John Michael Hawthorn was born in April 10, 1929 ,in Mexborough, Yorkshire, England. Hawthorn made his formula 1 bebut at the 1952 Belgian Grand prix,finishing 4th. A very impressive start,considering that since now it's the best performance ever achived by a British World champion in his debut.



Hawthorn was the winner of the 24 hours of Le Mans race,in 1955 despite being involved in the terrible crash that killed 82 spectators. Mike Hawthorn was the winner of the 1958 world championship,with only one win against Stirling Moss's four wins.At the Portuguese Grand Prix of Porto,Hawthorn was disqualified, for pushing the car against the rulles,on his way to finish in the second place. He benefited greatly of the actions of Stirling Moss,who interceded on Hawthorn's behalf and decision was ultimately reversed. Those second place points contributed to Hawthorn winning the champion with just o single point more than Moss. After winning the title, Hawthorn immediately announced his retirement from Formula One.

Mike Hawthorn died in January 22, 1959,in an automobile accident on the A3 Guildford bypass. What exactly happened that day is still a mystery, but it was most probably due to a combination of high speed,bad weather, competitiveness and impulsiveness.