Maserati 250F A Technical Appraisal

The Maserati 250F was one of the last of the great front engined Grand Prix cars: big, heavy brutes slurping alcohol, bellowing with raw power and sliding around on low grip tyres. In the hands of a master such as Fangio these cars came to life in a spectacle of tyre smoke and ear shattering megaphone blasts. Fangio won the 1957 World Championship with the 250F taking the art of car control to new heights with the perfected and exhilarating technique of four wheel drift. Somehow the 250F embodied the spirit of that exciting era; perhaps because the 250F flourished throughout the years of 2.5 litres and free fuel, it was often the most popular model on the grid. Although uninspired in the technical sense, it embodied everything a Grand Prix car stood for, in the days when racing drivers rode on rather than in the car. Although a cherished classic rather than a technical triumph, the 250F makes a fascinating engineering study. It didn't shine in any one particular area but it did everything rather well, hence its long competitive life. Indeed, it survived throughout the four year formula for which it was devised without falling from grace. In studying the technology of the Maserati 250F this book shows the raw beauty of the last era of innocence before scientific progress swept aside the romantic notion of the Grand Prix car as a war horse ridden by a hero.