FANGIO VS MOSS AT AINTREE 1955: Was it a 'fix'?

It's 70 years since Stirling Moss's first Formula 1 victory. But was the win handed to a British driver on home soil? Mike Doodson reopens the case of a motor sport mystery – and finds the answer

- Mike Doodson

This was a race which has been the subject of debate and argument almost since the flag fell on it. Not that it had been a particularly complex duel on that hot, dry summer afternoon, apart from the one vital question that needles to this day: did Stirling Moss win it or was it gifted to him by Juan Manuel Fangio, his two-time Formula 1 world champion teammate at Mercedes?

While that race of 70 years ago and its 0.2sec winning margin have become a rabbit-hole down which this magazine and a galaxy of its writers have cheerfully burrowed over the decades, it was not something that greatly bothered the media back in 1955. The explanation for that, I suggest, is that the regular newspaper hacks regarded that year's Formula 1 drivers' championship as all but settled, with Fangio arriving at Aintree with a 14-point advantage over Moss (27 points to 13) and only two rounds left to run.

Lest we forget, the F1 calendar of 1955 had lost four events (in Germany, Switzerland, France and Spain), all cancelled by worried promoters in the wake of the Le Mans disaster that had cost dozens of spectator lives in June. Britain's mid-July event would be the fifth round, with the final contest not now due to take place until Monza, in September. Bearing in mind that Fangio, 44 years old at the time, had won three of the four pre-Aintree events, and that Moss, still a relative youngster at 25, had yet to break his grand prix duck. The Argentine veteran was all but guaranteed his third title.

The FIA’s points allocation then was 8-6-4-3-2, with a bonus point for fastest lap. Although this meant that there was a mathematical possibility of Moss surpassing Fangio, the Englishman made no secret of his hitherto worshipful attitude towards his teammate. Fortunately for us students of track history, the ‘Boy’ was about to break the mould by actually tackling his hero and taking the race to him for the first time. Or did he?