Anniversary of Fangio's F1 debut

Five-times champion's GP was in France in 1948

By PH Staff / Monday, 18 July 2005 / Loading comments

Fangio at Monaco in Mercedes W196

Today is the anniversary of Juan Manuel Fangio's Formula One debut -- he finished 12th at the French Grand Prix on 18 July 1948 at the age of 37.

His late appearance on the racing scene did not diminish his impact. Born to an Italian immigrant family outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fangio learned to race on the death-trap tracks of Argentina for little reward. Finally, his excellence was recognised by Argentine dictator Juan Peron, who agreed to sponsor Fangio's racing career.

F1 Grand Prix racing proper began in 1950, and Fangio took second place in the driver's championship driving for Alfa Romeo. The next year he won. A crash kept him out of the circuit for the next two years, but in 1954, he switched to the Mercedes team and won his first of four consecutive world championships.

Until Michael Schumacher driver's championship win last year, he was the first and only man ever to have won five titles. Fangio was known for his spectacular technical ability and for his demure manner. He spoke always with the quiet confidence that comes from a specific talent.

Fangio said: "Great drivers can do their best times in two or three laps of a circuit, while others take 10, 20, or 30." His greatest achievement came in his last full season at the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. He needed to fend off Ferrrari's driving team of Hawthorne and Collins to wrap up his fifth world title. He started the race with half-full tanks, intending to build an insurmountable lead in a lighter car.

When he pitted, however, the Ferraris thundered by, stretching to a 56-second lead. Fangio's chances looked dim. Gradually, though, he pulled himself back into the race. On three consecutive laps he bettered the track record for the 14.2 mile Nordschliefe by an incredible 12 seconds. Fangio was racing faster than his qualifying times recorded on an empty course. He reeled in the Ferrari cars in as their team managers urged them on in disbelief. Fangio said afterwards: "I believe that on that day in 1957 I finally managed to master the Nürburgring, making those laps in the dark on those curves where I had never before had the courage to push things so far."

After a few races in 1958, Fangio retired. The mild-mannered Argentine reflected that since he retired, the only racers to have approached his mastery of the sport were Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna. Both men died in their cars.