WINNING WAYS

A mainstay of Formula 1 grids for longer than any rival, the Maserati 250F powered the true greats of racing to championship domination. This is its story

- Harry Hurst

'The 250F was without a doubt the finest-handling front-engine F1 car I think built by anybody. My best race, I suppose, was probably winning Monaco in 1956. The reason was, the car handled so well. It was not as fast as the Ferraris but the balance of the machine was very, very important and they got it pretty right.’ These are the words of Stirling Moss, about a very special Maserati.

As the world emerged from war in the late 1940s, attention in Europe returned to motor racing. In 1950, the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) introduced the Formula 1 World Championship and, while entries came from several European countries, the fields were dominated initially by entries from three teams of Northern Italy: Maserati (Modena), Ferrari (Maranello), and Alfa Romeo (Milan).

Alfa Romeo used its pre-war Tipo 158/9 to dominate in 1950 and 1951 but, realising that the Alfetta would need to be completely redesigned to remain competitive, announced its withdrawal from racing in 1952. Fearing loss of revenue due to the perceived lack of competition against Ferrari, the FIA changed the rules to 2.0-litre Formula 2 cars for the 1952/53 World Drivers’ Championship and announced new normally aspirated 2.5-litre Formula 1 regulations for the 1954 season.