Maurice Trintignant
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Born | Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Vaucluse, France | 30 October 1917
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Died | 13 February 2005 Nîmes, Gard, France | (aged 87)
Formula One World Championship career | |
Nationality | ![]() |
Active years | 1950 – 1964 |
Teams | Gordini, Ecurie Rosier, Ferrari inc. non-works, Vanwall, Rob Walker Racing Team, Scuderia Centro Sud, Bugatti, Aston Martin, BRM inc privateer, Scuderia Serenissima, Reg Parnell Racing |
Entries | 84 (81 starts)[a] |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 2 |
Podiums | 10[3] |
Career points | 72 1⁄3 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 1 |
First entry | 1950 Monaco Grand Prix |
First win | 1955 Monaco Grand Prix |
Last win | 1958 Monaco Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1964 Italian Grand Prix |
Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (30 October 1917, in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Vaucluse – 13 February 2005, in Nîmes) was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest careers in the early years of Formula One. During this time he also competed in sports car racing, including winning the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Following his retirement from the track Trintignant concentrated on the wine trade.
Maurice Trintignant was the brother of Bugatti race car driver — who was killed in 1933, in practice, at Péronne, Picardy — and the uncle of renowned French film actor Jean-Louis Trintignant.
Racing career[]
He began racing in 1938, and won the 1939 Grand Prix des Frontières, but his career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which his own Bugatti was stored in a barn. When he rebuilt it for an event of 1945, the , he overlooked a clogged fuel filter, which caused him to drop out of the race. It transpired that the filter was plugged with rat droppings, earning him the unenviable nickname Le Petoulet, "the rat-droppings man".[4]
By 1950 Le Petoulet was successful enough to be offered a works drive for the Gordini team, in the newly formed Formula One World Championship racing series. He competed in Formula One every year until his retirement after the 1964 season. During this long career Trintignant scored two victories, both at the Monaco Grand Prix, in 1955 and 1958.[5] 1954 and 1955 were his best Championship years and he finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship in both.
During the course of his career, Trintignant drove a huge variety of cars, for many different teams: both works and privateer. Unusually, at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix Trintignant shared both second and third places, a product of the Scuderia Ferrari policy of passing cars to their top drivers, should their original car break down. In 1956 he drove the Bugatti Type 251 in the French Grand Prix, becoming the last driver to represent the famed marque at a Grand Prix race.[6] Even in his final season, driving his own BRM P57, he scored points, taking fifth place at the 1964 German Grand Prix on the intimidating Nürburgring. Following his retirement from racing, Maurice Trintignant returned to a quiet life as a wine-grower (naming his vintage Le Petoulet),[7] near the town of Vergèze, in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine growing region.
Trintignant competed in the 2000 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, reunited with the Cooper T45 he had driven to victory there in 1958.[8]
Trintignant died, aged 87, in 2005.
Major career wins[]
- – 1950
- Mont Ventoux Hill Climb – 1949,1960,1964
- Buenos Aires Grand Prix – 1954, 1960
- Swedish Grand Prix – 1956
- RAC Tourist Trophy – 1954
- Circuit des Nations – 1950
- Moroccan Grand Prix – 1956
- – 1947
- – 1951
- – 1952, 1954
- Grand Prix de Cadours – 1952, 1953
- Pau Grand Prix – 1958, 1959 (F2), 1962 (F1)
- – 1954
- – 1952
- Grand Prix des Frontières – 1938, 1939, 1953
- – 1956
- – 1954
- – 1955
