Maurice Trintignant

Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (French pronunciation: [mɔʁis bjɛ̃v(ə)ny ʒɑ̃ pɔl tʁɛ̃tiɲɑ̃]; 30 October 1917 – 13 February 2005) was a French racing driver and winemaker, who competed in Formula One from 1950 to 1964. Trintignant won two Formula One Grands Prix across 15 seasons. In endurance racing, Trintignant won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1954 with Ferrari.

Maurice Trintignant
Trintignant at the 1954 Buenos Aires Grand Prix
Born	Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (1917-10-30)30 October 1917 Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Vaucluse, France
Died	13 February 2005(2005-02-13) (aged 87) Nîmes, Gard, France
Relatives	Jean-Louis Trintignant (nephew)
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	French
Active years	1950–1964
Teams	Gordini, Rosier, Ferrari, Vanwall, Bugatti, Walker, Centro Sud, BRM, Aston Martin, Serenissima, Parnell, privateer BRM
Entries	86 (81 starts)[a]
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podiums	10[b]
Career points	72 1⁄3
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First entry	1950 Monaco Grand Prix
First win	1955 Monaco Grand Prix
Last win	1958 Monaco Grand Prix
Last entry	1964 Italian Grand Prix
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	1950–1962, 1964–1965
Teams	Gordini, Rosier, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Porsche, Serenissima, Maserati, Ford
Best finish	1st (1954)
Class wins	2 (1953, 1954)

Trintignant competed in Formula One for 11 teams, winning two Grands Prix across 15 seasons. He finished fourth in the 1954 and 1955 World Drivers' Championships with Ferrari. He entered 15 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans from 1950 to 1965, winning in 1954 alongside José Froilán González, driving the Ferrari 375 Plus, and finished runner-up in 1959.

After retiring from motor racing, Trintignant moved into the winemaking trade, owning a vineyard in Languedoc-Roussillon, where he named his vintage Le Petoulet.^[c] Trintignant's nephew, Jean-Louis, was a highly successful actor in post-World War II France.

Racing career

He began racing in 1938, and won the 1939 Grand Prix des Frontières, but his career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which his own Bugatti was stored in a barn. When he rebuilt it for an event of 1945, the Coupé de la Liberation, he overlooked a clogged fuel filter, which caused him to drop out of the race. It transpired that the filter was plugged with rat droppings, earning him the unenviable nickname, from another celebrated racer, Jean-Pierre Wimille, of 'Le Petoulet, "the rat-droppings man".^[4]

In 1948, Trintignant suffered a very serious accident during a support race for the Swiss Grand Prix. He was thrown in the air, and landed in the middle of the race track. His heart stopped beating for one minute and 15 seconds at the hospital, and he was pronounced dead. However, he survived, and woke up after a week-long coma. He kept a very peculiar looking abdomen scar, as the surgeon stitching a large wound did it at a very irregular pace while his heart had stopped beating. For six months, he suffered from amnesia and a loss of motor skills, but he eventually made a near complete recovery.^[5] The corner at which he crashed was later named after him.^[6] His wife offered him a stuffed teddy bear during his recovery, and as a superstition, Trintignant kept it in his pocket while he was racing for the rest of his career. He returned to racing in 1949 and won a Formula Two race at the Circuit des Remparts that year.^[7]

By 1950 Le Petoulet was successful enough to be offered a works drive for the Gordini team, in the newly formed Formula One World Championship racing series. He competed in Formula One every year until his retirement after the 1964 season. During this long career Trintignant scored two victories, both at the Monaco Grand Prix, in 1955 and 1958.^[8] Unusually for Monaco, both victories came from relatively far down the field, as Trintignant started those races from 9th and 5th respectively. 1954 and 1955 were his best Championship years and he finished fourth in the Drivers' Championship in both.

Trintignant won the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans with José Froilán González in a Ferrari 375 Plus, despite a seven minutes pitstop with one and a half hour to go, due to a faulty ignition wiring caused by the torrential rain.^[9]

Known for his conservative and reliable driving style,^[10][11] Trintignant drove a huge variety of cars, for many different teams: both works and privateer. Unusually, at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix Trintignant shared both second and third places, a product of the Scuderia Ferrari policy of passing cars to their top drivers, should their original car break down. In 1956 he drove the Bugatti Type 251 in the French Grand Prix, becoming the last driver to represent the famed marque at a Grand Prix race.^[12] Even in his final season, driving his own BRM P57, he scored points, taking fifth place at the 1964 German Grand Prix on the intimidating Nürburgring. Between 1959 and 1966, Trintignant held the record for most World Championship Grand Prix starts.^[13] Following his retirement from racing, Maurice Trintignant returned to a quiet life as a wine-grower (naming his vintage Le Petoulet),^[14] near the town of Vergèze, in the Languedoc-Roussillon wine growing region.

