Juan Manuel Fangio, born on 24 June 24 1911 in Balcarce, Argentina, was a legendary F1 driver. Known affectionately by nicknames such as “El Chueco” (the bowlegged one) and “El Maestro” (The Master or The Teacher), Fangio was a founding father of Formula 1, defining the sport’s earliest seasons.
| Nationality | Argentine |
|---|---|
| Born | 24 June 1911 Balcarce, Argentina |
| Died | 17 July 1995 (aged 84) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Fangio clinched the World Drivers’ Championship five times during his F1 career, an achievement that remained unbeaten for nearly five decades and at a time when the sport was most dangerous.
Fangio’s journey into motor racing began from humble origins. With a youthful dislike for anything academic, he preferred a more practical vocation in auto mechanics. His passion for cars soon propelled him onto the racing scene, where he made his debut in the 1938 Turismo Carretera series, a popular stock car racing series in Argentina, driving a Ford V8. By 1940, now with Chevrolet, he won the championship and again the following season.
In the late 1940s, Fangio expanded his racing career to the European circuits of the time, where he laid the groundwork for his Formula 1 debut.
His entry in the first Formula 1 season of 1950 marked the beginning of an illustrious career that saw him win championships with four different teams: Alfa Romeo in 1951, Maserati in 1954 and 1957, Mercedes-Benz in 1954 and 1955, and Ferrari in 1956. In addition to five Drivers’ titles, Fangio left the sport with a staggering winning percentage of 46.15%, 24 victories out of 52 races, and a pole position percentage of 55.77%.
Fangio’s legacy remains to this day. He is the only Argentine to win the Argentine Grand Prix—a feat he accomplished four times—and the only Argentine to clinch the World Drivers’ Championship.
Following his retirement from racing, Fangio became the honorary president of Mercedes-Benz Argentina, a role he fulfilled from 1987 until he died on 17 July 1995. His contributions to motorsport were celebrated globally, particularly during the centenary of his birth in 2011, through numerous tributes and events honouring his impact on Formula 1 and other motor racing series.
Juan Manuel Fangio Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 1950–1951, 1953-1958 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes, Ferrari |
| Entries | 52 (51 starts) |
| Championships | 5 (1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957) |
| Wins | 24 |
| Podiums | 35 |
| Career points | 245 |
| Pole positions | 29 |
| Fastest laps | 23 |
| First entry | 1950 British Grand Prix |
| First win | 1950 Monaco Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1957 German Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1958 French Grand Prix |
Juan Manuel Fangio Teammates
| 34 Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reg Parnell | 1 | 1950 | |
| Luigi Fagioli | 7 | 1950 | 1951 |
| Gianbattista Guidotti | 2 | 1950 | 1951 |
| Giuseppe Farina | 13 | 1950 | 1951 |
| Piero Taruffi | 3 | 1950 | 1955 |
| Consalvo Sanesi | 6 | 1950 | 1951 |
| Emmanuel de Graffenried | 3 | 1951 | |
| Felice Bonetto | 11 | 1951 | 1953 |
| Paul Pietsch | 1 | 1951 | |
| Jose-Froilan Gonzalez | 7 | 1952 | 1953 |
| Oscar Galvez | 1 | 1953 | |
| Johnny Claes | 1 | 1953 | |
| Onofre Marimon | 8 | 1953 | 1954 |
| Hermann Lang | 2 | 1953 | 1954 |
| Sergio Mantovani | 2 | 1953 | 1954 |
| Luigi Musso | 6 | 1953 | 1956 |
| Prince Bira | 1 | 1954 | |
| Hans Harrmann | 8 | 1954 | 1957 |
| Karl Kling | 11 | 1954 | 1955 |
| Stirling Moss | 7 | 1955 | 1957 |
| Andre Simon | 1 | 1955 | |
