He survived the most horrific motor racing accident of all time and later won the F1 World Championship in a Ferrari. However in the end, the road would the undoing of Mike Hawthorn.
British racer Mike Hawthorn is best remembered as England’s first Formula One World Champio when he won the Championship in 1958, sadly he was also at the center of the 1955 Le Mans Disaster, in which one driver and 82 spectators were killed. He was lucky enough to survive the incident and quit in F1, whilst still in one piece only to die is a road crash at the age of 29. This is how the UK press reported his death.
MORE: The 1955 Le Mans Disaster (video)
Video: The death of Mike Hawthorn (1959) is a post from Motorsport Retro, bringing you classic motorsport, cars, motorcycles and gear every day.