Maserati's economic resources were scarce at that time. By 1954 they developed a 2,493 cm3 DOHC 6-cylinder in-line engine with a power of 240 hp. They barely managed to optimize the impeller and bring it to 270 hp for the 1957 season. Another weak point on the Maserati was the tubular chassis with conventional spring suspensions.
The first victory of the Maserati 250F in a Grand Prix came from the hands of multiple Argentine champion Juan Manual Fangio. But for the upcoming races Mercedes Benz presented the spectacular model W196. That same year Mercedes hired Fangio and managed to win the championship. During the rest of the season Maserati won only secondary races.
The Maserati seemed to be the ideal car for independent riders who wanted to enter the competitions on their own. This is precisely how the pilot Stirling Moss emerged.
Moss turned out to be so talented that Maserati appointed him as the official pilot of the brand. Although by 1955 again Mercedes would take away their star driver, attracted by a good contract as Fangio's partner.
Stirling Moss would finally return to the Maserati team in 1956, winning two Grand Prix despite the obvious lack of speed compared to the Ferrari cars. The 1956 season had Fangio as champion aboard a Ferrari.
The following year (1957) Fangio returned to compete for Maserati. It was the last full season of the Argentine rider, who with four wins then won his fifth and final World Championship of drivers.
In 1957 the Maserati competition division closed its doors, thus closing a memorable chapter in the history of sports motorsport.
© Adrián Blanco 2006 — Prohibited the total or partial reproduction of text and/or images without explicit written consent of the author. —
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