I have great affection for the 250F because it was the first car that gave me my first proper break in Formula One. I must say, I didn’t much like the upright driving position and central throttle on the early car and Maserati was opposed to any tweakin

In my opinion, the greatest racing car ever is the Maserati 250F. It is completely user friendly and forgiving and I really enjoyed racing the Maser, first as a privateer and then as a semi-works driver. The Ferraris of the day had better engines but they tended to understeer and were less agile.

I have great affection for the 250F because it was the first car that gave me my first proper break in Formula One. I must say, I didn’t much like the upright driving position and central throttle on the early car and Maserati was opposed to any tweaking to its core design, but Alf Francis sneaked into the workshop and made the required alterations so the car ‘fitted’ me better.

I began to explore the Maser’s limits and soon found myself a dancing partner. We raised the axle ratio and adjusted the carburettors to add more torque and it became clear the Maser was a very honest car; it was like having a really good teacher at school, one who really gets your attention. I won my first Formula One point in 1954 by coming third at Spa in the 250F.

Of course in 1955 I was alongside my hero and friend, Juan Manuel Fangio as a works driver in the Mercedes-Benz W196, which was a much stronger racing car. But the 250F was always more pleasant to drive on the limit and it remains my favourite.  

The Maserati 250F was introduced in 1954 as a 2.5-litre straight-six (the later 250F T2 was a V12). The 250F won eight Grands Prix in the hands of Moss and Fangio. 

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Auto Union Type C
Lotus 49
Porsche 917
AC Cobra
Mercedes-Benz W196
Toyota TS010 Group C

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