| Eugenio Castellotti | 7 | 1956 | |
| Peter Collins | 7 | 1956 | |
| Olivier Gendebien | 3 | 1956 | |
| Andre Pilette | 1 | 1956 | |
| Paul Frere | 1 | 1956 | |
| Alfonso de Portago | 4 | 1956 | |
| Wolfgang von Trips | 1 | 1956 | |
| Carlos Menditeguy | 6 | 1957 | 1958 |
| Harry Schell | 6 | 1957 | |
| Jean Behra | 7 | 1957 | |
| Giorgio Scarlatti | 4 | 1957 | |
| Francisco Godia-Sales | 3 | 1957 | |
| Mike Magill | 1 | 1958 |
Race Wins
| Win Number | Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1950 Monaco Grand Prix |
| 2 | 1950 Belgian Grand Prix |
| 3 | 1950 French Grand Prix |
| 4 | 1951 Swiss Grand Prix |
| 5 | 1951 French Grand Prix (shared with Luigi Fagioli) |
| 6 | 1951 Spanish Grand Prix |
| 7 | 1953 Italian Grand Prix |
| 8 | 1954 Argentine Grand Prix |
| 9 | 1954 Belgian Grand Prix |
| 10 | 1954 French Grand Prix |
| 11 | 1954 German Grand Prix |
| 12 | 1954 Swiss Grand Prix |
| 13 | 1954 Italian Grand Prix |
| 14 | 1955 Argentine Grand Prix |
| 15 | 1955 Belgian Grand Prix |
| 16 | 1955 Dutch Grand Prix |
| 17 | 1955 Italian Grand Prix |
| 18 | 1956 Argentine Grand Prix (shared with Luigi Musso) |
| 19 | 1956 British Grand Prix |
| 20 | 1956 German Grand Prix |
| 21 | 1957 Argentine Grand Prix |
| 22 | 1957 Monaco Grand Prix |
| 23 | 1957 French Grand Prix |
| 24 | 1957 German Grand Prix |
Non-Championship Wins
| Win Number | Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1949 San Remo Grand Prix |
| 2 | 1949 Pau Grand Prix |
| 3 | 1949 Rousilllon Grand Prix |
| 4 | 1949 Marseille Grand Prix |
| 5 | 1949 Albigeois Grand Prix |
| 6 | 1950 Pau Grand Prix |
| 7 | 1950 San Remo Grand Prix |
| 8 | 1950 Nations Grand Prix |
| 9 | 1950 Coppa Acerbo |
| 10 | 1951 Bari Grand Prix |
| 11 | 1953 Modena Grand Prix |
| 12 | 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix |
| 13 | 1956 Buenos Aires Grand Prix |
| 14 | 1956 Syracuse Grand Prix |
| 15 | 1957 Buenos Aires Grand Prix |
Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | WDC | Point1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo 158 | Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8 s | GBR Ret | MON 1 | 500 | SUI Ret | BEL 1 | FRA 1 | ITA Ret* | 2nd | 27 | ||||
| 1951 | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo 159 | Alfa Romeo 158 1.5 L8 s | SUI 1 | 500 | BEL 9 | FRA 1* | GBR 2 | GER 2 | ITA Ret | ESP 1 | 1st | 31 (37) | |||
| 1953 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati A6GCM | Maserati A6 2.0 L6 | ARG Ret | 500 | NED Ret | BEL Ret* | FRA 2 | GBR 2 | GER 2 | SUI 4* | ITA 1 | 2nd | 28 (29 1 ⁄ 2 ) | ||
| 1954 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | ARG 1 | 500 | BEL 1 | 1st | 42 (57 1 ⁄ 7 ) | ||||||||
| Daimler Benz AG | Mercedes-Benz W196 | Mercedes M196 2.5 L8 | FRA 1 † | GBR 4 † | GER 1 | SUI 1 | ITA 1 † | ESP 3 | ||||||||
| 1955 | Daimler Benz AG | Mercedes-Benz W196 | Mercedes M196 2.5 L8 | ARG 1 | MON Ret | 500 | BEL 1 | NED 1 | GBR 2 | ITA 1 † | 1st | 40 (41) | ||||
| 1956 | Scuderia Ferrari | Lancia – Ferrari D50 | Ferrari DS50 2.5 V8 | ARG 1* | MON 2* | 500 | BEL Ret | FRA 4 | GBR 1 | GER 1 | ITA 2* | 1st | 30 (33) | |||
| 1957 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | ARG 1 | MON 1 | 500 | FRA 1 | GBR Ret | GER 1 | PES 2 | ITA 2 | 1st | 40 (46) | |||
| 1958 | Scuderia Sud Americana | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | ARG 4 | MON | NED | 14th | 7 | ||||||||
| 1958 | Novi Auto Air Conditioner | Kurtis Kraft 500F | Novi 3.0 L8 s | 500 DNQ | 14th | 7 | ||||||||||
| 1958 | Juan Manuel Fangio | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250F1 2.5 L6 | BEL | FRA 4 | GBR | GER | POR | ITA | MOR | 14th | 7 |
*Shared drive.
