Images by Unique & Limited
Do you have a naked wall in your office you’d like to plaster tasteful automobilia to? Look no further; we’ve got you covered with this new poster produced by Unique & Unlimited. Limited to just 1,000 prints, this beautifully presented, raised frontal view of the 1957 German Grand Prix winning Maserati 250F will tell your coworkers “I’d rather be racing.”
With Juan Manuel Fangio behind the wheel, the Maserati 250F’s first contest was the 1954 Argentine Grand Prix, in which Fangio won the first of his four Argentine GP victories. Powered by a 220 horsepower, 2.5-liter straight-six, Fangio earned the 1954 Driver’s World Championship title with the 250F, but this was just the beginning.
By 1956, Officine Alfieri Maserati reconstructed the 250F with a lighter steel tube chassis, stiffer body construction, and a 315 horsepower 3.0-liter V12. Dubbed the 250F T2, the new-and-improved Maserati monoposto continued claiming Formula One podiums.
Its most significant contribution to motorsport came at the 1957 German Grand Prix, hosted at the infamous Nürburgring. Prior to lining up at the grid, Fangio noticed the Ferrari entrants were running harder compound tires and full fuel cells in preparation for a nonstop race. Taking a risk, Fangio decided to run softer compound and half the gas for better acceleration and cornering grip—the drawback to this strategy being the requisite pit stop.
With a 30 second first place lead on Mike Hawthorn’s Ferrari, Fangio pulled into the pits on lap 13 for fresh rubber and a fuel top-off. One of the mechanics dropped a wheel center lock and it took nearly a minute to find it underneath the car, then mount the wheel, and finally get the car back on the ground.
The unfortunate pit fiasco caused the Maserati team a major time deficit, putting Fangio in 3rd place and 48 seconds behind Collins’ Ferrari in second. Miraculously, Fangio manhandled the Maserati with enough gusto to make up the time discrepancy in just 22 laps. Late on the 21st lap, Fangio passed Collins through a left turn with two tires in the grass. On the final lap, Fangio just barely overtook Mike Hawthorn’s first place Ferrari.
Hawthorn aggressively attempted to regain first but couldn’t get past Fangio and his Maserati before the finish line. Fangio broke 9 lap records in recovering from the pit stop catastrophe, 7 of which were broken successively, and 15.5 seconds were redeemed in the first lap after leaving the pit alone.
After his incredible drive to victory, Fangio admitted, “I have never driven that quickly before in my life and I don’t think I will ever be able to do it again.” The fearless white-knuckle nerve and ability to barrel through the ‘Ring’s threatening elevation changes and blind corner barriers is a testament to both Fangio’s undeniable skill and the 250F’s flat-out performance—a championship duet that’s yet to be recreated since.
Head on over to The Shop to order yours today.