Trintignant competed in the 2000 Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, reunited with the Cooper T45 he had driven to victory there in 1958.^[15]

Trintignant died, aged 87, in 2005.

Major career wins

• Rheinland-Pfalz Preis – 1950
• Mont Ventoux Hill Climb – 1949, 1960, 1964
• Buenos Aires Grand Prix – 1954, 1960
• Swedish Grand Prix – 1956
• RAC Tourist Trophy – 1954
• Circuit des Nations – 1950
• Moroccan Grand Prix – 1956
• Grand Prix Avignon – 1947
• Albi Grand Prix – 1951
• Grand Prix de Caen – 1952, 1954
• Grand Prix de Cadours – 1952, 1953
• Pau Grand Prix – 1958, 1959 (F2), 1962 (F1)
• Grand Prix de Rouen-les-Essarts – 1954
• Grand Prix de Roubaix – 1952
• Grand Prix des Frontières – 1938, 1939, 1953
• 2 Hours of Dakar – 1956
• 12 Hours of Hyères – 1954
• 10 Hours of Messina – 1955
• Monaco Grand Prix – 1955, 1958
• 24 Hours of Le Mans – 1953, 1954

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	WDC	Pts
1950	Equipe Gordini	Simca-Gordini T15	Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s	GBR	MON Ret	500	SUI	BEL	FRA	ITA Ret					NC	0
1951	Equipe Gordini	Simca-Gordini T15	Gordini 15C 1.5 L4s	SUI DNA	500	BEL	FRA Ret	GBR	GER Ret	ITA DNS	ESP Ret				NC	0
1952	Ecurie Rosier	Ferrari 166 F2	Ferrari 166 2.0 V12	SUI DNS	500	BEL									16th	2
	Equipe Gordini	Simca-Gordini T15	Gordini 1500 1.5 L4				FRA 5
		Gordini T16	Gordini 20 2.0 L6					GBR Ret	GER Ret	NED 6	ITA Ret
1953	Equipe Gordini	Gordini T16	Gordini 20 2.0 L6	ARG 7*	500	NED 6	BEL 5	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER Ret	SUI Ret	ITA 5			12th	4
1954	Ecurie Rosier	Ferrari 625	Ferrari 625 2.5 L4	ARG 4	500										4th	17
	Scuderia Ferrari					BEL 2	FRA Ret	GBR 5	GER 3	SUI Ret	ITA 5
		Ferrari 553	Ferrari 554 2.5 L4									ESP Ret
1955	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 625	Ferrari 555 2.5 L4	ARG 2+3†	MON 1	500			GBR Ret						4th	11 1⁄3
		Ferrari 555					BEL 6	NED Ret		ITA 8
1956	Vandervell Products Ltd	Vanwall VW 2	Vanwall 254 2.5 L4	ARG	MON Ret	500	BEL Ret		GBR Ret	GER	ITA Ret				NC	0
	Automobiles Bugatti	Bugatti T251	Bugatti 2.5 L8					FRA Ret
1957	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 801	Ferrari DS50 2.5 V8	ARG	MON 5	500	FRA Ret	GBR 4‡	GER	PES	ITA				13th	5
1958	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T45	Climax FPF 2.0 L4	ARG	MON 1	NED 9	500				GER 3		ITA Ret	MOR Ret	7th	12
	Scuderia Centro Sud	Maserati 250F	Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6					BEL 7
	Owen Racing Organisation	BRM P25	BRM P25 2.5 L4						FRA Ret
	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T43	Climax FPF 2.0 L4							GBR 8		POR 8
1959	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T51	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	MON 3	500	NED 8	FRA 11	GBR 5	GER 4	POR 4	ITA 9	USA 2			5th	19
1960	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Cooper T51	Climax FPF 2.5 L4	ARG 3[16]											NC	0
	Scuderia Centro Sud		Maserati 250S 2.5 L4		MON Ret	500	NED Ret	BEL	FRA Ret				USA 15
	David Brown Corporation	Aston Martin DBR5	Aston Martin RB6 2.5 L6							GBR 11	POR	ITA
1961	Scuderia Serenissima	Cooper T51	Maserati Tipo 6 1.5 L4	MON 7	NED	BEL Ret	FRA 13	GBR	GER Ret	ITA 9	USA				NC	0
1962	R.R.C. Walker Racing Team	Lotus 24	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	NED WD	MON Ret	BEL 8	FRA 7	GBR WD	GER Ret	ITA Ret	USA Ret	RSA			NC	0
1963	Reg Parnell Racing	Lola Mk4A	Climax FWMV 1.5 V8	MON Ret	BEL	NED									NC	0
		Lotus 24					FRA 8	GBR	GER
	Scuderia Centro Sud	BRM P57	BRM P56 1.5 V8							ITA 9	USA	MEX	RSA
1964	Maurice Trintignant	BRM P57	BRM P56 1.5 V8	MON Ret	NED	BEL	FRA 11	GBR DNQ	GER 5	AUT DNA	ITA Ret	USA	MEX		16th	2
Sources:[17][18]

