Mike Hawthorn

John Michael Hawthorn, known as Mike, was a British racing driver who lived from 10 April 1929 to 22 January 1959. He competed in Formula One from 1952 to 1958 and won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1958 with Ferrari, taking three Grands Prix across seven seasons. His title made him the first of eleven British Formula One World Champions, and he beat Stirling Moss to it by a single point. Outside Formula One he was also an endurance racer: in 1955 he won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring driving for Jaguar. He announced his retirement on winning the title, having been deeply affected by the death of his teammate and friend Peter Collins at the German Grand Prix two months earlier. Three months after retiring he died in a road accident in Guildford while driving his Jaguar 3.4 Litre. The RAC established the Hawthorn Memorial Trophy in his honour in 1959, awarded each year to the most successful British or Commonwealth driver in Formula One.