Vanwall was founded by Tony Vandervell, whose company manufactured Thinwall bearings at a factory in Acton, London. The team's name was a portmanteau of "Vandervell" and "Thinwall." Vandervell's ambition was to build a competitive British Grand Prix car at a time when the sport was dominated by Italian machinery from Ferrari and Maserati.
The cars that would race in 1957 and 1958 had their roots in an extensive redesign carried out with assistance from Colin Chapman and aerodynamicist Frank Costin. Chapman revised the chassis geometry, reduced unsprung weight at the rear through adjustments to the De Dion axle, added front torsion bars, and incorporated a five-speed gearbox with Porsche synchromesh. Costin gave the car its distinctive, well-streamlined body that proved significantly faster in a straight line than its rivals.
The engine was a four-cylinder unit with its origins in the Norton motorcycle world. Designer Leo Kuzmicki had essentially joined four Norton Manx single-cylinder 498 cc units with a common water jacket and cylinder head. Over successive seasons the displacement was grown first to 2,237 cc and then to 2,489 cc. Power was delivered by Bosch fuel injection. By 1957, the engine was rated at around 290 bhp at 7,500 rpm on alcohol fuel, with disc brakes providing braking performance that exceeded the Italian opposition.
The 1957 season saw Vanwall finally deliver on its potential. Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks were the team's leading drivers, joined by Stuart Lewis-Evans. As the campaign unfolded, the cars became both faster and more reliable.
The defining moment came at the 1957 British Grand Prix at Aintree, where Moss and Brooks shared a single car to take Vanwall's first championship race victory. This gave the team the distinction of building the first British-constructed car to win a World Championship Grand Prix. Moss continued to demonstrate the Vanwall's pace by winning both the Pescara Grand Prix and the Italian Grand Prix later that season.
The 1957 Italian Grand Prix result was particularly impressive. Moss finished 41 seconds clear of the rest of the field despite making a pit stop, with only a Maserati driven by Juan Manuel Fangio able to run at remotely comparable speed.
The end of the 1957 season brought a significant regulatory change: alcohol fuels were banned in favor of a compulsory 130-octane aviation gasoline. This hurt Vanwall and BRM disproportionately, as their large-bore four-cylinder engines had depended on methanol partly for internal cooling. Power dropped from around 290 bhp to approximately 255-262 bhp during races at 7,200-7,400 rpm. The new Dino Ferrari V6 cars claimed around 290 PS, narrowing Vanwall's straightline advantage.
Despite the power reduction, Vanwall's superior road holding — aided by suspension revisions, new steel wheels, and Dunlop nylon-cord racing tyres — along with its five-speed gearbox and disc brakes, allowed the cars to remain competitive. The team retained all three drivers from 1957 for the new campaign.
In 1958, Moss won in the Netherlands, Portugal, and Morocco, while Brooks took victories in Belgium, Germany, and Italy. Each driver claimed three race wins, giving Vanwall six victories across the season. This tally was sufficient for Vanwall to win the inaugural Formula One Constructors' Championship, the first time such a title had been awarded.
The season's triumph was overshadowed by tragedy. During the Moroccan Grand Prix, the final round of the 1958 season, Lewis-Evans was involved in an accident and suffered severe burns from which he died days later. Moss, despite winning more races than anyone else in the championship, lost the Drivers' title to Mike Hawthorn of Ferrari by a single point, with Brooks finishing third overall.
Tony Vandervell's failing health meant the 1958 season would be Vanwall's last full campaign. Tony Brooks made a single appearance in a revised, lower and lighter car at the 1959 British Grand Prix but found it uncompetitive against the new mid-engined Coopers. The team made one further attempt with an updated car at the 1960 French Grand Prix before withdrawing.
The Vanwall cars of 1957-58 are regarded as a landmark in British motor racing history. They demonstrated that a British constructor could match and defeat the established Italian teams on their own terms, paving the way for the era of British constructor dominance that followed through teams such as Cooper, Lotus, BRM, and Brabham.