The 250F was designed by Gioacchino Colombo, Vittorio Bellentani and Alberto Massimino; the tubular spaceframe chassis was the work of Valerio Colotti. Suspension was independent wishbone at the front and a De Dion tube at the rear, with transverse leaf springs and hydraulic dampers. Brakes were hydraulic drums of 13.4-inch diameter. Borrani wire wheels in 16-inch and 17-inch sizes carried Pirelli Stella Bianca tyres. Dry weight was approximately 630 kg and top speed around 290 km/h (180 mph). Fuel was a mixture of approximately 50 per cent methanol, 35 per cent petrol and smaller proportions of acetone, benzol and castor oil.
In 1955 the works cars received a five-speed gearbox, an SU fuel injection system raising power to 240 bhp, and Dunlop disc brakes. A streamlined variant with partially enclosed bodywork, similar in concept to the Mercedes-Benz W196 streamliner, was used at the 1956 French Grand Prix. In 1956 a revised chassis known as the 250F T2 appeared for the works drivers, developed by Giulio Alfieri using lighter steel tubes in a stiffer, slimmer body.
The 250F made its World Championship debut at the 1954 Argentine Grand Prix, where Juan Manuel Fangio won the race — the first of eight Championship victories the car would achieve across 46 Championship starts. Fangio left for Mercedes-Benz after Argentina and Belgium 1954 but returned to Maserati for the full 1957 season with devastating effect.
Stirling Moss drove a privately owned 250F for the full 1954 World Championship season. In 1956, now in a works car, he won at Monaco and Monza. Moss later stated that the 250F was the best front-engined Formula One car he drove.
The car's eight World Championship victories were:
1954: Argentine Grand Prix (Fangio), Belgian Grand Prix (Fangio)
1956: Monaco Grand Prix (Moss), Italian Grand Prix (Moss)
1957: Argentine Grand Prix (Fangio), Monaco Grand Prix (Fangio), French Grand Prix (Fangio), German Grand Prix (Fangio)
The 1957 German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring was the most celebrated of these. Fangio pitted from the lead during the race, then — facing a deficit reported at 48 seconds — broke the Nurburgring lap record ten times in the closing laps, passing race leaders Mike Hawthorn and Peter Collins on the final lap to win. It was his final Grand Prix victory.
The works team withdrew from Formula One after 1957 when Maserati faced financial difficulties. The 250F remained in private hands through the 1960 season, the last of the 2.5-litre formula. Privateers including Maria Teresa de Filippis raced the car as backmarkers against the now-dominant rear-engined Coopers and Lotuses. The 250F was present at the first race of the formula in January 1954 and the last in November 1960, a span of continuous competition matched by very few cars in the history of the sport.
The car competed in 46 Championship races, accumulated 277 entries, won eight times, took eight pole positions and recorded ten fastest laps. Fangio's 1954 and 1957 drivers' championships were both won while driving the 250F, the latter entirely so.
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