Christopher William Bristow (2 December 1937 – 19 June 1960) was a British

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

driver. Bristow was the son of a garage owner from London, and was unmarried. Bristow was called the "wild man of British club racing", as he had spun or had collisions on almost every race track on which he had raced.''2 Rookie Drivers Die In Grand Prix'', ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 20 June 1960, p.40. He started four Formula One World Championship races and scored no championship points. He was killed during the

1960 Belgian Grand Prix The 1960 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Spa-Francorchamps on 19 June 1960. It was race 5 of 10 in the 1960 World Championship of Drivers and race 4 of 9 in the 1960 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. Stirl ...

at the very fast

Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has he ...

circuit, in warm, dry, sunny conditions. Bristow wrecked his

Yeoman Credit Racing Yeoman Credit Racing was a name used by two different Formula One motor racing teams in the early-1960s: the British Racing Partnership (1960); and Reg Parnell Racing (1961–62). The name was derived from commercial sponsorship arrangements, the ...

Cooper T51 The Cooper T51 was a Formula One and Formula Two racing car designed by Owen Maddock and built by the Cooper Car Company for the 1959 Formula One season. The T51 earned a significant place in motor racing history when Jack Brabham drove the car ...

at the Burnenville corner on lap twenty while fighting to stay in front of the

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

Willy Mairesse Willy Mairesse (1 October 1928 – 2 September 1969) was a Formula One and sports-car driver from Belgium. He participated in 13 World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 19 June 1960. He achieved one podium and scored a total of seven champio ...

. Bristow and

Alan Stacey Alan Stacey (29 August 1933 – 19 June 1960) was a British racing driver. He began his association with Lotus when he built one of the MkVI kits then being offered by the company. Having raced this car he went on to build an Eleven, eventua ...

died in close proximity and within a few minutes of one another. They both crashed at Burnenville, the same extended fast right hand bend at which

Stirling Moss Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss (17 September 1929 – 12 April 2020) was a British Formula One racing driver. An inductee into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, he won 212 of the 529 races he entered across several categories of comp ...

had been severely injured the previous day. Cars regularly sped through the Burnenville corner at 120 miles per hour. There was a four-foot embankment there and barbed wire in the meadow about ten feet back from the road. Bristow's Cooper hit the bank and rolled over; he was hurled into the barbed wire, which decapitated him. With regard to Bristow's unruly driving style, a friend of his said after the accident, "We all knew this was going to happen. It does no good to say now, but Chris simply did not have the experience to drive that way in Grand Prix racing." The winner of the annual Autosport BRDC Award for promising young British drivers is also presented with the Chris Bristow Trophy.

Complete Formula One World Championship results

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)

Non-championship results

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) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

References

External links

* 1937 births 1960 deaths English racing drivers English Formula One drivers British Racing Partnership Formula One drivers Racing drivers who died while racing Deaths by decapitation Sport deaths in Belgium {{England-autoracing-bio-stub