Prince Bira

Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandth (1914-1985), better known as Prince Bira of Siam or by his nom de course B. Bira, was a member of the Thai royal family. A competent racing driver,  a good sailor, and pilot.

He raced in Formula 1 from 1950 to 1954 for the Maserati, Gordini, and Connaught teams and scored a total of 8 championship points.

Prince Bira finished fifth in the Monaco Grand Prix and fourth in the Swiss Grand Prix in 1950, at the wheel of a privately-entered Maserati 4CLT/48. No point scoring results in the next three seasons, due to outdated material at his disposal, but in 1954, results improved when the Prince was handed a works Maserati A6GCM. Sixth in Belgium was followed by fourth in France (picture below), proved the qualities of this very special competitor.