World Champions | Formula One Art & Genius Formula One Art & Genius Search for: World Champions Only 33 men have won the Formula One World Championship in the 67 seasons since the modern era began in 1950, while ten — Schumacher, Fangio, Prost, Brabham, Stewart, Lauda, Piquet, Senna, Vettel and Hamilton — have topped the season leader board three or more times, making the F1 driving crown the most elusive title in the world. Statistics though 2016 season. Drivers Drivers Championship Formula 1® Drivers The headline change among the 2017 driver line-ups is Valtteri Bottas joining reigning champions Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton's new team mate, following Nico Rosberg’s surprise retirement. Mercedes protege Esteban Ocon arrives at Force India from Manor, replacing Nico Hulkenberg who takes a works drive at Renault. At Haas, Kevin Magnussen is Romain Grosjean’s new team mate after departing Renault.

At Williams, Felipe Massa reverses his retirement decision to partner Canadian rookie Lance Stroll, while at McLaren, Stoffel Vandoorne lines up alongside Fernando Alonso in the Belgian’s first full season on the grid. And Pascal Wehrlein moves from Manor to Sauber as team mate to Marcus Ericsson. To learn more about the world champions on the current grid - and since the inception of the drivers' title in 1950 - visit our Hall of Fame section. The headline change among the 2017 driver line-ups is Valtteri Bottas joining reigning champions Mercedes as Lewis Hamilton's new team mate, following Nico Rosberg’s surprise retirement. Mercedes protege Esteban Ocon arrives at Force India from Manor, replacing Nico Hulkenberg who takes a works drive at Renault. At Haas, Kevin Magnussen is Romain Grosjean’s new team mate after departing Renault. At Williams, Felipe Massa reverses his retirement decision to partner Canadian rookie Lance Stroll, while at McLaren, Stoffel Vandoorne lines up alongside Fernando Alonso in the Belgian’s first full season on the grid. And Pascal Wehrlein moves from Manor to Sauber as team mate to Marcus Ericsson.

To learn more about the world champions on the current grid - and since the inception of the drivers' title in 1950 - visit our Hall of Fame section. 2016 Drivers Championship Juan Manuel Fangio | The Formula 1 Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia 1957 German Grand Prix Juan Manuel Fangio ( FANGE-ee-oh ; born June 24 , 1911 in Balcarce, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina – died July 17 , 1995 in Buenos Aires, Argentina), nicknamed El Chueco ("knock-kneed") or El Maestro ("The Master"), was a racing 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 ( Alfa Romeo , Ferrari , Mercedes-Benz and Maserati ), a feat that has not been repeated since. Many still consider him to be the greatest driver of all time. [1] He is the only Argentine driver to have won the Argentine Grand Prix , having won it four times in his career.

Contents Edit Fangio was born on San Juan's day in 1911 in Balcarce , to Italian immigrants. [2] He began his racing career in Argentina in 1934, driving a 1929 Ford Model A which he had rebuilt. [3] During his time racing in Argentina, he drove Chevrolet cars and was Argentine National Champion in 1940 and 1941. [3] He first came to Europe to race in 1948, funded by the Argentine Automobile Club and the Argentine government. [3] Formula One racing Edit Fangio, unlike 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 with no 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 then common, several of his race results were shared with team mates after he took over their car 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 Sanremo , 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. 1950 Edit For the first Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1950 Fangio was taken on by the Alfa Romeo team alongside Nino Farina and Luigi Fagioli . With competitive racing machinery following the Second World War still in short supply, the pre-war Alfettas proved dominant. Fangio retired from the first round of the championship at Silverstone whilst running third whilst championship rival and teammate Nino Farina won but he would win in Monaco when whilst Farina retired.

Fangio avoids the carnage In Monaco Fangio got a better start than Farina and when they approached the Tabac corner for the first time they found that it had flooded. Fangio negotiated the corner whilst Farina spun causing a 10 multi-car pile-up. Joint leaders of the championship, Farina and Fangio were the class of the field again in Bremgarten for the Swiss GP but Fangio would retire from second and it was status quo at the front of the Belgian GP but this time it was Farina who struck problems and crawled the car home 4th ensuring he kept the championship lead. Fangio takes victory to close on the championship The championship moved onto France and Farina looked in impressive form tearing away in the lead from Fangio but this pace damaged his car and he retired from the lead giving Fangio the win and top of the championship. Fangio won each of the three races he finished, but Farina's three wins and a fourth place allowed him to take the title.

