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"It is completely clear from the photographs that Hawthorn did not make a sudden-brake-and-pull-sharp-right manoeuvre only a short distance from the pits"
In his book 'Die Schnellsten' (The Fast Ones) published in 1974 by Ueberreuter, Helmut Zwickl devotes one chapter to Mike Hawthorn. That Hawthorn actually gets a mention could be taken as a worthy posthumous acclamation of a first-
class driver, especially since other great post-war drivers like Stirling Moss and Jim Clark have not even been given a separate chapter. The title of the Hawthorn chapter 'Mike Hawthorn's Guilt and Retribution' raises the question:
Should the most horrible accident in motor racing history be resurrected only for sensation-hungry readers, and the blame for the accident put at Hawthorn's
door?
Although the protracted official investigation of the accident found that no individual driver was to blame for the accident which caused the death of approximately 90 people, the public will always find a scapegoat and who could better fill this requirement than one who can no longer defend himself? Since he is no longer here to do so, I would like to do so on his behalf since Mike was one of my racing contemporaries with whom I had extremely friendly relations. In the tragic Le Mans race, as the driver of an Aston Martin, I was one of his competitors and the next year we both drove for the Jaguar team, in fact we even shared the same car in the Reims 12-Hour Race in which we finished second behind another Jaguar. Helmut Zwickl bases his accusations against Hawthorn on an excerpt from Fangio's memoirs which, anyway, were not written by Fangio himself but by his manager Marcello Giambertone and, furthermore, then translated into
German; so it could hardly be called a first-hand account.
As the first point in leading up to my verdict of 'not guilty' for Mike Hawthorn, I would like to restate the quotation made by Zwickl from Fangio's memoirs. "It was the 36th lap. This number will always remain in my memory. Hawthorn's Jaguar was approximately 90 metres in front of me. Behind him and a little to his right and already lapped was the Austin-Healey of Lance Macklin. To the left behind him was my team-mate Levegh. We were driving on full throttle. Suddenly Hawthorn pulled sharply to the right to go to the pits. His unexpected braking surprised the two drivers behind him. Macklin braked hard and steered his car to the left. However, Levegh was there. For my being alive today, I thank Levegh. He threw his right hand up to warn me that he was pulling out to the left. At that moment I slammed my brakes on." Then Zwickl goes on:
"Levegh's Mercedes touched the Austin-Healey and went like a torpedo to the left
into the protective bank, behind which tens of thousands of spectators stood shoulder to shoulder watching the race. Cars ran at a speed of 200kph on the start/finishing straight, which at that time was only wide enough for iwo cars. For a third car to overtake there was no more room."
And further: "Mike Hawthorn, under the stress of his duel with the Mercedes, had already twice missed seeing his pit signals. In the 36th lap he outbraked Macklin before turning in to refuel. With this violent manoeuvre he started the events leading to the catastrophe."
I would straight away make a correction as it is important in the turn of events. Zwickl writes of Hawthorn's duel with the Mercedes cars and in another paragraph of the battle between three cars - Fangio and Levegh in Mercedes 300SLR and Hawthorn on the Jaguar. In reality there was not a battle between three cars and only a duel between Hawthorn and Fangio. On the same lap, Fangio had also lapped Karl Kling, but not Pierre Levegh who, after White House Corner, was slightly in front of him. Here I would like to point out that in those days one drove through White House Comer at approximately 185kph and that the speed before the pit-area was considerably higher than 200kph - for a Jaguar or Mercedes probably 230kph. Further, the accompanying photographs show that, while at that time the track was relatively narrow, it was wide enough for three cars to be alongside each other without problems.
Undoubtedly it is wrong to suggest that Hawthorn had twice missed seeing his pit signals.
It is highly unlikely that a driver of Hawthorn's calibre would miss pit signals in broad daylight
but, to avoid just such a possibility, Jaguar showed their Fuel Stop pit signal three times: "FUEL 3 LAPS',
three laps before the Fuel stop and in the two following laps 'FUEL 2 LAPS' and 'FUEL IN'.
Perhaps others did not understand these signals, but to suggest that Hawthorn did not know exactly when he had to stop is utter nonsense.
That the accident was set in motion by Hawthorn's Jaguar going into the pits and that the accident would not have occurred had he not been making that pit stop, cannot be disputed. However, I would like to reject, emphatically, the suggestion that his pulling into the pits was a violent manoeuvre based not only on what I myself saw from the pits (where, at that time, I was ready and waiting to take over the car driven by Peter Collins: and I am no better an eye-witness than others) but also from a film on which the whole sequence of the accident is seen clearly.
1
A group of cars is coming out of a slight bend on the right that follows the left-hand corner of White House on to the 'finishing straight'. According to the precise circuit plan, this bend is situated approximately 700 metres before the first of the pits. The group of cars is led by Hawthorn's Jaguar which has just overtaken Macklin's Austin-Healey, which can be seen in the photo on the extreme left (in the direction the cars were being driven: on the far right of the road).
One can also identify two Mercedes of which Levegh 's car is in front and on the outside (that is the extreme right of the photo). The leading Jaguar is estimated to be approximately 550 metres from the pit area in this photograph, that is a good 600 metres away from the Jaguar pits. It is also already well to the right of the centre of the road.
The Jaguar gradually moves further to the right and the Austin-Healey still remains on the right of the road behind Hawthorn. The two Mercedes of Levegh and Fangio are on the left side of the road and behind them one can recognise the third Mercedes driven by Karl Kling which is just coming out of the bend.
2
The Jaguar is now fully to the right-hand side of the road and on the correct line for the approach to the pits. The Austin-Healey is now directly behind the Jaguar and cannot be seen in this photo. Hawthorn has evidently been braking for some time, since the Mercedes are quickly catching up.
