John Michael Hawthorn (10 April 1929 – 22 January 1959) was a British racing driver who competed in Formula One from 1952 to 1958. Hawthorn won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1958 with Ferrari, and won three Grands Prix across seven seasons. In endurance racing, Hawthorn won both the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1955 with Jaguar.

In 1958, Hawthorn became the first of 11 British Formula One World Champions, beating Stirling Moss to the title by one point. He announced his retirement upon his triumph, having been profoundly affected by the death of his teammate and friend Peter Collins two months earlier during the German Grand Prix. Three months after retiring, Hawthorn died in a road accident in Guildford, driving his Jaguar 3.4 Litre. The Hawthorn Memorial Trophy was established in his honour by the RAC in 1959, being awarded to the most successful British, or Commonwealth, driver in Formula One each year.

Hawthorn was born in the town of Mexborough, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Leslie and Winifred (née Symonds) Hawthorn, and educated at Ardingly College, West Sussex, followed by studies at Chelsea technical college and an apprenticeship with a commercial vehicle manufacturer. His father owned the Tourist Trophy Garage in Farnham, franchised to supply and service several high performance brands, including Jaguar and Ferrari. His father raced motorcycles and supported his son's racing career; when he died in a road accident in 1954, Mike Hawthorn inherited the business.

Hawthorn made his competition debut on 2 September 1950 in his 1934 Riley Ulster Imp, KV 9475, winning the 1,100 cc sports car class at the Brighton Speed Trials. In 1951, driving a 1+1⁄2-litre T.T. Riley, he entered the Motor Sport Brooklands Memorial Trophy, a season-long contest run at Goodwood, winning it by one point. He also won the Ulster Trophy Handicap at Dundrod and the Leinster Trophy at Wicklow that year.

By 1952, Hawthorn had switched to single-seaters and during that season won his first race in a Formula Two Cooper-Bristol T20 at Goodwood. Further successes followed which brought him to the attention of Enzo Ferrari, who offered him a works drive. He made his Formula One debut at the 1952 Grote Prijs van Belgie on the legendary Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, finishing in fourth place. By the end of the season, he had already secured his first podium, with a third place at the RAC British Grand Prix and a brace of fourths driving a Cooper.

At Scuderia Ferrari for the 1953 season, Hawthorn immediately showed his worth with victory, at his ninth attempt, in the French Grand Prix at Reims, outmanoeuvring Juan Manuel Fangio in what became dubbed 'the race of the century' with the top four drivers finishing within five seconds of each other after 60 laps. This and two other podium finishes helped him end the season fourth overall. He also won the BRDC International Trophy and the Ulster Trophy as well as the 24 Heures de Spa Francorchamps with Ferrari teammate Giuseppe Farina.

Hawthorn's liability for conscription (National Service) was brought up in the House of Commons. In a crash during the Gran Premio di Siracusa Hawthorn suffered serious burns, but finished the year with three seconds and then victory in the season finale in Spain, placing him third in the Drivers' Championship. Following the death of his father, Hawthorn left Ferrari to race for Tony Vandervell's Vanwall team, as he needed to spend more time at the family garage he had inherited, but after two races returned to Ferrari.

In January 1955, Hawthorn joined the Jaguar racing team, replacing Stirling Moss, who had left for Mercedes. Hawthorn won the 1955 les 24 Heures du Mans following what has been described as an inspired drive in which he set a lap record of 4 minutes and 6.6 seconds during a three-hour duel with Fangio in the early stages. However, the race was marred by the worst disaster in motor racing history, a crash which killed 83 spectators and Mercedes driver Pierre Levegh. After overtaking Lance Macklin's Healey, Hawthorn suddenly braked in front of him on noticing an order to enter the pits to refuel, causing Macklin to swerve into the path of Levegh's Mercedes. After colliding with the Healey, the Mercedes skipped the earthen embankment separating the spectator area from the track, bounced through spectator enclosures, then hit a concrete stairwell parapet head-on. The impact shattered the front end of the car, which then somersaulted high, pitching debris into the spectator area, before landing atop the earthen embankment. The debris, including bonnet, engine, and front axle, which separated from the frame, flew through the crowd.