Editing Mike Hawthorn (section)

==Racing career==
Mike Hawthorn made his competition debut on 2 September 1950 in his 1934 [[Riley Motor|Riley]] Ulster [[Riley Nine|Imp]], KV 9475, winning the 1,100&nbsp;cc sports car class at the [[Brighton Speed Trials]].<ref>''Motor Sport'', October 1950, Page 493; ''Motor Sport'', August 1951, Page 379.</ref> In 1951, driving a {{frac|1|1|2}}-litre T.T. Riley, he entered the ''[[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport]]'' [[Brooklands]] Memorial Trophy, a season-long contest run at [[Goodwood Circuit|Goodwood]], winning it by one point.<ref>''Motor Sport'', September 1951, Page 432.</ref> He also won the Ulster Trophy Handicap at [[Dundrod Circuit|Dundrod]] and the Leinster Trophy at Wicklow that year.<ref>''Motor Sport'', January 1952, Page 11.</ref>

===1952===
By 1952, Hawthorn had switched to [[Open-wheel car|single-seaters]] and during that season won his first race in a [[Formula Two]] [[Cooper Cars|Cooper-Bristol T20]] at Goodwood. Further successes followed which brought him to the attention of [[Enzo Ferrari]], who offered him a works drive. He made his [[Formula One]] debut at the [[1952 Belgian Grand Prix|1952 Grote Prijs van Belgie]] on the legendary [[Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps]], finishing in fourth place. By the end of the season, he had already secured his first podium, with a third place at the [[1952 British Grand Prix|RAC British Grand Prix]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr020.html|title=British GP, 1952 Race Report - GP Encyclopedia - F1 History on Grandprix.com|publisher=Grandprix.com|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> and a brace of fourths driving a Cooper.<ref name="f1-fansite.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.f1-fansite.com/f1-results/results-1952-formula-1-season/|title=Results 1952 Formula 1 Season|work=F1 Fansite|date=16 January 1952 |access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref>

===1953===
At [[Scuderia Ferrari]] for the 1953 season, Hawthorn immediately showed his worth with victory, at his ninth attempt, in the [[1953 French Grand Prix|French Grand Prix]] at [[Reims-Gueux|Reims]], outmanoeuvring [[Juan Manuel Fangio]] in what became dubbed 'the race of the century' with the top four drivers finishing within five seconds of each other after 60 laps.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr028.html|title=French GP, 1953 Race Report - GP Encyclopedia - F1 History on Grandprix.com|publisher=Grandprix.com|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> This and two other podium finishes helped him end the season fourth overall.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web|url=http://www.f1-fansite.com/f1-results/results-1953-formula-1-season/|title=Results 1953 Formula 1 Season|work=F1 Fansite|date=16 January 1953 |access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> He also won the [[BRDC International Trophy]]<ref name="formula2.net">{{cite web|url=http://www.formula2.net/F253_9.htm|title=Formula 2 1953 - International Trophy|work=formula2.net|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> and the Ulster Trophy<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.formula2.net/F253_12.htm|title=Formula 2 1953 - Ulster Trophy|work=formula2.net|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> as well as the [[1953 Spa 24 Hours|24 Heures de Spa Francorchamps]] with Ferrari teammate [[Giuseppe Farina]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.racingsportscars.com/race/Spa-1953-07-26.html|title=Spa 24 Hours|publisher=Racing Sports Cars|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref>

===1954===
Hawthorn's liability for conscription ([[Conscription in the United Kingdom|National Service]]) was brought up in the [[House of Commons]].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/1954-02-02/debates/b6c77ad0-aa0c-40a9-8e6d-a98c04fe9c04/RacingMotorists | title=Racing Motorists | publisher=Hansard | access-date=22 December 2019}}</ref> In a crash during the [[Syracuse Grand Prix|Gran Premio di Siracusa]] Hawthorn suffered serious burns,<ref name=Skilleter/> but finished the year with three seconds and then victory in the season finale in Spain, placing him third in the Drivers' Championship.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web|url=http://www.f1-fansite.com/f1-results/results-1954-formula-1-season/|title=Results 1954 Formula 1 Season|work=F1 Fansite|date=16 January 1954 |access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> Following the death of his father, Hawthorn left Ferrari to race for [[Tony Vandervell]]'s [[Vanwall]] team, as he needed to spend more time at the family garage he had inherited,<ref name=Skilleter/> but after two races returned to Ferrari.

