Juan Manuel Fangio

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Juan Manuel Fangio
Nationality	Argentinian
World Championship Career
Active years	1950 – 1951, 1953 – 1958
Team(s)	Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes, Ferrari
Races	52
Championships	5 (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957)
Wins	24
Podium finishes	31
Pole positions	29
Fastest laps	23
First race	1950 British Grand Prix
First win	1950 Monaco Grand Prix
Last win	1957 German Grand Prix
Last race	1958 French Grand Prix

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".

Contents 1 Early life and racing 2 Formula One racing 3 Later life and death 4 Legacy 5 Formula One world championship results 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Early life and racing

Fangio was born 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]

[edit] 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 81 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 Grand Prix in 51 starts, the best winning percentage in the sport's history.

[edit] 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 interred in the cemetery of his home town Balcarce in Argentina.

[edit] Legacy

According to the official Formula One website, "Many consider him to be the greatest driver of all time."^[2]. 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." ^[3][4]

In his home country, Argentina, Fangio is revered as one of the greatest sportmen the nation has ever produced. Argentinians often referred to as The Maestro^[5][6], and a poll of sport journalists and commentators placed him as the second best Argentine sportman 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.

[edit] Formula One world championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Team	WDC	Points
1950	Alfa Romeo	GBR Ret	MON 1	INDY	SWI Ret	BEL 1	FRA 1	ITA Ret					Alfa Romeo	2nd	27
1951	Alfa Romeo	SWI 1	INDY	BEL 9	FRA 1	GBR 2	GER 2	ITA Ret	ESP 1				Alfa Romeo	1st	31
1953	Maserati	ARG Ret	INDY	DUT Ret	BEL Ret	FRA 2	GBR 2	GER 2	SWI 4	ITA 1			Maserati	2nd	28
1954	Maserati	ARG 1	INDY	BEL 1	FRA 1	GBR 4	GER 1	SWI 1	ITA 1	ESP 3			Mercedes-Benz	1st	42
1955	Mercedes-Benz	ARG 1	MON Ret	INDY	BEL 1	DUT 1	GBR 2	ITA 1					Mercedes-Benz	1st	40
1956	Ferrari	ARG 1	MON 2	INDY	BEL Ret	FRA 4	GBR 1	GER 1	ITA 2				Ferrari	1st	30
1957	Maserati	ARG 1	MON 1	INDY	FRA 1	GBR Ret	GER 1	PES 2	ITA 2				Maserati	1st	40
1958	Scd. Sud Americana	ARG 4	MON	DUT	INDY DNS	BEL	FRA 4	GBR	GER	POR	ITA	MOR	J.M. Fangio	14th	7

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Rendall, Ivan [1993] (1995). The Chequered Flag: 100 years of motor racing. Weidenfeld & Nicolson, pp. 166. ISBN 0-297-83550-5. 
2. ^ "The Official Formula 1 Website - Juan Manuel Fangio", formula1.com. Retrieved on October 16, 2006.
3. ^ "Schumi: Fangio was greater than me", BBC. Retrieved on September 29, 2006.
4. ^ "Champion Schumacher Rejects Comparisons To Fangio", usgpindy.com. Retrieved on September 29, 2006.
5. ^ "Juan Manuel Fangio", f1-grandprix.com. Retrieved on September 22, 2006.
6. ^ "Discovery Channel - Guide Car", discoverychannelasia.com. Retrieved on September 22, 2006.

[edit] External links

• Grand Prix History - Hall of Fame, Juan-Manuel Fangio
• Juan Manuel Fangio statistics
• Juan Manuel Fangio Web
• Museum Juan Manuel Fangio

Sporting positions
Preceded by Nino Farina	Formula One World Champion 1951	Succeeded by Alberto Ascari
Preceded by Alberto Ascari	Formula One World Champion 1954–1957	Succeeded by Mike Hawthorn