Harry Schell
Vanwall, BRM | |
Entries | 57 (56 starts) |
---|---|
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 0 |
Podiums | 2 |
Career points | 32 |
Pole positions | 0 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 1950 Monaco Grand Prix |
Last entry | 1960 Argentine Grand Prix |
Henry O'Reilly "Harry" Schell (June 29, 1921 – May 13, 1960) was an American Grand Prix motor racing driver. He was the first American driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix.
Early life
Schell was born in Paris, France, the son of expatriate American and sometime auto racer Laury Schell; his mother was the wealthy American heiress Lucy O'Reilly Schell. O'Reilly was an auto racing enthusiast who had met Laury while visiting France; they soon became familiar names on the rallying scene together. She became heavily invested in the Delahaye concern, first campaigning sports cars for them and then championing the development of a Delahaye Grand Prix car, which she ran under the Ecurie Bleue banner. Frenchman René Dreyfus won the 1938 Pau Grand Prix for the team in a shock upset over Mercedes, but the Delahaye project failed to raise the necessary backing and was never developed to its full extent.
Shortly before the outbreak of the Second World War, Schell's parents were involved in a road accident in which Laury was killed and O'Reilly severely injured. When France was occupied by Germany, Schell and his mother returned to America, where Schell took on the running of two Maseratis at the 1940 Indianapolis 500. Having already volunteered in the Finnish Air Force during their Winter War with Russia in 1939, Harry then earned a commission in the United States Tank Corps when America entered the Second World War.[1]
Racing career
Schell went on to race in Europe, driving
Though Schell never won a championship Grand Prix and enjoyed life as a playboy and womanizer, he was highly respected in period;[
Schell carved out a reputation as a safe and prudent competitor and could be counted on as a consistent points scorer, but he also proved his class when the opportunity presented itself.[
By the start of 1960, and nearing 40, Schell's prospects appeared dim, and he campaigned a private Cooper run under his family's Ecurie Bleue banner. That changed, however, when he was contracted by the British Racing Partnership team before the start of the European Grand Prix season for a full program of events, to be teamed with Tony Brooks and the up-and-coming Chris Bristow in year-old Coopers. Schell died in practice for the non-championship International Trophy event at Silverstone in 1960, when he crashed his Cooper at Abbey Curve. Schell was driving at approximately 100 mph when his car slid into the mud on the side of the track and lost a wheel. The Cooper somersaulted and penetrated a safety barrier, causing a brick wall to collapse.[2]
Prior to his death, Schell had been extremely vocal in the promotion of the roll-bar on European racing cars, a safety feature required in America.[citation needed] By the 1500cc formula of 1961, it had become standard in Formula One.
Racing record
Post WWII Grandes Épreuves results
(key)
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1947 | Ecurie Laury Schell | D46
|
L4
|
SUI DNQ |
BEL | ITA | FRA | |
1949 | Horschell Racing Corporation | Talbot-Lago T26 | Talbot 4.5 L6 | GBR | BEL | SUI 16 |
FRA | ITA |
Source:[3]
|
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
* Shared drive/s.
Formula One Non-Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1953 | Automobiles Gordini | Maurice Trintignant | Gordini T26S | S 3.0 |
293 | 6th | 1st |
1955 | Scuderia Ferrari | Maurice Trintignant | Ferrari 121LM | S 5.0 |
107 | DNF | DNF |
1957 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Stirling Moss | Maserati 450S Zagato Coupé | S 5.0 |
32 | DNF | DNF |
Source:[6]
|
References
- New York Times, 14 May 1960, Page 21.
- ^ a b Schell is Killed as Auto Skids In Drill on Eve of British Race, New York Times, 14 May 1960, Page 21.
- ^ a b c "Harry Schell – Biography". MotorSportMagazine. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "Harry Schell – Grand Prix started". statsf1.com. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "Harry Schell - Involvement Non World Championship". StatsF1. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
- ^ "All Results of Harry Schell". RacingSportCars. Retrieved January 16, 2019.