3
Hawthorn is on the extreme right and Macklin from close behind him starts to pull out. The whole of the left side of the track (right side of the photo) and half of the right side of the track are completely clear for overtaking by the Mercedes.
4
Macklin pulls out abruptly after he has probably been braking behind the Jaguar, but there is no reaction from Levegh.
5
Macklin goes slightly over the centre line to the left side but there is still no visible reaction from Levegh.
6
Macklin has his car straightened up with the two left side wheels just over the centre line, but Levegh has still not reacted. With the substantial speed difference a collision now seems unavoidable although, apart from a few centimetres, the left-hand side of the track was completely clear. Hawthorn continues correctly on the right side of the road to his pit.
7
The sloping tail of the Austin-Healey (flatter and longer than the production model) forms a springboard for the Mercedes.
8
Due to the change of attitude and the speed of the Mercedes still being around 200kph, the car becomes airborne and goes on to crash into a concrete section of the protective bank and disintegrates. Levegh was thrown out and killed instantly and flying parts of the car which included the complete engine, killed nearly another 90 people. The Austin-Healey, from the impact, went across the road into the pit wall and then back across to the middle of the track. Macklin was not injured. From the statement in the Fangio book referring to Levegh's arm being raised in warning, nothing can be seen in the film. What seems much more likely is that Fangio, driving behind Levegh, appreciated that a collision would occur and reacted accordingly.
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This film was taken by a spectator who was badly injured by flying vehicle debris and was in hospital for three months. In taking this film, he substantially helped in Mike Hawthorn being cleared of all responsibility for the accident. From this film I have selected a number of photographs which clearly show the sequence of events of the accident.
It is completely clear from the photographs that Hawthorn did not make a sudden-brake-and-pull-sharp-right manoeuvre only a short distance from the pits, thereby endangering the cars near him. At least 500 metres before the pit area, he was already well to the right side of the road even though at that time there was no pit lane forcing him to do so. How then, since all the drivers concerned were experienced people, did this dreadful accident come about?
My explanation is as follows:
Hawthorn was involved in a dogfight with Fangio and was leading the race. It would have been unthinkable for him to stay behind the much slower Austin-Healey of Macklin after the White House corner which is approximately 1 km before the pits since his car was much quicker out of the corner and could rapidly overtake Macklin. Having done so, he had ample time to get over to the right-hand side of the road and then, at approx. 400 metres before the pits, to brake.
That the Jaguar was braking, Macklin did not immediately see, since once the much quicker Jaguar had overtaken him, he was much more concerned with the two Mercedes coming up behind him. Had he, Macklin, enough time to get on the
left side of the road in order to take the Dunlop Bridge comer after the pits at full speed? Or must he stay on the right side of the road and allow the two Mercedes to pass before the Dunlop curve? The answer to this question could only be found from watching the rear view mirror and understandably Macklin concentrated more on that, than on what was happening ahead of his car.
Normally, the Jaguar, long since, would have disappeared into the distance. So Macklin (who, considering the following Mercedes, remained well to the right) did not notice that Hawthorn had started to brake in the meantime.
Had he looked in front, it would have been no problem for him to pull to the left and pass the Jaguar again. He could even have done it without crossing the centre line to the left and obstructing the Mercedes. Hawthorn must have had the same thoughts. But Macklin's attention was concentrated on the situation behind him and, when he looked to the front again, he found himself so close to the Jaguar that only by a sudden avoiding action (probably with simultaneous braking) could he avert a collision. However, the entire left side of the track remained free and nothing obstructed the passing of the two Mercedes.
The photographs show furthermore that Macklin was in complete control of his vehicle.
Why, therefore, did Levegh not take advantage of the left side of the track in order to pass Macklin without problem? Undoubtedly, because he also paid far more attention to the events behind him than those in front of him. He surely did not fail to observe that Fangio, his team-mate, had caught him up and was about to lap him. In the role of a guest-driver with the Mercedes stable, he was anxious not to obstruct him in the overtaking manoeuvre and his sight was on the
mirror. Otherwise he must have seen what was happening in front of him and anticipated that Macklin would pull out to the left. But he saw nothing. The photo shows that he showed no reaction whatsoever to the events going on in front of him and made no effort to evade to the left, thereby ramming the Austin-Healey in full force from behind.
Undoubtedly the accident would not have happened if Hawthorn had not made for the pits; but nor would it have happened if Macklin had reacted in time to the Jaguar's slowing down; and the fatally-crashing Levegh could be accused
of hitting the Austin-Healey despite having the complete left track at his disposal for passing.
No. One cannot burden any of the involved drivers with the responsibility. Hawthorn's manoeuvre was correct and he could have no idea of the fact that Macklin was not becoming aware of his braking for the pits and acting accordingly.
One cannot accuse Macklin of not anticipating that the normally much quicker Jaguar would suddently go slower. That he was paying much more attention to events behind him than those in front could be taken as a positive point on his part.
And the case of Levegh has great similarity with Macklin's. At most, one could accuse the Frenchman of paying too much attention to his rear; since Fangio's Mercedes was not faster than his, it would not be substantially obstructed by his on the straight. He (Levegh), on the other hand, had the much slower Austin-Healey in front of him, which he must overtake within the next 200 to 300 metres. However, if Levegh were concentrating too much on the approaching Fangio, it was undoubtedly with the best intention.
In any case, it is wrong to burden the guilt for this catastrophe on Mike Hawthorn and one has, after unemotional investigation of the facts, also appreciation of the decision of the racing manager of Jaguar at that time, 'Lofty' England to let his cars remain in the race after the withdrawal of Mercedes.
Paul Frere.
You can find 90+ stills of the crash and its aftermath on this site taken from various films of the time.
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