(
June 24 ,
1911 -
July 17 ,
1995 ) was a legendary
Argentinian race car driver, considered by many to be the greatest racing driver in
Formula One History , winning the world championship no less than five times for
Alfa Romeo ,
Ferrari ,
Mercedes Benz and
Maserati . His record of five world championships has recently been bested by
German Michael Schumacher .
He was born in
Balcarce ,
Argentina from
Italian parents. He began his racing career in
South America in
1934 , mostly in long distance road races and he was Argentine National Champion in 1940 and 1941. The outbreak of
World War II halted his rise, and he could not begin racing in
Europe until 1947.
Unlike later Formula one drivers, Fangio started his racing career at a mature age and was the oldest driver in many of his races. In addition to this during his career drivers raced almost without protective equipment, and the rivals he had to face were some of the best drivers ever (of special note are
Alberto Ascari ,
Giuseppe Farina and especially his fiercest rival
Stirling Moss ).
His skillful driving combined with all the competitions and risks involved have caused many people to call him the best driver in racing history, an honor that has endured for more than 5 decades. Although many consider
Ayrton Senna ,
Alain Prost and
Jim Clark to be at the same level as Fangio was, a comparison is difficult given the changes in motor racing since Fangio's time.
Initially Fangio was not particularly successful until racing an
Alfa Romeo in 1950. He came second in the 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. In 1954 he was back, racing with a
Maserati until
Mercedes-Benz entered 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
Le Mans 1955 Disaster in which 81 spectators were killed) Mercedes had won all titles and withdrew from racing as there was nothing left to prove.
For 1956, Fangio moved to Ferrari, replacing
Alberto Ascari who had been killed in an accident, winning his fourth title, finishing 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, after the
French Grand Prix , having won 24 Grand Prix in 51 starts (the best winning percentage in the sport's history).
Cuba n rebels kidnapped him on
February 23 ,
1958 but he was later freed.
During the rest of his life, he was a representative of
Mercedes-Benz , often driving his former race cars in demonstration laps. 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. In 2005, the
Zonda 2005 C12 F was named after him due to the engineering done by Fangio for
Pagani .
He was interred at
Ciudad De Balcarce Cemetery , Balcarce, Argentina. His nephew,
Juan Manuel II , was also a successful auto racing competitor.
