Henry O’Reilly “Harry” Schell (29 June 1921 – 13 May 1960) was an American Grand Prix motor racing driver.
He was the first American driver to start a Formula One Grand Prix. Info from Wiki
Bio by Stephen Latham
Harry Schell was born in Paris, to Laury (an expatriate American and race driver) and Lucy (a wealthy American heiress), who became familiar names on the racing scene together. Lucy herself was also a fine racer who competed with great success in the late 1920s and early 1930s, winning the Coupe des Dames on the Monte Carlo Rally in 1929. She and Laury formed Ecurie Bleue and raced under that name, with René Dreyfus winning the 1938 Pau Grand Prix for the team.
Unfortunately, in 1939 Harry suffered a tragic blow when Laury was killed and Lucy severely injured in a road accident. When Ecurie Bleue later entered two Maseratis in the 1940 Indianapolis 500 it was 18 year old Harry who oversaw the team at the race; only one car qualified but there was a tenth place finish for the shared car of René le Bègue/Rene Dreyfus. Before this Harry had volunteered in the Finnish Air Force during the Winter War with Russia in 1939 then later earned a commission in the US Tank Corps during the Second World War.
After the War, Harry stayed in Europe and eventually, in partnership with his brother, and with support from his mother, he purchased a Cooper and raced as Horschell Racing Corporation. He raced the Cooper T12-JAP at Monaco in 1950 (the first rear-engined car to contest a Formula 1 race) though retired from the race due to being involved in the pile-up on the opening lap that took out a number of cars. Following this he drove a Lago-Talbot T26C in the Swiss GP, under the Ecurie Bleue banner, and finished eighth.
Over the next few seasons, he competed in a number of F1 races for Enrico Plate and Equipe Gordini, with his best results being two seventh place finishes for Gordini in Argentina and Belgium in 1953.
In sportscars, he had had a number of drives with Alfonso de Portago in a Ferrari 250MM and they finished second in 1954’s Buenos Aires 1000km. During the year, he raced a Maserati A6GCM to sixth in the Argentine GP, plus second in a non championship Rome GP, and towards the end of the year he was fighting for the lead in Spain in a Maserati 250F though had to retire.
1955 began with sixth place again in Argentina (in a Maserati 250F with Jean Behra) then a race with a Ferrari 555 in Monaco. He switched to Vandervell Products to race their Vanwall, finishing ninth in the British GP but frustratingly, at Monza he was challenging for the lead and ran in second place for most of the race but was forced out due to mechanical issues. However, he did take victory at a BARC International Trophy race at Snetterton.
He started fifth in 1956’s Monaco GP but crashed while avoiding Juan Manuel Fangio’s spinning Lancia-Ferrari. He followed this with fourth in the Belgian GP, and despite performing well in France, and leading at Monza, he retired from both races. During the year there was a victory with a Maserati 250F in a non-championship race at Caen and an impressive win with a Maserati 300S in the Nürburgring 1000Kms (with P.Taruffi, J.Behra and S.Moss) for Officine Altieri Maserati.
He also raced for Ferrari in sportscars and took second place in a 750 Monza at the Agadir Grand Prix, the Dakar 2 Hours and the Paris 1000km (with J.Lucas) plus second place in an 860 Monza at the Sebring 12 Hours (with Luigi Musso).
Continuing racing Maseratis, 1957 saw him partnered with J.Manuel Fangio and there were strong finishes, including fourth in Argentina and third at Pescara, plus fifth places in France and Italy. He and S.Moss also took second in the Sebring 12 Hours in a Maserati 300S, behind J.Behra and J.Manuel Fangio.
Starting off 1958 with one race for the Joakim Bonnier Racing Team in Argentina, he then moved to Owen Racing Organisation and took their BRM P25 to fifth on the streets of Monte Carlo. At the next race, at Zandvoort, he fought his way to second place and battled with Mike Hawthorn to retain the place at the flag, which would be a career best. He also added another three fifth places to his tally, at Belgium, Great Britain and Morocco, though at Monza he was lucky to escape uninjured after being hit by Wolfgang von Trips. He also competed in the Race of two Worlds at Monza, where American teams from the USAC competed against F1 teams. Racing a Ferrari 375 as part of Luigi Chinetti’s North American Racing Team, he joined Phil Hill (Ferrari 296 Dino) and Masten Gregory (Ecurie Ecosse Jaguar D-Type) as the only American drivers not entered in an American Championship Car. A return to the Sebring 12 Hours saw him and Wolfgang Seidel perform well with a Porsche 718RSK to take third place overall and first in their class. This was followed by seventh in the Nurburgring 1000 Kilometers (with Paul Frere) then fourth in a Ferrari 250GT for Jacques Peron in the Tour de France.
His second season with the BRM was less successful, taking seventh places in France, Germany and Italy and his best results were fourth in the British GP and fifth in Portugal. After Monza, he entered the season’s final race, at Sebring, in a Cooper T51 under the Ecurie Bleue banner. He qualified an impressive third, though retired from the race and continued as Ecurie Bleue with the car in the following season’s Argentine GP.
Harry joined the British Racing Partnership’s Yeoman Credit Racing Team to contest the European season, with Tony Brooks and Chris Bristow. Sadly, in practice for the International Trophy at Silverstone, his Cooper shed a wheel and he crashed into the bank at 100mph, with Harry being killed instantly.
Besides his racing, he ran a bar in Paris (L’Action Automobile) which was popular with the racing community; a practical joker and debonair character, Harry was popular with his peers and race fans alike.
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