In 1958, the team competed only in the rounds counting towards the World Championship. This was in part due to the introduction of a championship for manufacturers and Vandervell was determined to be the first to win it. All else was subordinated to this goal. Although the team missed the first round in Buenos Aires - again - the team leader, Moss, won the event. Although it had been announced in the Spring of 1957, the new regulations stipulating gasoline - albeit it actually being aviation grade gasoline and not remotely like that at the local gas station - proved a more difficult nut to crack than anticipated. Work on the conversion was one of the major reasons for missing the opening round.

The tire problem was also addressed during the off-season. During 1957 Pirelli had finally - as threatened, ceased making racing tires. Stocks of the tires were dwindling rapidly and it was clearly obviously that the number of tires that the Vanwall team had was simply not enough for a full season. In the breach stepped Dunlop with the new arrangement being announced at the Earl's Court Motor Show.

Also, Vandervell demanded that team manager Yorke get for Vanwall the same amount of starting money from the race organizers as Ferrari and Maserati: £1,000 per car. And he got it. They had now learned that it was easier to give in rather than fight Vandervell.

At Monaco, all the cars retired due to various ailments and Vandervell was not very happy as a result. And worse yet, the team lost an engine - V3 - when the aircraft rushing it to Nice crashed. The engine was completely destroyed.

At Zandvoort for the Dutch Grand Prix, Moss achieved the first of his three wins for the team that season. He led from start to finish and simply dominated the field. Lewis-Evans sat on the pole and the front row was completely green: all Vanwalls. The race also introduced what was to become the standard arrangement for wheels during the season. The front wheels were the usual wire-spokes while the rear wheels were an alloy "wave web" design.

A long wait on the grid at Spa-Francorchamps saw many overheat - their tempers as well as their engines - and Brooks win the race although it was only because it was shortened from previous seasons. The gearbox was on the verge of seizing when the checkered flag dropped, the Hawthorn Ferrari Dino in second place blew its engine literally to pieces just as he crossed the line, and third place Lewis-Evans limped across the line when a wishbone broke on the last lap.

At Reims, Moss finished second to Hawthorn who was simply on task and won handily. At Silverstone, Collins won with the Vanwall team not a factor at the end. At the German Grand Prix, Moss was easily pulling away from the field when the magneto failed. Brooks won and set the fastest lap as well.

Moss went from flag to flag in Oporto to win the Portuguese Grand Prix. Brooks captured the race at Monza when Moss retired with a gearbox failure. And at Ain Diab, outside Casablanca, Moss both won the race and set the fastest lap, but Hawthorn was second and pipped Moss by a single point. However, the real concern was for Lewis-Evans who was badly burned when he crashed on lap 42.

Lewis-Evans was flown back to England on the aircraft Vandervell had chartered. He was whisked off to the Burns Unit at the East Grinstead Hospital. Despite all their efforts, Lewis-Evans died on 25 October.

Vandervell never quite recovered from the death of Lewis-Evans. Although many feel that this is overplaying the issue, in reality it was a serious blow to Vandervell. It was simply one blow too many. His doctors were now very concerned about his health. Their previous warnings had gone unheeded, but now even Vandervell could sense that they were right. His health was in serious decline and something had to give. On 12 January 1959, a news release from Vandervell Products Ltd., of Western Avenue, Acton, announced that the Vanwall team was withdrawing from competition.

When Tony Vandervell died on 10 March 1967, the sport was radically different from the one he had first entered with the Thinwall Specials. The dominant color was now green, not red, on the grid.