* Indicates shared drive with Harry Schell

† Indicates shared drives with José Froilán González and Giuseppe Farina (2nd place) & Giuseppe Farina and Umberto Maglioli (3rd place)

‡ Indicates shared drive with Peter Collins

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1950	Automobiles Gordini	Robert Manzon	Gordini T15S Coupé	S 3.0	34	DNF (Water radiator)
1951	Equipe Gordini	Jean Behra	Gordini T15S	S 1.5	49	DNF (Ignition)
1952	Ecurie Rosier	Louis Rosier	Ferrari 340 America Spyder	S 5.0		DNF (Clutch)
1953	Automobiles Gordini	Harry Schell	Gordini T26S	S 3.0	293	6th	1st
1954	Scuderia Ferrari	José Froilán González	Ferrari 375 Plus	S 5.0	302	1st	1st
1955	Scuderia Ferrari	Harry Schell	Ferrari 735 LM	S 5.0	107	DNF (Clutch)
1956	Scuderia Ferrari	Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari 625 LM Touring	S 3.0	293	3rd	2nd
1957	Scuderia Ferrari	Olivier Gendebien	Ferrari 250 TR	S 5.0	109	DNF (Piston)
1958	David Brown Racing Dept.	Tony Brooks	Aston Martin DBR1/300	S 3.0	173	DNF (Gearbox)
1959	David Brown Racing Dept.	Paul Frère	Aston Martin DBR1/300	S 3.0	322	2nd	2nd
1960	Porsche KG	Hans Herrmann	Porsche 718 RS 60	S 2.0	57	DNF (Piston)
1961	Scuderia Serenissima	Carlo Maria Abate	Ferrari 250 GT SWB	GT 3.0	162	DNF (Transmission)
1962	Maserati France	Lucien Bianchi	Maserati Tipo 151/1	E +3.0	152	DNF (Suspension)
1964	Maserati France	André Simon	Maserati Tipo 151/3	P 5.0	99	DNF (Electrical)
1965	Ford France S.A.	Guy Ligier	Ford GT40 Roadster	P 5.0	11	DNF (Gearbox)
Sources:[17][19]

Complete 12 Hours of Sebring results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1957	Ferrari Factory	Peter Collins	Ferrari 315 S	S5.0	187	6th	5th
Source:[20]

Complete British Saloon Car Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Pos.	Pts	Class
1962	Ford Motor Company	Ford Zodiac Mk 3	C	SNE	GOO	AIN	SIL ?	CRY	AIN	BRH	OUL	22nd	6	3rd
Source:[21]

Trivia

• He was awarded the Légion d’Honneur in 1960
• Was the mayor of Vergèze between 1958 and 1964.
• Was married to Louise on 10 December 1938
• Took over his father's vineyard
• On 10 October 2010 a bronze statue of a Bugatti Type 51 was unveiled in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes in his honour

Notes

1. Trintignant was initially credited with starting the 1951 Italian Grand Prix, as he was secretly replaced by Jean Behra. Gordini team principal Amédée Gordini did not inform the race organisers about the switch as it would have increased the team's starting fee. Some sources still credit Trintignant with the start.^[1][2]
2. Including both second and third place at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix.
3. In French, Le Petoulet means "The Rat-Droppings Man", a popular nickname given to Trintignant by Jean-Pierre Wimille.^[3][4]