES	ITA				n/a	n/a
				Stirling Moss		Ret			1PF	5	1F	1
				Tony Brooks		2			1	9	Ret	7F
				Stuart Lewis-Evans				Ret	7	Ret	5	RetP
				Roy Salvadori				Ret
1958	Vanwall VW 5	VanwallL4	D		ARG	MON	NED	500	BEL	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	MOR	48 (57)	1st
				Stirling Moss		Ret	1F		Ret	2	RetP	RetF	1P	RetP	1F
				Tony Brooks		RetP	Ret		1	Ret	7	1	Ret	1	Ret
				Stuart Lewis-Evans		Ret	RetP		3	Ret	4		3	Ret	Ret
1959	Vanwall VW 59	VanwallL4	D		MON	500	NED	FRA	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	USA			0	NC
				Tony Brooks					Ret
1960	Vanwall VW 11	VanwallL4	D		ARG	MON	500	NED	BEL	FRA	GBR	POR	ITA	USA		0	NC
				Tony Brooks						Ret

Non-championship Formula One results

(key)

Year	Chassis	Engine	Driver	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24
1954	Vanwall Special	VanwallL4		SYR	PAU	LAV	BOR	INT	BAR	CUR	ROM	FRO	COR	BRC	CRY	ROU	CAE	AUG	COR	OUL	RED	PES	JOE	CAD	BER	GOO	DTT
			Alberto Ascari			DNA
			Alan Brown					Ret
			Peter Collins																		DNA					2
			Mike Hawthorn																								2
1955	Vanwall VW 1/ VW2/ VW3	VanwallL4		NZL	BUE	VAL	PAU	GLO	BOR	INT	NAP	ALB	CUR	COR	LON	DRT	RED	DTT	OUL	AVO	SYR
			Mike Hawthorn					DNA		Ret
			Ken Wharton							Ret							2
			Harry Schell												2		1		Ret	1PF
			Desmond Titterington																3
1956	Vanwall VW 1/ VW2	VanwallL4		BUE	GLV	SYR	AIN	INT	NAP	100	VNW	CAE	BRH
			Harry Schell				DNA	Ret
			Stirling Moss				DNA	1PF
1957	Vanwall VW 1/ VW3/ VW7/ VW8/ VW10	VanwallL4		BUE	SYR	PAU	GLV	NAP	RMS	CAE	INT	MOD	MOR
			Stirling Moss		3F		RetP						DNS
			Tony Brooks		Ret		6F				DNA		Ret
			Stuart Lewis-Evans						3				2
			Roy Salvadori						5
1960	Vanwall VW 5	VanwallL4		GLV	INT	SIL	LOM	OUL
			Tony Brooks	7	DNA
	Lotus18						DNS

References

Bibliography

• Bamsey, Ian (1990).Vanwall 2.5 litre F1: A Technical Appraisal.Foulis motoring book series. Sparkford, Somerset, England; Newbury Park, CA, USA: Haynes Publishing.ISBN085429838X.
• Capps, Don (2000)."The Green Comet: the Brief History of the Vanwall".8W.Retrieved12 September2007.
• Capps, Don (2000)."A year-by-year look at the Vandervell racing machines, including the Thinwall Specials".8W.Retrieved12 September2007.
• Muelas, Felix (2000)."The first car that rattled the Alfetta's cage".8W.Retrieved12 September2007.
• Muelas, Felix (2000)."Vanwall's inconspicuous entry to the GP world".8W.Retrieved12 September2007.
• Muelas, Felix (2000)."Vanwall's breakthrough win".8W.Retrieved12 September2007.
• Setright, L. J. K. (1974). "Vanwall: The End of an Era". In Northey, Tom (ed.).World of Automobiles.Vol. 21. London: Orbis. pp. 2461–3.
• "TEAMS: Vanwall".Autocourse Grand Prix Archive.Archived fromthe originalon 20 December 2007.Retrieved12 September2007.
• "Team: Vanwall".ChicaneF1.com.Retrieved12 September2007.
• "CONSTRUCTORS: VANWALL".GrandPrix.com.Retrieved12 September2007.

External links

• Official website