Maurice Trintignant
| Born |
30 October 1917 Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Vaucluse, France |
|---|---|
| Died | 13 February 2005 (aged 87) Nîmes, Gard, France |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |
 French |
| Active years | 1950 – 1964 |
| Teams | Gordini, Ecurie Rosier, Ferrari inc. non-works, Vanwall, Rob Walker Racing Team, Scuderia Centro Sud, Bugatti, Aston Martin, BRM inc privateer, Scuderia Serenissima, Reg Parnell Racing |
| Entries | 84 (82 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 10 |
| Career points | 72 1⁄3 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| First entry | 1950 Monaco Grand Prix |
| First win | 1955 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1958 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1964 Italian Grand Prix |
Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (30 October 1917, in Sainte-Cécile-les-Vignes, Vaucluse – 13 February 2005, in Nîmes) was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest careers in the early years of Formula One. During this time he also competed in sports car racing, including winning the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans race. Following his retirement from the track Trintignant concentrated on the wine trade.
Maurice Trintignant was the brother of Bugatti race car driver Louis Trintignant — who was killed in 1933, in practice, at Péronne, Picardy — and the uncle of renowned French film actor Jean-Louis Trintignant.
He began racing in 1938, and won the 1939 Grand Prix des Frontières, but his career was interrupted by the Second World War, during which his own Bugatti was stored in a barn. When he rebuilt it for an event of 1945, the Coupé de la Liberation, he overlooked a clogged fuel filter, which caused him to drop out of the race. It transpired that the filter was plugged with rat droppings, earning him the unenviable nickname Le Petoulet, "the rat-droppings man".
By 1950 Le Petoulet was successful enough to be offered a works drive for the Gordini team, in the newly formed Formula One World Championship racing series. He competed in Formula One every year until his retirement after the 1964 season. During this long career Trintignant scored two victories, both at the Monaco Grand Prix, in 1955 and 1958. 1954 and 1955 were his best Championship years and he finished fourth in the drivers championship in both.
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