:''For the nephew of the Formula One champion, see
Juan Manuel Fangio II.''
'Juan Manuel Fangio' (
June 24,
1911 -
July 17,
1995) was a race car driver from
Argentina, who dominated the first decade of
Formula One racing. He won five World Championship titles — a record which stood for 46 years — with four different teams (
Alfa Romeo,
Ferrari,
Mercedes-Benz and
Maserati), a feat that has not been repeated since. For these achievements, and because of the time they were accomplished, he is considered by many as the "greatest driver of all time".
Early life and racing
Fangio was born on
San Juan's day in 1911 in
Balcarce,
Argentina to
Italian parents from the small central Italian village of
Castiglione Messer Marino, near
Chieti. He began his racing career in
Argentina in
1934, driving a
Ford Model T which he had rebuilt.
[1] During his time racing in Argentina, he drove
Chevrolet cars and was Argentine National Champion in 1940 and 1941
1. He first came to Europe to race in 1949, funded by the Argentinian Automobile Club and the Argentinian government.
1
Formula One racing
Juan Manuel Fangio, unlike most later Formula One drivers, started his racing career at a mature age and was the oldest driver in many of his races. During his career, drivers raced almost without protective equipment. The notable rivals he had to face consisted of the likes of
Alberto Ascari,
Giuseppe Farina and
Stirling Moss.
Initially Fangio was not particularly successful until racing an
Alfa Romeo in 1950. He finished second in the world championship in 1950 and won his first title in 1951. He was competing well in 1952 in a
Maserati until a serious accident at
Monza,
Italy ended his season with a neck injury. Fangio soon returned to win
La Carrera Panamericana, the 2000-mile Mexican road race the following year in a
Lancia D24. In 1954 he raced with
Maserati until
Mercedes-Benz entered competition in mid-season. Winning eight out of twelve races (six out of eight in the championship) in that year, he continued to race again with Mercedes—driving the superb
W196 Monoposto—in 1955 (in a dream team that included Stirling Moss). At the end of the second successful season (which was overshadowed by the
1955 Le Mans disaster in which more than 80 spectators were killed) Mercedes withdrew from racing.
In 1956 Fangio moved to Ferrari, replacing Alberto Ascari, who had been killed in an accident, to win his fourth title. He finished first in three races and second in all the other championship races. In 1957 he returned to Maserati and won his fifth title, notable for an extraordinary performance to secure his final win at the
Nürburgring in
Germany. After his series of back-to-back championships he retired in 1958, following the
French Grand Prix. He won 24 World Championship Grands Prix from 51 starts, the best winning percentage in the sport's history.
Later life and death
During the rest of his life, Fangio represented
Mercedes-Benz, often driving his former race cars in demonstration laps. In 1974 he was appointed President of ''Mercedes-Benz Argentina'', and in 1987 he was made Honorary President for Life of that corporation.
Cuban rebels kidnapped him on February 23, 1958, but he was later freed.
In 1990, he was inducted into the
International Motorsports Hall of Fame.
Juan Manuel Fangio died in
Buenos Aires in 1995, at the age of 84. He was buried in his home town of
Balcarce in
Argentina.
Legacy
According to the official Formula One website, "Many consider him to be the greatest driver of all time."
[ The Official Formula 1 Website - Juan Manuel Fangio ]. Many later drivers, such as
Jim Clark,
Alain Prost,
Ayrton Senna and
Michael Schumacher, have been compared with Fangio. It is generally acknowledged that such comparisons are not realistic, given that the qualities required for success and the levels of competition have varied over time. Additionally, the rules have varied considerably. In Fangio's era, for example, drivers were permitted to use multiple cars in the same race.
His record of 5 World Championship titles stood for 45 years until German driver Michael Schumacher took his sixth title in 2003. Schumacher said, "Fangio is on a level much higher than I see myself. What he did stands alone and what we have achieved is also unique. I have such respect for what he achieved. You can't take a personality like Fangio and compare him with what has happened today. There is not even the slightest comparison."
[ Schumi: Fangio was greater than me ][ Champion Schumacher Rejects Comparisons To Fangio ]
In his home country,
Argentina, Fangio is revered as one of the greatest sportsmen the nation has ever produced. Argentinians often referred to him as 'The Maestro'
[ Juan Manuel Fangio ][ Discovery Channel - Guide Car ], and a poll of sports journalists and commentators placed him as the second best Argentine sportsman of the 20th century, second only to
Diego Maradona.
His nephew,
Juan Manuel Fangio II, was also a successful racing driver.
Five statues of Fangio, sculpted by Catalan artist
Joaquim Ros Sabaté, are erected around the world: at
Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires;
Monte Carlo, Monaco;
Montmeló, Spain;
Nürburgring, Germany; and
Monza, Italy.
As an homage to him, Argentina's former national oil and gas company,
Repsol YPF, launched the "Fangio XXI" gas brand. In 2005, the
Zonda 2005 C12 F was named after him due to the endorsement from Fangio for
Pagani. In 2007 Maserati created a special website to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his fifth and final world championship triumph.
[ Maserati commemorates Fangio anniversary ]
Formula One world championship results
() (Races in 'bold' indicate pole position)
References
1. The Chequered Flag: 100 years of motor racing, , Ivan, Rendall, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1995,
External links
★
Grand Prix History - Hall of Fame, Juan-Manuel Fangio
★
Juan Manuel Fangio statistics
★
Juan Manuel Fangio Web
★
Museum Juan Manuel Fangio
{{succession box|title=
Formula One World Champion |before=
Giuseppe Farina|after=
Alberto Ascari|years=
{{succession box|title=
Formula One World Champion |before=
Alberto Ascari|after=
Mike Hawthorn|years=---
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