- Monaco Grand Prix – 1955, 1958
- 24 Hours of Le Mans – 1953, 1954
Racing record[]
Complete Formula One World Championship results[]
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | WDC | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s | GBR | MON Ret |
500 | SUI | BEL | FRA | ITA Ret |
NC | 0 | ||||
1951 | Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s | SUI DNA |
500 | BEL | FRA Ret |
GBR | GER Ret |
ITA DNS |
ESP Ret |
NC | 0 | |||
1952 | Ecurie Rosier | Ferrari F2 | Ferrari 166 2.0 V12 | SUI DNS |
500 | BEL | 16th | 2 | ||||||||
Equipe Gordini | Simca-Gordini T15 | Gordini 1500 1.5 L4 | FRA 5 |
|||||||||||||
Gordini | Gordini 20 2.0 L6 | GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
NED 6 |
ITA Ret |
|||||||||||
1953 | Equipe Gordini | Gordini | Gordini 20 2.0 L6 | ARG 7* |
500 | NED 6 |
BEL 5 |
FRA Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER Ret |
SUI Ret |
ITA 5 |
12th | 4 | ||
1954 | Ecurie Rosier | Ferrari 625 | Ferrari 625 2.5 L4 | ARG 4 |
500 | 4th | 17 | |||||||||
Scuderia Ferrari | BEL 2 |
FRA Ret |
GBR 5 |
GER 3 |
SUI Ret |
ITA 5 |
||||||||||
Ferrari 553 | Ferrari 554 2.5 L4 | ESP Ret |
||||||||||||||
1955 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 625 | Ferrari 555 2.5 L4 | ARG 2+3† |
MON 1 |
500 | GBR Ret |
4th | 11 1⁄3 | |||||||
Ferrari 555 | BEL 6 |
NED Ret |
ITA 8 |
|||||||||||||
1956 | Vandervell Products Ltd | Vanwall VW 2 | Vanwall 254 2.5 L4 | ARG | MON Ret |
500 | BEL Ret |
GBR Ret |
GER | ITA Ret |
NC | 0 | ||||
Automobiles Bugatti | Bugatti T251 | Bugatti 2.5 L8 | FRA Ret |
|||||||||||||
1957 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 801 | Ferrari DS50 2.5 V8 | ARG | MON 5 |
500 | FRA Ret |
GBR 4‡ |
GER | PES | ITA | 13th | 5 | |||
1958 | R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | Cooper T45 | Climax FPF 2.0 L4 | ARG | MON 1 |
NED 9 |
500 | GER 3 |
ITA Ret |
MOR Ret |
7th | 12 | ||||
Scuderia Centro Sud | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | BEL 7 |
|||||||||||||
Owen Racing Organisation | BRM P25 | BRM P25 2.5 L4 | FRA Ret |
|||||||||||||
R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | Cooper T43 | Climax FPF 2.0 L4 | GBR 8 |
POR 8 |
||||||||||||
1959 | R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | Cooper T51 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | MON 3 |
500 | NED 8 |
FRA 11 |
GBR 5 |
GER 4 |
POR 4 |
ITA 9 |
USA 2 |
5th | 19 | ||
1960 | R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | Cooper T51 | Climax FPF 2.5 L4 | ARG 3[9] |
NC | 0 | ||||||||||
Scuderia Centro Sud | Maserati 250S 2.5 L4 | MON Ret |
500 | NED Ret |
BEL | FRA Ret |
USA 15 |
|||||||||
David Brown Corporation | Aston Martin DBR5 | Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6 | GBR 11 |
POR | ITA | |||||||||||
1961 | Scuderia Serenissima | Cooper T51 | Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4 | MON 7 |
NED | BEL Ret |
FRA 13 |
GBR | GER Ret |
ITA 9 |
USA | NC | 0 | |||
1962 | R.R.C. Walker Racing Team | Lotus 24 | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | NED WD |
MON Ret |
BEL 8 |
FRA 7 |
GBR WD |
GER Ret |
ITA Ret |
USA Ret |
RSA | NC | 0 | ||
1963 | Reg Parnell Racing | Lola Mk4A | Climax FWMV 1.5 V8 | MON Ret |
BEL | NED | NC | 0 | ||||||||
Lotus 24 | FRA 8 |
GBR | GER | |||||||||||||
Scuderia Centro Sud | BRM P57 | BRM P56 1.5 V8 | ITA 9 |
USA | MEX | RSA | ||||||||||
1964 | Maurice Trintignant | BRM P57 | BRM P56 1.5 V8 | MON Ret |
NED | BEL | FRA 11 |
GBR DNQ |
GER 5 |
AUT DNA |
ITA Ret |
USA | MEX | 16th | 2 |
- * Indicates shared drive with Harry Schell
- † Indicates shared drives with José Froilán González and Giuseppe Farina (2nd place) & Giuseppe Farina and Umberto Maglioli (3rd place)
- ‡ Indicates shared drive with Peter Collins
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results[]
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1950 | ![]() |
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Gordini T15S Coupé | S 3.0 | 34 | DNF (Water radiator) | |
1951 | ![]() |
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Gordini T15S | S 1.5 | 49 | DNF (Ignition) | |
