Maurice Trintignant

Maurice Trintignant was the quintessential Frenchman of motorsport — charming, determined, and with an unshakable sense of style. Over a Formula One career spanning 1950 to 1964, he became both a racing legend and a respected winemaker. Trintignant captured two Formula One Grand Prix victories and, in 1954, conquered endurance racing’s crown jewel: the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Ferrari.

Nationality	French
Born	Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant 30 October 1917 Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Vaucluse, France
Died	13 February 2005 (aged 87) Nîmes, Gard, France

During his remarkable 15-season career, Trintignant drove for no fewer than 11 different teams, scoring two Grand Prix wins and finishing fourth in the World Drivers’ Championship in both 1954 and 1955. Between 1950 and 1965, he entered 15 editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, claiming victory in 1954 alongside the formidable José Froilán González, piloting a Ferrari 375 Plus through the rain to glory. He even came close again, finishing runner-up in 1959.

After hanging up his helmet, Trintignant traded horsepower for grapes, returning home to Languedoc-Roussillon to cultivate wine under the cheekily titled “Le Petoulet” label — a nod to his infamous racing nickname. His nephew, Jean-Louis Trintignant, would go on to achieve stardom on the silver screen, keeping the family name very much in the limelight.

Racing Career

Trintignant’s journey began in 1938, when he first took to the track — and by the following year he’d already claimed victory in the Grand Prix des Frontières. Then came World War II, which pressed pause on everything, including his racing dreams. His beloved Bugatti was tucked away in a barn for the duration.

When he brought it out again for the 1945 Coupé de la Libération, disaster struck. A clogged fuel filter forced him out of the race — the culprit, as it turned out, was rat droppings. Legendary driver Jean-Pierre Wimille laughed and christened him “Le Petoulet” — “the rat-droppings man.” The name stuck, but Trintignant took it in stride and made it his own.

A few years later, in 1948, he suffered a horrific accident during a support race for the Swiss Grand Prix. Thrown high into the air, he landed hard in the middle of the track and was declared clinically dead for one minute and fifteen seconds. Miraculously, he survived, awakening a week later from a coma. He bore a jagged abdominal scar — courtesy of a surgeon who stitched him up mid-cardiac arrest — and endured months of amnesia and lost motor function. But he recovered fully, his resilience becoming the stuff of legend. The corner where he crashed was even named after him.

A gift from his wife — a small stuffed teddy bear — became his constant racing companion. Superstition or sentiment, Trintignant carried it in his pocket for every race thereafter.

Back on his feet, he returned to racing in 1949 and promptly won a Formula Two race at the Circuit des Remparts. His comeback was complete.

By 1950, “Le Petoulet” had earned a factory seat with the Gordini team, joining the newly formed Formula One World Championship. For the next decade and a half, Trintignant would be a familiar sight on the grid, known for his smooth, steady style and his knack for bringing cars home when others faltered.

His two Formula One victories came on the glamorous streets of Monaco, in 1955 and 1958 — both times coming from deep in the pack, starting ninth and fifth respectively. Consistency paid off: his best seasons were 1954 and 1955, when he finished fourth overall in the championship.

That same year, 1954, he conquered Le Mans, sharing the Ferrari 375 Plus with González. The pair overcame torrential rain and a maddening seven-minute pit stop caused by faulty ignition wiring to seal victory.

Trintignant became renowned for his calm, almost professorial driving style — quick enough to win, but cautious enough to finish. He piloted an astonishing array of machinery, from Ferraris and Gordinis to Coopers, Bugattis, and BRMs. At the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix, he uniquely shared both second and third places, after Ferrari swapped cars mid-race to give their top men the best shot at the podium.

In 1956, he had the honour of driving the last Bugatti ever entered in a Grand Prix, the sleek but ill-fated Type 251 at the French Grand Prix. Even in his swan song season in 1964, behind the wheel of his own BRM P57, Trintignant was still competitive — taking a hard-fought fifth place at the Nürburgring, one of the world’s most daunting circuits.

Between 1959 and 1966, he held the record for most Grand Prix starts, an impressive testament to his longevity and love of the sport.

When he finally stepped away from racing, he embraced a quieter life among the vines of southern France, cultivating his “Le Petoulet” wines near Vergèze.

In 2000, decades after his Monaco triumphs, the ever-charming Trintignant returned to the principality for the Historic Grand Prix of Monaco, reuniting with the same Cooper T45 that had carried him to victory in 1958.

He passed away in 2005 at the age of 87.

Major Career Wins

Rheinland-Pfalz Preis – 1950
Mont Ventoux Hill Climb – 1949, 1960, 1964
Buenos Aires Grand Prix – 1954, 1960
Swedish Grand Prix – 1956
RAC Tourist Trophy – 1954
Circuit des Nations – 1950
Moroccan Grand Prix – 1956
Grand Prix Avignon – 1947
Albi Grand Prix – 1951
Grand Prix de Caen – 1952, 1954
Grand Prix de Cadours – 1952, 1953
Pau Grand Prix – 1958, 1959 (F2), 1962 (F1)
Grand Prix de Rouen-les-Essarts – 1954
Grand Prix de Roubaix – 1952
Grand Prix des Frontières – 1938, 1939, 1953
2 Hours of Dakar – 1956
12 Hours of Hyères – 1954
10 Hours of Messina – 1955
Monaco Grand Prix – 1955, 1958
24 Hours of Le Mans – 1953, 1954