===1955===
====24 Hours of Le Mans====
{{main article|1955 24 Hours of Le Mans|1955 Le Mans disaster}}
[[Image:Le Mans Unfall.svg|thumb|150px|left|The 1955 Le Mans accident]]
In January 1955, Hawthorn joined the Jaguar racing team, replacing [[Stirling Moss]], who had left for Mercedes.<ref>[http://www.mike-hawthorn.org.uk/aletterfrommike.php A letter from Mike Hawthorn] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927184110/http://www.mike-hawthorn.org.uk/aletterfrommike.php |date=27 September 2013 }}. Mike-hawthorn.org.uk. Retrieved on 2013-08-16.</ref> Hawthorn won the [[1955 24 Hours of Le Mans|1955 les 24 Heures du Mans]] following what has been described as an inspired drive in which he set a lap record of 4 minutes and 6.6 seconds during a three-hour duel with Fangio in the early stages. However, the race was marred by the worst disaster in motor racing history, a [[1955 Le Mans disaster|crash which killed 83 spectators]] and Mercedes driver [[Pierre Levegh]]. After overtaking [[Lance Macklin]]'s Healey, Hawthorn suddenly braked in front of him on noticing an order to enter the pits to refuel, causing Macklin to swerve into the path of Levegh's Mercedes. After colliding with the Healey, the Mercedes skipped the earthen embankment separating the spectator area from the track, bounced through spectator enclosures, then hit a concrete stairwell parapet head-on. The impact shattered the front end of the car, which then somersaulted high, pitching debris into the spectator area, before landing atop the earthen embankment. The debris, including bonnet, engine, and front axle, which separated from the frame, flew through the crowd.

Eight hours later, while leading the race 1.5 laps ahead of the Jaguar team, the Mercedes team withdrew from the race, ostensibly as a mark of respect for those who had perished in the accident; the Jaguar team was invited to join them but declined.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.conceptcarz.com/view/f1/teamsBySeason.aspx?driverTeamArticleID=160&driverID=65 |title=Mike Hawthorn & the 1955 24 Hours of Le Mans: The Cause and the Effect |publisher=ConceptCarz.com |access-date=15 April 2013}}</ref> The French press carried photographs of Hawthorn and [[Ivor Bueb]] celebrating their win with the customary champagne but treated them with scorn.<ref name="BBC Four" />

The official inquiry into the accident ruled that Hawthorn was not responsible for the crash, and that it was merely a racing incident. The death of so many spectators was blamed on inadequate safety standards for track design. Aside from two layout changes to make the circuit shorter, the track was largely unaltered since the inception of the race in [[1923 24 Hours of Le Mans|1923]], when top speeds of cars were typically in the region of {{convert|100|km/h|-1|abbr=on}}. By 1955, top speeds for the leading cars were over {{convert|270|km/h|-1|abbr=on}}. That said, the circuit had been resurfaced and widened post-[[World War II|war]]. The pits and grandstands had been reconstructed, but there were no barriers between the pit lane and the racing line, and only a {{convert|4|ft|m|abbr=on|adj=on}} earthen bank between the track and the spectators. The Grandstand and pit areas were demolished and rebuilt soon after.<ref name="BBC Four"/> The death toll led to a ban on motorsports in France, Spain, Switzerland, Germany and other nations, until the tracks could be brought to a higher safety standard. In Switzerland motorsports were banned with exceptions until the ban was lifted in June 2022.

