With the F1 title race reaching a dramatic climax, Aintree Racecourse – a pioneer of the sport – is marking the 70th anniversary of its first British Grand Prix.
The Mexican Grand Prix will add another exciting turn in the battle for the Driver’s Championship, and Mersey Sport Live has looked back at five times Formula One was hosted on Merseyside.
1955
Aintree hosted the British Grand Prix for the first time on 16th July 1955.
Home hero Sir Stirling Moss came across the line to lead home a Mercedes 1-2-3-4.
He narrowly beat legend and teammate Juan Manuel Fangio which sparked conspiracies that the Argentinian let Moss win in front of his home crowd.
With this race being the penultimate round, Fangio’s point advantage over Moss was significant enough to confirm his as champion for the 1955 championship.
At the time of the event, Aintree was considered one of the safest and most modern in terms of racing facilities in Europe.
1957
Aintree alternated with Silverstone to host the British GP and Moss took the chequered flag again in 1957 but this time racing for Vanwall.
In what seems like a crazy scenario these days, it wasn’t just the Brit who took victory. Teammate Tony Brooks also victory as both shared driving duties during the race.
It was only the third and final time where two drivers in a shared car won a Grand Prix.
1959
A new winner was found at Aintree this year as Sir Jack Brabham took victory for Cooper-Climax ahead of Moss who had to settle for second this time round.
Outside the Indianapolis 500, which was a staple of the Formula One calendar at this time, the British Grand Prix held the biggest entry list of the season with 30 cars competing.
History was made at Aintree this weekend as New Zealander Bruce McLaren became the youngest driver to set a fastest lap in Formula One, aged 21 years and 322 days.
It took until 2003 for that record to be beaten when Fernando Alonso eclipsed him by a single day.
1961
Ferrari dominated this weekend with Wolfgang von Trips taking victory, followed by Phil Hill and Richie Ginther.
Tragically, this was von Trips’ final Grand Prix victory as he was killed in an accident two races later in Italy.
This race also marked the last home race that Moss contested a Grand Prix on home soil, as his career was ended after an accident prior to the 1962 season.
1962
This year marked the end of the British Grand Prix at Aintree before Silverstone and Brands Hatch took the reins from 1963.
It was Scotsman Jim Clark who won the final race followed by John Surtees and Bruce McLaren.
After five events at Aintree, three of them were won by Brits making it a very successful track for the home drivers.
It is highly unlikely that Aintree will host F1 again, but a limited amount of motorsport is still ongoing at the track with events such as car sprints, track days and motorcycle racing
