Maurice Trintignant

Maurice Trintignant
Born (1917-10-30)30 October 1917
Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Vaucluse, France
Died 13 February 2005(2005-02-13) (aged 87)
Nîmes, Gard, France
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality France French
Active years 19501964
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 (82 starts)
Championships 0
Wins 2
Podiums 10[1]
Career points 72 13
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 Louis Trintignant — 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 Coupé de la Liberation, 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".[2]

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. 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.[3] 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),[4] near the town of Vergèze, in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine growing region, where he would eventually be elected mayor. Trintignant died, aged 87, in 2005.

Major career wins

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 WDC Points
1950 Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 15 Gordini Straight-4 GBR MON
Ret
500 SUI BEL FRA ITA
Ret
NC 0
1951 Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 15 Gordini Straight-4 SUI
DNA
500 BEL FRA
Ret
GBR GER
Ret
ITA
Ret
ESP
Ret
NC 0
1952 Ecurie Rosier Ferrari 166 F2 Ferrari V12 SUI
DNS
16th 2
Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 15 Gordini Straight-4 500 BEL FRA
5
Gordini Type 16 Gordini Straight-6 GBR
Ret
GER
Ret
NED
6
ITA
Ret
1953 Equipe Gordini Gordini Type 16 Gordini Straight-6 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
Straight-4
ARG
4
500 4th 17
Scuderia Ferrari BEL
2
FRA
Ret
GBR
5
GER
3
SUI
Ret
ITA
5
ESP
Ret
1955 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 625 Ferrari
Straight-4
ARG
2+3 †
MON
1
500 GBR
Ret
4th 11 13
Ferrari 555 BEL
6
NED
Ret
ITA
8
1956 Vandervell Products Ltd. Vanwall Vanwall
Straight-4
ARG MON
Ret
500 BEL
Ret
GBR
Ret
GER ITA
Ret
NC 0
Automobiles Bugatti Bugatti T251 Bugatti
Straight-8
FRA
Ret
1957 Scuderia Ferrari Ferrari 801 Ferrari V8 ARG MON
5
500 FRA
Ret
GBR
4 ‡
GER PES ITA 13th 5
1958 Rob Walker Racing Team Cooper T45 Climax
Straight-4
ARG MON
1
NED
9
500 GER
3
ITA
Ret
MOR
Ret
7th 12
Scuderia Centro Sud Maserati 250F Maserati
Straight-6
BEL
7
Owen Racing Organisation BRM P25 BRM Straight-4 FRA
Ret
Rob Walker Racing Team Cooper T43 Climax
Straight-4
GBR
8
POR
8
1959 Rob Walker Racing Team Cooper T51 Climax
Straight-4
MON
3
500 NED
8
FRA
11
GBR
5
GER
4
POR
4
ITA
9
USA
2
5th 19
1960 Rob Walker Racing Team Cooper T51 Climax
Straight-4
ARG
3[5]
NC 0
Scuderia Centro Sud Maserati
Straight-4
MON
Ret
500 NED
Ret
BEL FRA
Ret
USA
15
David Brown Corporation Aston Martin DBR5/250 Aston Martin Straight-6 GBR
11
POR ITA
1961 Scuderia Serenissima Cooper T51 Maserati
Straight-4
MON
7
NED BEL
Ret
FRA
13
GBR GER
Ret
ITA
9
USA NC 0
1962 Rob Walker Racing Team Lotus 24 Climax V8 NED
WD
MON
Ret
BEL
8
FRA
7
GBR GER
Ret
ITA
Ret
USA
Ret
RSA NC 0
1963 Reg Parnell Racing Lola Mk4A Climax V8 MON
Ret
BEL NED NC 0
Lotus 24 FRA
8
GBR GER
Scuderia Centro Sud BRM P57 BRM V8 ITA
9
USA MEX RSA
1964 Maurice Trintignant BRM P57 BRM 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

References

  1. Total of 10 podiums includes both 2nd and 3rd places at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix
  2. Michael Kettlewell, World of Automobiles (Orbis, 1974), Volume 20, p.2368
  3. Mattijs Diepraam , Colombo's flawed brilliance, 8W, October 1998.
  4. ibid.
  5. No points awarded for shared drive with Stirling Moss in the 1960 Argentine Grand Prix
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Tony Rolt
Duncan Hamilton
Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1954 with:
José Froilán González
Succeeded by
Mike Hawthorn
Ivor Bueb
Records
Preceded by
Stirling Moss
67 entries, 66 starts
(19511961)
Most Grand Prix entries
84 entries, 82 starts
(19501964),
68th at the 1961 French GP
Succeeded by
Jack Brabham
128 entries (126 starts),
85th at the 1966 Monaco GP
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