====Dundrod====
Whilst sharing the [[Jaguar D-Type]] with [[Desmond Titterington]] during the [[1955 RAC Tourist Trophy]] at Dundrod, Hawthorn passed Fangio twice, and set the lap record for the RAC Tourist Trophy on the Dundrod Circuit, only to lose in the final stages when, running on full tanks, he was passed by Stirling Moss when the D Type's engine failed on the last lap.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Evans|first1=Art|title=History of the Tourist Trophy – Race Profile|url=http://www.sportscardigest.com/history-of-the-tourist-trophy-race-profile/2/|website=Sports Car Digest|publisher=Off Camber Group, Inc|access-date=5 November 2014|date=28 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Motor|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B-QmAAAAMAAJ|year=1959|publisher=Temple Press Limited|page=5}}</ref>

===1956–1957===
[[File:Hawthorn and Collins Ferraris Nurburgring 1957.jpg|thumb|right|Hawthorn leads Peter Collins in their Ferrari 801 cars, during the [[1957 German Grand Prix]]]]
Another change of team for 1956 – this time to [[British Racing Motors|BRM]] - was a failure, and Hawthorn's only podium came in [[1956 Argentine Grand Prix|Argentina]] where the non-appearance of his BRM allowed him to guest drive a [[Maserati 250F]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr049.html|title=Argentine GP, 1956 Race Report - GP Encyclopedia - F1 History on Grandprix.com|publisher=Grandprix.com|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> However, when it appeared, usually only in British races, the new 2.5 BRM was very fast while it lasted, and Hawthorn held off Fangio, leading the first 25 laps at Silverstone in the British GP. He retired the car before half distance owing to deteriorating handling and brakes. Deeply unhappy with the BRM team's management and car preparation, Hawthorn walked out of the team at this point. Hawthorn had left Ferrari because driving for the British Jaguar sports car team was his first priority. He was favoured to win at Le Mans again, but lost ten laps in the pits early in the race, and while the D type repeatedly set fastest laps, the fuel consumption rules meant he could only finish sixth.

Racing the D type in Italy, Hawthorn crashed and suffered very serious burns, his second bad accident of the year, leaving him disillusioned with racing. However, he believed a return to Ferrari could give him the championship in the superior [[Lancia D50|Lancia Ferrari D50]]. He had put the original [[Vittorio Jano|Jano]] version of the car on the front row at its debut in the final F1 race of 1955 at [[Oulton Park]]. However, Ferrari's modified version of the design for 1957 was slower than Fangio and Collins's all-conquering 1956 Lancia Ferrari. The 1957 version, with the polar centred pannier tanks removed, still handled well, but was not the masterpiece Jano designed; it lacked straight line speed and was not competitive by mid 1957, clearly inferior to the new Vanwalls.

Hawthorn rejoined the [[Ferrari]] factory team in 1957, and soon became friends with [[Peter Collins (racing driver)|Peter Collins]], a fellow Englishman and Ferrari team driver. During the 1957 and 1958 racing seasons, the two Englishmen became engaged in a fierce rivalry with [[Luigi Musso]], another Ferrari driver, for prize money.<ref name="grandprix.com">{{cite web|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr070.html|title=French GP, 1958 Race Report - GP Encyclopedia - F1 History on Grandprix.com|publisher=Grandprix.com|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref>

[[File:Mike Hawthorn 1958 Argentine GP.jpg|thumb|left|Hawthorn driving his [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] to third in the [[1958 Argentine Grand Prix|Gran Premio de la Republica Argentina]]]]

