The race followed a six-week hiatus after the Italian Grand Prix. Entering the event, Mike Hawthorn (40 points) and Stirling Moss (32 points) were the only drivers with a mathematical chance of winning the title. For Moss to become champion, he required a victory and the fastest lap, provided Hawthorn finished no higher than third. Alternatively, a win without the fastest lap would suffice if Hawthorn finished third or lower without the fastest lap himself.
The entry list consisted of 25 cars, including 19 Formula One specification entries and six Formula Two Coopers. Works teams included Ferrari and Vanwall with three cars each, BRM with four, and Lotus and Cooper with two each. Five non-works Formula One entries completed the top tier.
During Friday practice, Jean Behra recorded the fastest time of 2:25.2 for BRM, followed by Tony Brooks and Hawthorn. Moss was hampered by traffic during his fast lap attempts and failed to break the 2:26 mark. On Saturday, Hawthorn secured pole position with a time of 2:23.1. Moss qualified second, one-tenth of a second behind, while Stuart Lewis-Evans completed the three-car front row. The second row featured Phil Hill and Behra.
At the start, Moss and Lewis-Evans led the field, with Phil Hill moving up from the second row. By the conclusion of the first lap, Moss led Hill, followed by Hawthorn, Jo Bonnier, Brooks, Lewis-Evans, and Behra. On lap three, Hill attempted to out-brake Moss but left the track; he rejoined without damage but fell behind Hawthorn and Bonnier. Hill subsequently recovered, passing Bonnier and then Hawthorn by lap eight to take second place.
On lap 18, Moss sustained a minor collision with Wolfgang Seidel’s Maserati. While Seidel was forced to retire, Moss continued but remained cautious regarding his engine temperature for the remainder of the race. By lap 25, Moss held a 20-second lead over Hill, with Brooks in third. Hawthorn moved back into third place after Moss's teammate Brooks suffered an engine failure on lap 30.
As the race progressed, several drivers retired due to accidents, including Olivier Gendebien, Tom Bridger, and François Picard. Picard sustained significant injuries that resulted in six months of incapacity. With Moss maintaining a comfortable lead, the Ferrari team signaled Hill to allow Hawthorn to pass. Because Hill held a substantial gap over his teammate, the swap did not occur until lap 39. This move placed Hawthorn in the second-place position required to secure the championship.
On lap 41, Stuart Lewis-Evans suffered an engine failure in a corner, causing his Vanwall to leave the road and catch fire. Although Lewis-Evans extricated himself from the wreckage, he sustained severe burns.
Moss maintained his lead to win the race by nearly 1.5 minutes over Hawthorn and Hill. Moss also secured the point for the fastest lap, but Hawthorn’s second-place finish earned him the World Drivers' Championship by a single point.
The event was marked by the death of Stuart Lewis-Evans, who was airlifted back to Britain by team owner Tony Vandervell but died from his burns six days after the race. The accident had a profound impact on the sport; Vandervell, already in poor health, withdrew from racing partly due to the tragedy. Bernie Ecclestone, a close friend of Lewis-Evans who was present at the race, sold his Connaught team and ceased his involvement in the sport until 1965.
The 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix was also the final race for Mike Hawthorn. He announced his retirement from the sport on 21 October 1958, just two days after winning the title. Hawthorn died three months later in a road accident in Surrey on 22 January 1959. François Picard, though he recovered from his race injuries, never competed in motor racing again.
The race results finalized the 1958 standings, with Mike Hawthorn becoming the first British World Drivers' Champion with 42 points (49 total). Stirling Moss finished second in the standings with 41 points. In the International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers, Vanwall secured the title with 48 points (57 total) over Ferrari's 40 points (57 total), marking the first time a British manufacturer won the championship.
| Pos | Driver | Constructor | Laps | Time/Retired | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 | Stirling Moss | Vanwall | 53 | 2:09:15.1 | | 2 | Mike Hawthorn | Ferrari | 53 | +1:24.7 | | 3 | Phil Hill | Ferrari | 53 | +1:25.5 | | 4 | Jo Bonnier | BRM | 53 | +1:46.7 | | 5 | Harry Schell | BRM | 53 | +2:33.7 | | 6 | Masten Gregory | BRM | 52 | +1 Lap | | 7 | Roy Salvadori | Cooper-Climax | 51 | +2 Laps | | 8 | Jack Fairman | Cooper-Climax | 50 | +3 Laps | | 9 | Hans Herrmann | Maserati | 50 | +3 Laps | | 10 | Cliff Allison | Lotus-Climax | 49 | +4 Laps | | 11 | Jack Brabham | Cooper-Climax | 49 | +4 Laps | | 12 | Gerino Gerini | Maserati | 48 | +5 Laps | | 13 | Bruce McLaren | Cooper-Climax | 48 | +5 Laps | | 14 | Robert La Caze | Cooper-Climax | 48 | +5 Laps | | 15 | André Guelfi | Cooper-Climax | 48 | +5 Laps | | 16 | Graham Hill | Lotus-Climax | 46 | +7 Laps | | RET | Stuart Lewis-Evans | Vanwall | 41 | Fatal Accident | | RET | Tony Brooks | Vanwall | 30 | Engine | | RET | François Picard | Cooper-Climax | 28 | Accident | | RET | Tom Bridger | Cooper-Climax | 26 | Accident | | RET | Olivier Gendebien | Ferrari | 23 | Accident | | RET | Jean Behra | BRM | 19 | Engine | | RET | Wolfgang Seidel | Maserati | 15 | Accident | | RET | Maurice Trintignant | Cooper-Climax | 9 | Engine | | RET | Wolfgang von Trips | Ferrari | 7 | Engine |