As Farina bolted off at the start line at the Italian GP with Alberto Ascari in the improved Ferrari in pursuit, Fangio knew all he had to do was collect good points and drove cautiously but on lap 22 disaster struck for the Argentine driver suffering gearbox problems. Fangio took over the car of Pierro Taruffi and set about charging back through the field but the pace was too much and he retired again on lap 35 leaving Farina to cruise to the title, Fangio second and Fagioli third. In 1950's non-championship races Fangio took a further four wins and two seconds from eight starts. 1951 and beyond Edit Fangio won three more championship races for Alfa in 1951 in the Swiss , French and Spanish Grands Prix, and with the improved Ferraris taking points off his team mates, Fangio took the title in the final race, six points ahead of Ascari. With the 1952 World Championship being run to Formula Two specifications, Alfa Romeo were unable to use their supercharged Alfettas and withdrew.

As a result the defending champion found himself without a car for the first race of the championship and remained absent from F1 until June, when he drove the British BRM V16 in non-championship F1 races at Albi and Dundrod. Fangio had agreed to drive for Maserati in a race at Monza the day after the Dundrod race, but having missed a connecting flight he decided to drive through the night from Paris , arriving half an hour before the start. Badly fatigued, Fangio started the race from the back of the grid but lost control on the second lap, crashed into a grass bank, and was thrown out of the car as it flipped end over end. He was taken to hospital with multiple injuries, the most serious being a broken neck, and spent the rest of 1952 recovering in Argentina. Back to full racing fitness, Fangio began 1953 by winning the Carrera Panamericana in a Lancia D24. Back in Europe he rejoined Maserati for the championship season, and against the dominant Ferraris led by Ascari he took a lucky win at Monza.

Fangio qualified second with Bonetto seventh, and Fangio set fastest lap on his way to a 1.4-second victory over Nino Farina while Bonetto retired out of fuel. Along with that win, Fangio secured three second places to finish second in the Championship, and also came third first time out in the Targa Florio . In 1954 Fangio raced for 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 with Mercedes—driving the W196 Monoposto —in 1955 in a team that included Stirling Moss. At the end of the second successful season (which was overshadowed by the 1955 Le Mans disaster in which more than 80 spectators were killed) Mercedes withdrew from racing. In 1956 Fangio moved to Ferrari, replacing Ascari, who had been killed in an accident, to win his fourth title. Enzo Ferrari and Fangio did not have a very warm relationship, despite their shared success.

Fangio took over his team-mate's cars after his suffered mechanical problems in three races, the Argentine , Monaco and Italian Grands Prix. In each case the points were shared between the two drivers. At the season-ending Italian Grand Prix, Fangio's Ferrari team mate Peter Collins, who was in a position to win the World Championship with just 15 laps to go, handed over his car to Fangio. They shared the six points won for second place, giving Fangio the World title. Saving the best until last "I have never driven that quickly before in my life and I don't think I will ever be able to do it again". Fangio after 1957 German GP [4] In 1957 Fangio returned to Maserati, who were still using the same iconic 250F which Fangio had driven at the start of 1954. Fangio started the season with a hat-trick of wins in Argentina, Monaco and France, before retiring with engine problems in Britain. At the next race, the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring circuit, Fangio needed to extend his lead by six points to claim the title with two races to spare.

From pole position Fangio dropped to third behind the Ferraris of Hawthorn and Collins but managed to get past both by the end of the third lap. Fangio had started with half-full tanks since he expected that he would need new tyres half-way through the race. In the event Fangio pitted on lap 13 with a 30-second lead, but a disastrous stop left him back in third place and 50 seconds behind Collins and Hawthorn. Fangio came into his own, setting one fastest lap after another, culminating in a record-breaking time on lap 20 a full eleven seconds faster than the best the Ferraris could do. On the penultimate lap Fangio got back past both Collins and Hawthorn, and held on to take the win by just over three seconds. With Musso finishing down in fourth place, Fangio claimed his fifth title. This performance is often regarded as the greatest drive in Formula One history, but it was to be Fangio's last win. After his series of back-to-back championships he retired in 1958 , following the French Grand Prix .

