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6. Jean Behra
Active years: 1952 - 1953
53 GPs - 9 podiums
France's Jean Behra did a lot of winning in F1 during his career, but never secured a triumph in a round of the F1 world championship.
A non-championship victory at the Grand Prix de la Marne in Reims in 1952 with Gordini endeared him to the French fans who loved his pugnacious style and outstanding car control.
But Gordini's reliability issues curbed his results and Behra's enthusiasm for the manufacturer, encouraging him to move to Maserati for 1955, where he enjoyed more non-championship wins at Pau and Bordeaux, but struggled - like his teammates and most of his rivals - to see the light of day against the mighty Mercedes squad led by Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss.
©CahierArchive
An ill-inspired switch to BRM in 1958 left him thoroughly frustrated, but a call from Modena boosted his prospects for 1959, with Ferrari banking on the tough Frenchman and his teammate Tony Brooks as suitable replacements for Peter Collins and Luigi Musso who had both died in accidents in 1958.
However, Enzo Ferrari's typical habit of pitting his drivers against each other irked Behra from the outset. At the French Grand Prix at Reims, a blown engine did little to appease his frustrations which he expressed by calling Ferrari team boss Romolo Tavoni "stupid" before slapping him in the face!
It was not the best career move for the feisty Frenchman who was fired the following week by the Commendatore.
Sadly, Behra was killed just four weeks later in a German Grand Prix support race at the Avus Ring when he lost control in the pouring rain of his Porsche RSK on the track's steep banking and was thrown out, fatally hitting a flagpole.
