Photo credit: John Chapman (Pyrope) · CC BY-SA
Photo credit: John Chapman (Pyrope) · CC BY-SA – Source: Wikimedia Commons
Long before F1 – in many competitions the grid was filled with small British teams run out of workshops, garages or family businesses.
One of the most quietly important of these was Hersham & Walton Motors, better known simply as HWM.
However, HWM never won a World Championship race, never fought for titles and never stayed in F1 for long.
Yet its influence on British motorsport; and on some of the sport’s greatest drivers, was far greater than its results suggest.
Hersham & Walton Motors: A British Team Built on Passion, Not Resources
The team was founded in Surrey, England by George Abecassis and John Heath, initially as a car dealership and engineering business.
Racing was never meant to be a full-scale factory operation, instead Hersham and Walton motors entered motorsport as a privateer, building its own cars and competing wherever budgets allowed.
And when F1 officially begn in 1950, HWM was already active in Formula Two and sports car racing.
So by 1951, the team had stepped into the World Championship, becoming part of the early British presence in what was still a largely European-dominated series.
Hersham & Walton Motors in F1
From the outset, the team faced a difficult reality and they operated on a very small budget.
Their cars were well-balanced; they lacked the horsepower needed to challenge manufacturers like Ferrari or Maserati.
They competed in F1 from 1951 to 1954, entering 14 races; results were modest but simply qualifying and finishing races was an achievement in an era of frequent mechanical failures and minimal support.
The team’s best championship result was a fifth-place finish and across its F1 campaign, HWM scored two world championship points.
Those numbers do not tell the full story of how close the team often came to punching above its weight.
Alta Engines: Reliable but Outgunned
HWM powered its cars with Alta engines, available in several configurations as F1 rules evolved; the team used four-cylinder engines.
However, reliability could not compensate for a lack of outright power, as regulations shifted toward larger 2.5-litre engines in the mid-1950s, the team found itself increasingly outmatched.
Against big teams like Ferrari, the gap grew wider with every season.
Success Outside the World Championship
Fighting for points was difficult for the team but HWM enjoyed stronger results in non-championship races, which were a major part of the F1 calendar in the early 1950s.
These events often featured mixed fields and gave smaller teams a chance to shine, it was in these races that HWM made its greatest impression, especially with a young and fearless driver like Stirling Moss.
HWM was the first team to give an opportunity to the young Stirling Moss at the time.
Moss achieved third place finish at Reims and Bari, results that helped establish his reputation as one of Britain’s brightest talents.
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Drivers Who Defined HWM
HWM became known as a stepping stone for emerging talent. Several drivers who passed through the team went on to far greater success, including:
- Stirling Moss, who took his first major steps toward greatness with HWM
- Peter Collins, later a Ferrari star and Le Mans winner
- Lance Macklin, a regular presence in HWM’s Formula 1 efforts
- Paul Frère, who delivered one of the team’s best championship finishes
- George Abecassis and John Heath, the founders who also raced their own cars
For many, HWM was not a destination but a proving ground.
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Why HWM Left Formula 1
Hersham and Walton Motors journey came to an end not because of failure on track but because of circumstances off it.
The death of John Heath in 1956 dealt a heavy blow to the team, and Heath had been central to HWM’s racing vision, and without him, the motivation and structure required to continue a works racing program faded.
By 1957, Hersham & Walton Motors had quietly withdrawn from top-level competition.
F1 was becoming faster and more expensive, many teams failed to continue at the time, for a small British privateer, the cost of staying competitive was simply too high.
Does HWM Still Exist Today?
While the HWM racing team no longer exists, the business behind the name never disappeared.
Today, HWM Aston Martin operates as the world’s longest-established Aston Martin dealership, still based in Walton-on-Thames, England. The company remains deeply connected to British motoring history, even if its Formula 1 days are long over.
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Hersham & Walton Motors in Formula 1
The team will never be remembered for trophies or championship but its legacy lies elsewhere.
It represents an era when F1 was accessible to independent British teams, when talent could rise from modest beginnings, and when future legends like Stirling Moss found their first real opportunities.
And in doing so; it earned a quiet, lasting place in the sport’s early story.