===1958 World Champion===
Hawthorn won the {{F1|1958}} Formula One Championship despite achieving only one win, against four by Moss. Hawthorn won the [[1958 French Grand Prix]] at [[Reims]], in which Musso was fatally injured while in second place. Leading easily in the [[1958 Monaco Grand Prix]] at half distance, his [[Ferrari 246|246]] engine blew,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr066.html|title=Monaco GP, 1958 Race Report – GP Encyclopedia – F1 History on Grandprix.com|publisher=Grandprix.com|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> while at [[1958 Italian Grand Prix|Monza]] he was a minute ahead of [[Tony Brooks (racing driver)|Tony Brooks]] when his clutch forced him to slow to second place.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr074.html|title=Italian GP, 1958 Race Report – GP Encyclopedia – F1 History on Grandprix.com|publisher=Grandprix.com|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> Hawthorn benefited greatly from the gentlemanliness of Moss, as demonstrated at the [[1958 Portuguese Grand Prix]] at [[Circuito da Boavista|Porto]]. Hawthorn was disqualified for bump starting his stalled car downhill in the opposite direction, on the way to a second-place finish. Moss interceded on Hawthorn's behalf and the decision was ultimately reversed.<ref name="ReferenceC">{{cite web|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr073.html|title=Portuguese GP, 1958 Race Report – GP Encyclopedia – F1 History on Grandprix.com|publisher=Grandprix.com|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> After a pit stop midway through that race, Hawthorn accelerated back through the field to gain an extra point for fastest lap. Moss had failed to respond, possibly doubting Hawthorn could lap so fast with damaged drum brakes.<ref name="ReferenceC"/> This extra world championship point plus the second place points contributed to Hawthorn winning the championship with a season total just one more than that of Moss. In the final race, the [[1958 Moroccan Grand Prix]], Hawthorn drove a conservative tactical race aiming to stay ahead of Moss's Vanwall teammates. Brooks's car broke while narrowly leading Hawthorn, and [[Stuart Lewis-Evans]] in the third Vanwall crashed after a desperate attempt to move through the field and challenge Hawthorn running third; Evans later died of burns. In the last laps, second-placed [[Phil Hill]] slowed and waved Hawthorn through to gain enough points to take the Championship; the first ever to be won by an English driver.<ref name=Skilleter>Bailey Skilleter, "Mike Hawthorn: Golden Boy" (PJ Publishing Ltd., {{ISBN|978-1-908658-06-7}}, 2015)</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grandprix.com/gpe/rr075.html|title=Morocco GP, 1958 Race Report – GP Encyclopedia – F1 History on Grandprix.com|publisher=Grandprix.com|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref> Hawthorn's total of just one win in his title winning season means that Hawthorn currently jointly holds the Formula One record for the fewest number of Grand Prix wins by an eventual drivers' champion during a title winning season along with [[Keke Rosberg]] (who also scored one win in his subsequent [[1982 Formula One World Championship|1982]] title winning season) <ref>{{cite web |title=Stats F1- World Championship Titles-Wins |url=https://www.statsf1.com/en/statistiques/pilote/champion/victoire.aspx |website=www.statsf1.com |publisher=Stats F1 |access-date=29 August 2022}}</ref>

After winning the title, Hawthorn immediately announced his retirement from Formula One. He began a series of books for children featuring not only the wholly fictional Carlotti but also himself and other drivers of the day ('Stirling nipped past me at the hairpin', and so on). The first, published in 1958, was ''Carlotti Joins the Team'', and a second was published in 1959 called ''Carlotti Takes the Wheel''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.classicmotoringbooks.co.uk/product/carlotti-takes-the-wheel/ |title=Carlotti Takes The Wheel |access-date=17 September 2021}}</ref> Due to his death, the series did not continue.

Hawthorn was noted for wearing a [[bow tie]] when racing;<ref>{{cite book |last=Daley |first=Robert |title=The Cruel Sport: Grand Prix Racing 1959–1967 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5GU8eo601hsC|year=2005|publisher=MotorBooks International |location=St. Paul, MN USA |isbn=978-0-76032-100-3 |page=xv |quote=The world champion that year was the Ferrari driver Mike Hawthorn, a tall, blond young man who always wore a bow tie when racing. Always. He considered this important. It was his style. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318105938/http://books.google.com.jm/books?id=5GU8eo601hsC&source=gbs_navlinks_s |archive-date=18 March 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last= Salmon|first= Dick|title=Brm: A Mechanic's Tale |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=61KT85wL6RgC|year=2007|publisher=Veloce Publishing |location=Dorchester, UK |isbn=978-1-84584-082-2 |page= 58|quote= Invariably he would greet his friend Peter Collins with the words 'mon ami, mate' and was famous for his bow tie, which earned him the nickname 'Le Pappilon' [''sic''], meaning the butterfly.}}</ref> to the French, he became known as 'Le Papillon' (The Butterfly).<ref name=Skilleter/>