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Juan Manuel Fangio


Juan Manuel Fangio , nicknamed El Chueco ("knock-kneed") or El Maestro ("The Master"), was a race car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing. He won five Formula One World Driver's Championships a record which stood for 46 years until eventually beaten by Michael Schumacher with four different teams , a feat that has not been repeated since. Many still consider him to be the greatest driver of all time.

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. Fangio had no compunction about leaving a team, even after a successful year or even during a season, if he thought he would have a better chance with a better car. As was common at the time, several of his race results were shared with team-mates after he took over their cars during races when his own had technical problems. His rivals included Alberto Ascari, Giuseppe Farina and Stirling Moss.

Fangio's first entry into Formula One came in the 1948 French Grand Prix at Reims, where he started his Simca Gordini from 11th on the grid but retired. He did not drive in F1 again until the following year at San Remo, but having upgraded to a Maserati 4CLT/48 sponsored by the Automobile Club of Argentina he dominated the event, winning both heats to take the aggregate win by almost a minute over Prince Bira. Fangio entered a further six F1 races in 1949, winning four of them against top-level opposition.

Related websites

The Official Formula 1 Website

F1 Fanatics: Juan Manuel Fangio

Cine Nacional: Operacion Fangio

La Nacion: Cuando los mayores no deben manejar

Juan Manuel Fangio Website

Maserati Celebrates Fangio

Fangio the greatest racecar driver

Juan Manuel Fangio Museum

Amigos de Fangio

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This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Juan Manuel Fangio


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