† Car ran with streamlined, full-width bodywork.
Complete Non-Championship Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Scuderia Achille Varzi | Maserati 4CLT/48 | Maserati 1.5 s/c straight-4 | PAU 1 | RIC | ALB Ret | NED Ret | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo 158 | Alfa Romeo 1.5 s/c straight-8 | SRM 1 | PAR | EMP | BAR 2 | JER | NAT 1 | NOT | ULS | PES 1 | STT | INT 2 | GOO | PEN | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1951 | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo 159 | Alfa Romeo 1.5 s/c straight-8 | SYR | PAU | RIC | SRM | BOR | INT 4 | ULS | SCO | NED | ALB | PES | BAR 1 | GOO | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Equipe Gordini | Simca Gordini Type 11 | Gordini 1.5 s/c straight-4 | PAR Ret | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1952 | British Racing Motors | BRM Type 15 | BRM P15 1.5 s/c V16 | SYR | VAL DNA | RIC | LAV | PAU | IBS | MAR | AST | INT | ELÄ | NAP | EIF | PAR | ALB Ret | FRO | ULS Ret | ||||||||||||||||||
| Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati A6GCM | Maserati 2.0 L6 | MNZ Ret | LAC | ESS | MAR | SAB | CAE | DMT | COM | NAT | BAU | MOD | CAD | SKA | MAD | AVU | JOE | NEW | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1953 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati A6GCM | Maserati 2.0 L6 | SYR | PAU | LAV | AST | BOR 3 | INT | ELÄ | NAP 2 | ULS | WIN | FRO | COR | EIF | MOD 1 | MAD | JOE | CUR | |||||||||||||||||
| British Racing Motors | BRM Type 15 | BRM P15 1.5 s/c V16 | ALB Ret | PRI | ESS | MID | ROU | CRY | AVU | USF | LAC | BRI | CHE | SAB | NEW | CAD | RED | SKA | LON | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1954 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250 2.5 L6 | SYR DNA | PAU | LAV | BOR | INT | BAR | CUR | ROM DNA | FRO | COR | BRC | CRY | ROU | CAE | AUG | COR | OUL | RED | PES | JOE | CAD | |||||||||||||
| Daimler Benz AG | Mercedes-Benz W196 | Mercedes M196 2.5 L8 | BER 2 | GOO | DTT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1956 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari D50 | Ferrari DS50 2.5 V8 | BUE 1 | GLV | SYR 1 | AIN | INT Ret | NAP | 100 | VNW | CAE | BRH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1957 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati 250F | Maserati 250 2.5 L6 | BUE 1 | SYR | GLV | NAP | RMS 8 | CAE | INT | MOD | MOR 4 |
Sources: Wikipedia.com, fandom.com and statsf1.com
