Suspense at Spa

The 1958 Belgian Grand Prix was held on 15 June 1958 at Spa-Francorchamps. It was the 19th Belgian Grand Prix and it was held over 24 laps of the 14 kilometre circuit.

The race was won by British driver Tony Brooks in a Vanwall. It was Brooks first solo Grand Prix victory after his car won the 1957 British Grand Prix in a shared drive with Stirling Moss. At the time, this was allowed.

Picture above: The two Vanwalls of Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks lead the field at Eau Rouge, Spa-Francorchamps 1958.

Tony Brooks finished 20 seconds ahead of fellow Briton Mike Hawthorn (who had started from pole) driving a Ferrari 246 F1, and Stuart Lewis-Evans finished third in a career-best finish.

On the last lap, Tony Brooks came out of La Source to end the race, and his gearbox seized as he crossed the line (picture below). When Hawthorn was coming out of the same corner to end his race in second, his engine failed as he was coming to the finish line. More drama when Lewis-Evan’s suspension collapsed on the way to La Source, and he crawled to the line in third.