October 27th 1957, United States Grand PrixMike Hawthorn got the best start, with the front row all getting off rather sedately and falling behind Hawthorn and González. Collins and Brabham led Moss, who was in fifth place at the end of the first lap. Brabham left his bad start behind him, dismissing Collins and González on the second lap, while Moss dropped to sixth behind a charging Harry Schell. On the fourth lap, Hawthorn quietly let Brabham into the race lead and the provisional world title. However, this seemed to be solely to prove a point regarding their Pedralbes accident, as Hawthorn took the lead back on the next lap. The Australian's title hopes further suffered when González let Moss into fifth place, and even more so when he fell behind Collins and Moss passed Schell for fourth place.
The whole race's landscape changed on the twelfth lap when Hawthorn lost control at the uphill Esses, stalling on the trackside grass. Collins inherited the lead, while Brabham was caught out and barely kept second place ahead of Ramos, Moss and Bonnier. Brabham had trouble recovering pace, and Moss took second place on lap 15. This didn't last until the end of the lap, though, as both were passed by a surprising Harry Schell, and Brabham was also passed by Ramos. Volonterio was the second man to retire, with a gearbox failure. Harry Schell followed suit a few laps later with differential failure from a brilliant second place.
The race for the title changed again shortly after lap 20, when Brabham and Bonnier rocketed to second and third places taking advantage of a mistake by Moss. This seemed symptomatic of an issue with Moss' car, which held up Ramos but allowed a very feisty Masten Gregory to take fourth place! The problem with the O.S.C.A. was soon revealed as Moss stopped at the top of the Esses, leaking oil under his car. This elevated the unlikely Isabelle Haskell to sixth place behind Gregory and Maglioli. On lap 32, Brabham finally took second place behind Collins when he passed Bonnier.
It took a few laps for Gregory and Haskell to drop out of the points, replaced by Ramos, Marimón and Fangio. Shortly after the halfway mark, Bonnier made his way past Brabham again, though the Australian remained faster. On lap 55, he took second place again, with Collins still comfortably in the lead and Umberto Maglioli now in fourth place. Archie Scott Brown was the race's fifth retirement when his gearbox failed. Ramos followed suit a few laps later with suspension issues. Robert Manzon's brakes followed, leaving only Bonnier in the race for Gordini.
Bonnier couldn't keep up the effort, falling behind Brabham by a way, though he was still far ahead of Fangio and Maglioli. As Brabham began to catch Collins, discussions began to occur in the pits at B.C.M.A. and O.S.C.A.. Team orders to let a teammate past hadn't officially occurred in the world championship before, while O.S.C.A. considered swapping Moss for Fangio, a move that hadn't yet been attempted during a live championship race. As Fangio lost out to Maglioli, O.S.C.A. lost interest, but B.C.M.A. waited to ensure that Bonnier was out of harm's way. The Swede refused to fall far behind enough for a long, long time, delaying the situation uncomfortably late.
As the gap tightened and there were ten laps remaining, Peter Collins was shown a chalkboard with the indication "2-1 SWAP". Immediately, he began to carry less speed through the corners, and Brabham began to catch up. When Juan Manuel Fangio's engine expired, the move became yet more justified, with González inheriting sixth place, too far to make a difference were he to swap with Moss. Brabham caught Collins with 7 laps remaining, though Collins was unenthusiastic about letting the pass happen immediately. Brabham, unimpressed, blew past on lap 88, though Collins, still trying to prove a point, stayed in his tracks, at the very least pretending to look for a good spot to overtake.
It was all for naught. In what would be a very controversial move, Jack Brabham won a record fourth race of the season, the tenth of his career, and a record third consecutive world title. Peter Collins finished close behind in second place, while Jo Bonnier ended up relegated two laps behind. Umberto Maglioli finally recorded another points finish with fourth place ahead of Marimón and González. Gregory and Haskell finished just outside the points despite a very good race performance. Hill, Bira, Ruttman and Norwood were the last finishers.
1. Jack Brabham (B.C.M.A.) 2:12:01.74
2. Peter Collins (B.C.M.A.) +0.72
3. Jo Bonnier (Gordini) +2 laps
4. Umberto Maglioli (Ferrari) +7 laps
5. Onofre Marimón (O.S.C.A.) +8 laps
6. José Froilán González (O.S.C.A.) +9 laps
7. Masten Gregory (Ferrari) +9 laps
8. Isabelle Haskell (O.S.C.A.) +9 laps
9. Phil Hill (Ferrari) +9 laps
10. B. Bira (Lotus-O.S.C.A.) +11 laps
11. Troy Ruttman (Lotus-O.S.C.A.) +11 laps
12. John Norwood (Lister-Bristol) +13 laps
Ret. Juan Manuel Fangio (O.S.C.A.) +14 laps/Engine
Ret. Robert Manzon (Gordini) +35 laps/Brakes
Ret. Hernando da Silva Ramos (Gordini) +38 laps/Suspension
Ret. Archie Scott Brown (Vanwall) +41 laps/Gearbox
Ret. Stirling Moss (O.S.C.A.) +68 laps/Oil leak
Ret. Harry Schell (Gordini) +75 laps/Differential
Ret. Ottorino Volonterio (O.S.C.A.) +78 laps/Gearbox
Ret. Mike Hawthorn (B.C.M.A.) +82 laps/Spin
Fastest lap: Jack Brabham (B.C.M.A.) - 1:21.14
Championship standings
Drivers1.
Jack Brabham - 42 (CHAMPION)2. Stirling Moss - 41
3. Peter Collins - 28
4. Umberto Maglioli - 22
5. Onofre Marimón - 16
6. André Simon - 15 (2 2nds)
7. José Froilán González - 15 (1 2nd)
8. Jo Bonnier - 13
9. Juan Manuel Fangio - 12
10. Robert Manzon - 11 (1 win)
11. Mike Hawthorn - 11 (2 3rds)
12. Ottorino Volonterio - 10
13. Tony Gaze - 8 (2 3rds)
14. Duncan Hamilton - 8 (1 4th)
15. B. Bira - 7
16. Troy Ruttman - 4
17. Giulio Cabianca - 3 (1 4th, 2 7ths)
18. Graham Hill - 3 (1 4th, 2 Rets)
19. Masten Gregory - 2 (1 5th, 1 7th)
20. Maria Teresa de Filippis - 2 (1 5th, 2 11ths)
21. Alan Stacey - 1 (1 6th, 1 7th)
22. Joe Flynn - 1 (1 6th, 1 Ret)
Constructors1. O.S.C.A. - 69 (CHAMPIONS)2. B.C.M.A. - 65
3. Gordini - 37
4. Ferrari - 33
5. Lotus-O.S.C.A. - 9
6. Vanwall - 8
7. Alfa Romeo - 2
8. O.S.C.A.-BRM - 1 (1 6th, 1 7th)
9. IRC-O.S.C.A. - 1 (1 6th, 1 Ret)
Entrants1. British Commonwealth Motorsport Association - 65 (CHAMPIONS)2. Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili - 58
3. Scuderia Ferrari - 33
4. Alexander Racing Team-Gordini - 29
5. Asso di Fiori - 16
6. Écurie Voeckler - 12
7. Rob Walker Racing - 11
8. Vandervell Products Ltd. - 8
9. Scuderia Centro Sud - 2
10. Owen Racing Organisation - 1 (1 6th, 1 7th)
11. Irish Racing Cars - 1 (1 6th, 1 Ret)
Post-race report to follow.
