1958 BRM And Vanwall Rewind Time In Assetto Corsa

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Vanwall GP and the BRM Type 25, Prinzen Park
Set up your H-shifter and put your driving goggles on, because Assetto Corsa is taking us back to the 1950s with the BRM Type 25/P25 and the Vanwall GP.

Both of these 1950s Formula One cars come to us from mod creator, GzeroD right here on OverTake.gg. Both cars feel fantastic to drive and will keep you engaged and fighting the car the whole time.

BRM Type 25/P25

The Type 25, or the P25 as it is more commonly known, began racing in non-championship Formula One events in the later stages of 1955. The P25's horsepower was by far and away its strongest element, with the reliability very quickly unveiling itself to be the car's downfall. Alongside the woeful reliability were the multiple handling problems. These were quickly revealed and would plague the chassis for years to come.

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BRM Type 25. Image: GzeroD

Three Type 25s were entered for drivers Tony Brooks, Mike Hawthorn, and Ron Flockhart in the P25's debut championship race and BRM's home race; the 1956 British Grand Prix. Unfortunately for BRM, not a single car finished the race. The already mentioned reliability woes plagued the team throughout the pre-season tests and the rest of the racing season. With the engine being such a major change from their V16, there were a lot of issues to iron out. BRM's P25s would not finish a Grand Prix until the 1958 world championship reached the city of Monte Carlo.

For the 1958 season, the season the Assetto Corsa mod represents, there would be considerably more success for drivers Harry Schell and Jean Behra. The duo would finish 2nd and 3rd in the Dutch Grand Prix, giving BRM its first-ever championship podiums. Later on in the year, four more points finishes from Behra, Schell, and a new third car driver, Joakim Bonnier, would drag BRM up the standings to finish fourth in the first-ever Constructor's Championship in Formula One's history.

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BRM Type 25/P25, Silverstone Classic 2011. Image: David Merrett via WikiMedia commons CC BY 2.0

Just as BRM was getting their P25 up to the reliable standard of their front-running competition, British rival Cooper released the engineering masterpiece of the time, the rear-engined chassis. This would effectively ruin BRM's P25 expansion plans, forcing them to ditch the project and create a new rear-engined chassis which would be named the P48. This car eventually took the reigns from the midway point of the 1960 Formula One season.

Vanwall GP​

Vanwall was a British motor racing team and racing car manufacturer throughout the 1950s and early 1960s. The Formula One team was very successful in the 1950s, but founder Tony Vandervell's ill health would draw a close to the team's operation in 1961.

The Vanwall name was created by combining the name of the team owner with the Thinwall bearings produced at the Vandervell factory in Acton, England. The team started life by entering subtly modified Ferraris in non-championship races across the glove, however, Vanwall would very quickly move into creating their own cars and chassis to race in the 1954 Formula One season.

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1957 Vanwall VW5. Image: Terry Whalebone Via WikiMedia Commons CC BY 2.0

Vanwall achieved their first race win in the 1957 British Grand Prix, a win that would launch Vanwall into the spotlight with Stirling Moss. Vanwall would earn the prestigious title of creating the first British-built car to win a World Championship race, an accolade Vanwall would put at the centre of their brand for the rest of their existence.

Alongside the first British-built win, Vanwall would also win the inaugural World Constructors Championship in 1958. Neither of their two drivers would win the driver's championship, however, with the championship title going to Scudaria Ferrari's Mike Hawthorne.

More recently, the Vanwall Vandervell name was revived for a WEC Hypercar entry. The car, dubbed 680, finished dead last in the Hypercar standings in 2023 and has not been back on the grid since.

Assetto Corsa Mods​

Both of these historic Formula One cars are from an age of innovation and new creation with the inaugural World Championship being the main talking point of the 1958 season. Whilst the Vanwall would win the constructors title, the smaller BRM outfit put up a brave fight and would see success in later years.

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BRM Type 25/P25 sideways at Prinzenpark

The mods for these cars are exceptional, on the bumpy streets of Prinzenpark where the cars come alive and you have to fight them at every turn. There is no other feeling like it when you are desperately holding onto your steering wheel to keep it going in a straight line, side by side with another car.

The force feedback is strong and clear, the tyres are as useless as they were in real life and most importantly, both cars are a joy to drive and a real challenge. These two are not for the fainthearted, so give them a try and see if you can tame these late 50s beasts! Both the BRM Type 25/P25 and the Vanwall can be found right here on OverTake.gg!

What do you think about these 1950s Formula One cars? Let us know in the comments below!
About author
Connor Minniss
Website Content Editor & Motorsport Photographer aiming to bring you the best of the best within the world of sim racing.

Comments

There needs to be more of a focus on this era... Love the pre 1960 stuff because it's so raw and unrefined... Even the German Silver Arrows we from a different planet to what we've seen since...
 
The screenshots for this article are with a not fully installed mod it seems... look at the modern helmet with no livery. i think the car has got the wrong helmet assigned?
 
Thank you for this article, very interesting background on those 2 cars and the era.
As you said, they are not for everyone, but, if interested in the whole aspects of motor racing, then thank you to @GzeroD for sharing his passion, with so many iconic race cars from so many era.
In VR, sitting behind those huge steering wheel trying to point the nose of the car in the right direction is a never ending source of joy for this SIM racer.
 
Premium
So as to complete, there is also the Lotus 16s from the same autor (@GzeroD) and the Ferrari 500 F2 from @Obi-Wan_Kannabis and HSS. You can also add the Kunos Maserati 250F, for making a full grid of post 50s formula.
Off course, they are not balanced with each other, but it can make epic races.
 
The Type 25, or the P25 as it is more commonly erroneously known.... as that was the name for the engine only.
 
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OverTake
Premium
So as to complete, there is also the Lotus 16s from the same autor (@GzeroD) and the Ferrari 500 F2 from @Obi-Wan_Kannabis and HSS. You can also add the Kunos Maserati 250F, for making a full grid of post 50s formula.
Off course, they are not balanced with each other, but it can make epic races.
To be fair, the cars that did race each other back then were hardly balanced either... :D
 
So as to complete, there is also the Lotus 16s from the same autor (@GzeroD) and the Ferrari 500 F2 from @Obi-Wan_Kannabis and HSS. You can also add the Kunos Maserati 250F, for making a full grid of post 50s formula.
Off course, they are not balanced with each other, but it can make epic races.
Next year there will be an explosion of high quality mods for the mid 50's... Due to the league I am running, I am essentially funding the development of a few mods as well as actively making one for HSS. The 250 F will get a bunch of friends next year. And of course, they will be raced together in our f1 history recreation.
 
Premium
Next year there will be an explosion of high quality mods for the mid 50's... Due to the league I am running, I am essentially funding the development of a few mods as well as actively making one for HSS. The 250 F will get a bunch of friends next year. And of course, they will be raced together in our f1 history recreation.
Nice one, I'll look forward to it.
One of the cars I actually enjoy in the standard Assetto Corsa is the 250F, I find the V12 a little smoother than the (more successful IRL) six, running it in open practice at Nords in public servers is nice, though sometimes worrying with the hypercars and GT3 Lambrghinis belting past.
So, I'm figuring it might be nice to have a play in the same class with the envision'd variety of GP cars.
 
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