1952 | ![]() |
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Ferrari 340 America Spyder | S 5.0 | DNF (Clutch) | ||
1953 | ![]() |
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Gordini T26S | S 3.0 | 293 | 6th | 1st |
1954 | ![]() |
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Ferrari 375 Plus | S 5.0 | 302 | 1st | 1st |
1955 | ![]() |
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Ferrari 735 LM | S 5.0 | 107 | DNF (Clutch) | |
1956 | ![]() |
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Ferrari 625 LM Touring | S 3.0 | 293 | 3rd | 2nd |
1957 | ![]() |
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Ferrari 250 TR | S 5.0 | 109 | DNF (Piston) | |
1958 | ![]() |
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Aston Martin DBR1/300 | S 3.0 | 173 | DNF (Gearbox) | |
1959 | ![]() |
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Aston Martin DBR1/300 | S 3.0 | 322 | 2nd | 2nd |
1960 | ![]() |
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Porsche 718 RS 60 | S 2.0 | 57 | DNF (Piston) | |
1961 | ![]() |
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Ferrari 250 GT SWB | GT 3.0 | 162 | DNF (Transmission) | |
1962 | ![]() |
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Maserati Tipo 151/1 | E +3.0 | 152 | DNF (Suspension) | |
1964 | ![]() |
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Maserati Tipo 151/3 | P 5.0 | 99 | DNF (Electrical) | |
1965 | ![]() |
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Ford GT40 Roadster | P 5.0 | 11 | DNF (Gearbox) |
Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results[]
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1957 | ![]() |
![]() |
Ferrari 315 S | S5.0 | 187 | 6th | 5th |
Trivia[]
- He was awarded the Légion d’Honneur in 1960
- Was the mayor of Vergèze between 1958 and 1964.
- Was married to Louise on 10 December 1938
- Took over his father's vineyard
- On 10 October 2010 a bronze statue of a Bugatti Type 51 was unveiled in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes in his honour
Notes[]
- ^ Trintignant got sick before the race at Italy in 1951, and was secretly replaced by Jean Behra. Team principal Amédée Gordini did not inform the race organizers about the switch as it would have cut the team's starting fee. Since the organizers were not informed about the driver change Trintignant was initially credited with the race start and some sources still do.[1][2]
References[]
- ^ "Jean Behra - Biography". MotorSportMagazine. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ "Seasons - Italy 1951". www.statsf1.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- ^ Total of 10 podiums includes both 2nd and 3rd places at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix
- ^ Michael Kettlewell, World of Automobiles (Orbis, 1974), Volume 20, p.2368
- ^ Daily Express page 9 Monday 19 May 1958
- ^ Mattijs Diepraam, Colombo's flawed brilliance, 8W, October 1998.
- ^ ibid.
- ^ "The Ex-Rob Walker Racing Team/Maurice Trintignant 1958 Monaco Grand Prix Winning, 1958 Cooper-Climax Type 45 — Polson Motor Company". polsonmotorco.com. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
- ^ No points awarded for shared drive with Stirling Moss in the 1960 Argentine Grand Prix
External links[]
- Mattijs Diepraam, Colombo's flawed brilliance, 8W, October 1998.
- French racing drivers
- French Formula One drivers
- Gordini Formula One drivers
- Ecurie Rosier Formula One drivers
- Ferrari Formula One drivers
- Vanwall Formula One drivers
- Bugatti Formula One drivers
- Rob Walker Racing Team Formula One drivers
- BRM Formula One drivers
- Scuderia Centro Sud Formula One drivers
- Aston Martin Formula One drivers
- Reg Parnell Racing Formula One drivers
- Scuderia Serenissima Formula One drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
- 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers
- 12 Hours of Reims drivers
- World Sportscar Championship drivers
- Sportspeople from Vaucluse
- 1917 births
- 2005 deaths
- Grand Prix drivers