Such was the respect for Fangio, that during that final race, race leader Hawthorn had lapped Fangio and as Hawthorn was about to cross the line, he braked and allowed Fangio through so he could complete the 50-lap distance in his final race. He would cross the line over two minutes down on Hawthorn. He won 24 World Championship Grands Prix from 51 starts - a winning percentage of 47.06%, the best winning percentage in the sport's history. [5] Later life and death Edit During the rest of his life after retiring from racing Fangio sold Mercedes-Benz cars, often driving his former race cars in demonstration laps. Even before he joined the Mercedes Formula One team, in the early 1950s, Fangio had acquired the Argentine Mercedes concession. He was appointed President of Mercedes-Benz Argentina in 1974, and its Honorary President for Life in 1987. Cuban rebels kidnapped him on February 23, 1958, but he was later released, and remained a good friend of his captors afterwards.

The incident was dramatized in a 1999 Argentine film directed by Alberto Lecchi , Operación Fangio . [6] Following his retirement, Fangio was active in assembling automotive memorabila associated with his racing career. This led to the creation of the Museo Juan Manuel Fangio , which opened in Balcarce in 1986. [7] Fangio was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990. He returned to the spotlight in 1994, when he publicly opposed a new Province of Buenos Aires law denying driver's licences to those over 80 (which included Fangio). Denied a renewal of his card, Fangio reportedly challenged Traffic Bureau personnel to a race between Buenos Aires and seaside Mar del Plata , a 400 km (250 mi) distance, in two hours or less, following which an exception was made for the five-time Grand Prix winner. [8] Juan Manuel Fangio died in Buenos Aires in 1995, at the age of 84. He was buried in his home town of Balcarce in Argentina .

Formula One Statistical Overview Mario Andretti | Formula One Art & Genius Formula One Art & Genius Search for: Mario Andretti Mario Andretti won just about everything there is to win in motorsport, from the Indy and Daytona 500s, the USAC and CART/IndyCar championships, Sebring and Le Mans (almost), to the F1 World Championship itself. Growing up in the shadows of Monza, this naturalized American legend epitomizes the Formula One saga. Lotus 79 Cosworth 1979 Mario Andretti was a rarity, an American who not only captured the Formula One World Championship but enjoyed considerable success on both sides of the Atlantic in a career spanning more than three decades. An immigrant from Italy who arrived in the U.S. at age 15, Andretti was already interested in racing and with his twin brother, Aldo, started competing at local dirt ovals. By the early 1960s he was racing with success in sprint and stock car events, graduating to USAC Champ cars in 1964.

At Indianapolis in 1965 (where he finished third in a race memorably won by Jim Clark in a Lotus) Andretti was promised a future Formula One drive by Team Lotus boss Colin Chapman. By the time he memorably won the at the Brickyard for Andy Granatelli in a backup car in 1969, Andretti had already dabbled in F1, making his debut for Lotus at the end of 1968 — qualifying on pole for the season-ending United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen . Oh, sure, they said: it’s his home track. Actually, he had never driven at the Glen before. (Unfortunately, in the race he DNF’ed as his Lotus more or less fell apart.) For three years Andretti raced sporadically and inconclusively, for Lotus, Ferrari and March, achieving his first F1 victory in his first race for Ferrari in the 1971 South African Grand Prix . Andretti’s hook-up with Colin Chapman and Team Lotus at Long Beach in 1977 was a godsend to both.

The then out-of-luck Andretti eventually got a fabulous car — the ground effects Lotus — with which to win the 1978 championship. The then uncompetitive Chapman, master of 1960s F1, got a driver with the critical eye and gritty determination required to shake out the Lotus organization and its uncharacteristically suspect cars. Though Andretti found Chapman’s twitchy and unpredictable Lotus 77 frightening to drive, he managed to score a momentous victory in the final race of 1976, the Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji — better known for its treacherous weather, Niki Lauda’s withdrawal and James Hunt’s remarkable F1 drivers’ championship. This first win in five years for Lotus inspired Chapman to greater effort on the drawing board and in his pioneering 1977 creation — the Lotus 78 ground effect car that Andretti helped develop — the Italian-American won four races. In 1978, with six victories, five of them in the even more innovative Lotus 79, the ultimate in ground effects which debuted in the Dutch Grand Prix at Zolder, Andretti became World Champion.

