STORY OF THE DAY: Trintignant Survives Monaco’s Astonishing Reversal
Maurice Trintignant won the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix in the number 44 Ferrari 625 F1 after starting ninth. The second round of the World Championship appeared destined for Mercedes-Benz until both Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss retired. Trintignant completed 100 laps to take his first championship victory, ahead of Eugenio Castellotti’s Lancia and the shared Maserati of Jean Behra and Cesare Perdisa.

The decisive sequence was among Monaco’s most extraordinary. Fangio withdrew with transmission trouble, leaving Moss apparently secure until his engine failed late in the race. Alberto Ascari then inherited the lead but missed the chicane after emerging from the tunnel and plunged into the harbour, escaping with minor injuries. Trintignant, who had preserved his Ferrari while faster cars failed, moved ahead and remained composed to the finish.

The 625 F1 was an evolution of Ferrari’s 500 F2, enlarged for the 2.5-litre Formula One formula. Its naturally aspirated Lampredi four-cylinder engine and conventional tubular chassis lacked the sophistication of the Mercedes-Benz W196 and Lancia D50, but the design was well understood and robust. At Monaco, reliability and manageable performance proved more valuable than theoretical superiority.

Maurice Trintignant was a French driver whose long top-level career stretched from the earliest World Championship seasons into the 1960s. A versatile competitor, he had already helped Ferrari win the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans and later earned a second Monaco victory with Cooper in 1958. His 1955 success was founded on patience and mechanical sympathy, qualities perfectly suited to a race transformed by attrition.