Stuart Lewis-Evans (born April 20, 1930 in Luton, Bedfordshire – died October 25, 1958 at the East Grinstead, Sussex) was a British automobile racing driver. He made his Formula One debut in 1957 and later gained a contract with Vanwall where he would remain until the end of his career.
He aided the Vanwall team in winning their first and only World Constructors' Championship title in 1958. He was killed in the final race of the 1958 Formula One Season at Morocco after suffering fatal burns from an accident.
Formula One Career
Before Formula One
After leaving school in Bexleyheath Lewis-Evans served a three year apprenticeship at Vauxhall Motors. he began racing cars in 1951, proving that he had a lot of potential right from the start of his career. With much success throughout the year, he finished the year by winning the Open Challenge and the Junior Championship. He continued to race in minor Formula series until his debut in 1957.
1957
Lewis-Evans made his Formula One debut in Monaco, racing an under-performing Connaught car. He finished three laps behind the leader to earn a fourth position in the race, being beaten by the better Maserati and Vanwall cars. This performance earned him a seat in the third Vanwall car, a position that he would fill of the remainder of his career.
After missing the 1957 Indianapolis 500, he went on to continue the season with the Vanwall team. He was able to earn another two points in the 1957 Pescara Grand Prix, but the rest of the season was filled with mechanical failures. Despite qualifying for pole position in the final race of the season at Italy, it was one of these unfortunate failures that forced him to retire midway through the race.
1958
Vanwall had a much more successful season in 1958. Although he would not win any races like his teammates, Lewis-Evans claimed two podium finishes and another pole position, more than doubling his points from 1957. Vanwall would later earn their first and only World Constructors' Championship title (known then as the International Cup for F1 Manufacturers) at the end of the season, but not without a tragic loss.
Death
On lap 41 of the closing race in the 1958 season at Morocco, Lewis-Evans suffered a horrific accident. The engine of his Vanwall car seized and sent it into the barriers at a high speed. The car then caught fire with Lewis-Evans still inside. He had suffered serious burns and was flown in Tony Vanwall's private jet to a nearby hospital. Members of Sir Archibald McIndoe’s East Grinstead specialist burns unit provided care for the injured driver, however, he died of his injures six days after the accident. Lewis-Evans donated his eyes to the hospital's eye bank.
Formula One Statistical Overview
Formula One Record
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Connaught Engineering | Connaught-Alta | 5 | 12th | Report |
| Vandervell Products Ltd. | Vanwall | ||||
| 1958 | Vandervell Products Ltd. | Vanwall | 11 | 9th | Report |
Career Statistics
Template:Statbox
Career Results
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts | Pos
Template:1957 Results/11 Template:1958 Results/11 | ||||||||||||
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
Notes
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