In an accomplishment reminiscent of the Lotus 49 at Zandvoort 11 years earlier, the 79 took pole and the win its first time out. Andretti kept it up with wins at Spain, France, Germany and Holland. So dominant was Lotus in 1978 that Andretti’s major competition for the title was his teammate, Swedish Ronnie Peterson. If everything seems under control, you’re just not going fast enough. — Mario Andretti — Andretti came to Monza in ’78 leading Peterson by 12 points. At the start, James Hunt was punted into Peterson by another car. Peterson’s car in turn hit the Armco heavily and burst into flames. After Hunt leapt from his McLaren and pulled Peterson from the burning Lotus, the race was red-flagged. Mario finished 6th following a restart, capturing the World Championship, but his somber face afterwards shows how hollow the title really was. Niki Lauda , who won the race, did not even collect his trophy. More tragically even, Peterson would unexpectedly die the next morning after surgery on his shattered legs, completely without warning, from a freakish blood clot that caused a brain aneurysm.

“Unhappily, motor racing is also this,” said Andretti stoically . Some may argue that Andretti rode the phenomenal Lotus 79 to his World Championship. But it should be remembered that the 79, like most of Chapman’s cars, existed just this side of the line dividing the unconquerable from the undriveable. Merely setting up a Lotus was often enough to drive strong men to distraction. Andretti joined Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jochen Rindt, Emerson Fittipaldi and Peterson in the select group possessing sufficient skill to bring schizophrenic Lotus machinery to near its full potential. Yet by 1978 Andretti had won his last Grand Prix race. He competed for four more seasons, two with Lotus, one with Alfa Romeo and three races in 1982 with Williams and, once again, Ferrari. At Monza that year, his next to last F1 race, he very decisively put his Ferrari on pole to the delight of the Tifosi, amongst who’s ranks he had once been numbered. Typical Andretti — going out with class.

Mario Andretti’s Career Profile Seasons James Hunt | The Formula 1 Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia 1980 – 1993 James Simon Wallis Hunt ( 29 August 1947 in Belmont nr Sutton, Surrey, England, United Kingdom – 15 June 1993 in Wimbledon, London, England, United Kingdom) was a British racing driver who competed in Formula One , becoming World Champion in 1976 , beating Niki Lauda . Hunt earned the nickname "Hunt the Shunt" for his on-track exploits. This persona did not stay on track; Hunt was a playboy, sleeping with over 5000 women, and often consumed alcohol and drugs. Hunt started in touring car racing , and eventually progressed into Formula 3 . In 1973 , he joined up with Lord Hesketh , and drove for the Hesketh team until he signed to drive for McLaren in 1976 , his strong performances for Hesketh, including one win, marking him out as an ideal signing after Emerson Fittipaldi 's late exit from the team.

Hunt went on to won the championship, but by a very small margin after old roommate Niki Lauda 's horrendous accident. Hunt never actually lead the championship until the final race. He was the only person to do this until Sebastian Vettel in 2010 . For 1979 , Hunt joined the Wolf team, but the car was uncompetitive and Hunt retired mid-season. After retirement, he was signed up by the BBC to act as co-commentator to Murray Walker , whom Hunt was nearly an opposite to. Hunt continued in this role until his death in 1993 from a heart attack at the age of 45. Contents Edit Racing for Lord Hesketh in Formula Two, the team was failing. Hunt wished to join his rival Niki Lauda in Formula One, but Lord Hesketh was low on funds. Nevertheless, Hesketh announced the creation of the Hesketh team for the 1973 season. The team would not become a registered constructor until the 1974 season and would only enter a single driver. The team was criticized for joining Formula One for the glamor rather than the racing.

This criticism would not stop the team from being more competitive than the March works team, from which they purchased their chassis. Both Hunt and the Hesketh team made their Formula One debut in the 1973 Monaco Grand Prix , just before the half way point in the season. Starting 18th on the grid, Hunt would later retire from the race because of an engine issue. Taking a one race break and skipping the 1973 Swedish Grand Prix , Hunt would earn his first career point in France after beating Arturo Merzario of Ferrari for a sixth place finish. In his home Grand Prix , he would again prove his competitiveness by setting the fastest lap and finishing just missing the podium by 0.4 seconds. This fourth place finish would earn him another three points, but these would not be has last of the season. At the following race in the Netherlands , Hunt would finish on the bottom step of the podium. Although this was a happy day for Hunt, it would be a somber celebration after the drivers are told about the Roger Williamson who had died in a flaming crash on the seventh lap. Hunt would get to experience the podium once more in the season.

At the United States Grand Prix , Hunt would finish just over 0.6 seconds behind Ronnie Peterson and earn the second step on the podium. Again the celebrations would be sad, as the drivers mourn the loss of François Cevert in a qualifying accident. This was for sure a sad end to the season. Hunt had earned fourteen points throughout the season, despite only entering in half of the races on the season's calendar. This spectacular performance earned him eighth place in the World Drivers' Championship and the Campbell Trophy from the Royal Automobile Club . This trophy was awarded to the best British racing driver. 1974 Juan Manuel Fangio : AutoRacing.com: NASCAR, F1, News, Reviews, Blogs, Events, Photos and Videos Juan Manuel Fangio Browse > Home / Formula 1 / Formula One Drivers / Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio, also known as “The Maestro”, a legendary race car driver. Master of Formula One when it first began, Fangio was a 5-time World Champion. His record of wins was only recently defeated by Michael Schumacher who himself said that he could never be greater than Juan Manuel Fangio.

Juan Manuel Fangio was born in Argentina on 24 June 1911. His parents were originally from Italy. Fangio’s grand racing career began in 1934. He chiefly took part in long-distance races on the dirt roads of South America. Fangio won the Gran Premio del Norte of 1940, a race that takes some 2 weeks and covers a distance of 10 000 km. Following World War Two, Fangio began racing in Europe. Although one of the oldest drivers around, Juan Manuel Fangio quickly caught the eye of spectators. Fangio’s success truly came when he began racing with Alfa Romeo in 1950, winning his first championship title in 1951. In 1952 he was racing for Maserati when he sustained a neck injury in an accident at Monza . The next year he continued with Maserati, coming in second for the season. Fangio moved to Mercedes in 1954. He once again took home the World Championship title. Mercedes later discontinued participating in racing after the Le Mans disaster of 1955.

Juan Manuel Fangio went on to race for Ferrai in 1956 and won his fourth title. Maserati once regained Fangio in 1957. He again cruised to victory, winning his fifth title. Very few will forget his remarkable performance at Nurburgring of Germany. Fangio drove his last race in 1958, the French Grand Prix . An amazing driver many believe that no one will ever meet Fangio’s record for wins against starts. Following his retirement as an F1 driver, Juan Manuel Fangio became a representative of Mercedes-Benz. He became an International Motor Sports Hall of Fame inductee in 1990. In 1995 Juan Manuel Fangio died at a grand age of 84 and is now buried in the Balcarce cemetery in Argentina. The tale of Fangio is one that will continue to be told for many generations to come and Formula One fans will never forget Fangio, the racing legend. Formula One : Duke Video Join here Formula One The excitement and drama of F1 on Blu-ray and DVD at great prices.

The Formula One World Championship is considered the pinnacle of four-wheel motorsport, and at Duke we have every angle of F1 covered. From the early days of Grand Prix racing to the start of the Formula 1 World championship in 1950 and on to the modern era, including the F1 2015 review, there are decades of action and drama to enjoy. Our titles feature legends like Juan Manuel Fangio and Stirling Moss , icons like Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost and modern day racers including Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton , Michael Schumacher and Sebastian Vettel . You can watch teams like Ferrari , McLaren , Red Bull and Lotus in action on DVD and Blu-ray , plus we have Books, Prints and Collectables featuring the likes of Hamilton, Vettel, Alonso and Kimi Raikkonen. There’s F1 Grand Prix action from legendary races – the British Grand Prix and Monaco Grand Prix among them – plus documentaries, biographies and memorabilia. Juan Manuel Fangio : Wikis (The Full Wiki) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For the nephew of the Formula One champion, see Juan Manuel Fangio II .

Juan Manuel Fangio Formula One World Championship career Active years 1958 French Grand Prix Juan Manuel Fangio driving a Mercedes-Benz W196 in the 1986 Oldtimer Grand Prix at the Nürburgring Juan Manuel Fangio (June 24, 1911 – July 17, 1995), 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 ( Alfa Romeo , Ferrari , Mercedes-Benz and Maserati ), a feat that has not been repeated since. Many still consider him to be the greatest driver of all time. [2] He is the only Argentine driver to have won the Argentine Grand Prix , having won it four times in his career. Contents 7 External links Early life and racing Fangio was born on San John's day in 1911 in Balcarce , to Italian Argentine immigrants.

[3] He began his racing career in Argentina in 1934, driving a 1929 Ford Model A which he had rebuilt. [4] During his time racing in Argentina, he drove Chevrolet cars and was Argentine National Champion in 1940 and 1941. [4] He first came to Europe to race in 1948, funded by the Argentine Automobile Club and the Argentine government. [4] 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. 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. For the first Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1950 Fangio was taken on by the Alfa Romeo team alongside Farina and Luigi Fagioli . With competitive racing machinery following the Second World War still in short supply, the pre-war Alfettas proved dominant. Fangio won each of the three races he finished, but Farina's three wins and a fourth place allowed him to take the title. In 1950's non-championship races Fangio took a further four wins and two seconds from eight starts.

Fangio won three more championship races for Alfa in 1951 in the Swiss , French and Spanish Grands Prix, and with the improved Ferraris taking points off his team mates, Fangio took the title in the final race, six points ahead of Ascari. With the 1952 World Championship being run to Formula Two specifications, Alfa Romeo were unable to use their supercharged Alfettas and withdrew. As a result the defending champion found himself without a car for the first race of the championship and remained absent from F1 until June, when he drove the British BRM V16 in non-championship F1 races at Albi and Dundrod. Fangio had agreed to drive for Maserati in a race at Monza the day after the Dundrod race, but having missed a connecting flight he decided to drive through the night from Paris, arriving half an hour before the start. Badly fatigued, Fangio started the race from the back of the grid but lost control on the second lap, crashed into a grass bank, and was thrown out of the car as it flipped end over end.

He was taken to hospital with multiple injuries, the most serious being a broken neck, and spent the rest of 1952 recovering in Argentina. Back to full racing fitness, Fangio began 1953 by winning the Carrera Panamericana in a Lancia D24. Back in Europe he rejoined Maserati for the championship season, and against the dominant Ferraris led by Ascari he took a lucky win at Monza. Fangio qualified second with Bonetto seventh, and Fangio set fastest lap on his way to a 1.4-second victory over Nino Farina while Bonetto retired out of fuel. Along with that win, Fangio secured three second places to finish second in the Championship, and also came third first time out in the Targa Florio . In 1954 Fangio raced for 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 with Mercedes—driving the W196 Monoposto —in 1955 in a team that included Stirling Moss.

At the end of the second successful season (which was overshadowed by the 1955 Le Mans disaster in which more than 80 spectators were killed) Mercedes withdrew from racing. In 1956 Fangio moved to Ferrari, replacing Ascari, who had been killed in an accident, to win his fourth title. Enzo Ferrari and Fangio did not have a very warm relationship, despite their shared success. Fangio took over his team-mate's cars after his suffered mechanical problems in three races, the Argentine , Monaco and Italian Grands Prix. In each case the points were shared between the two drivers. At the season-ending Italian Grand Prix, Fangio's Ferrari team mate Peter Collins, who was in a position to win the World Championship with just 15 laps to go, handed over his car to Fangio. They shared the six points won for second place, giving Fangio the World title. Advertisements Saving the best until last "I have never driven that quickly before in my life and I don't think I will ever be able to do it again".

Fangio after 1957 German GP [5] In 1957 Fangio returned to Maserati, who were still using the same iconic 250F which Fangio had driven at the start of 1954. Fangio started the season with a hat-trick of wins in Argentina, Monaco and France, before retiring with engine problems in Britain. At the next race, the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring circuit, Fangio needed to extend his lead by six points to claim the title with two races to spare. From pole position Fangio dropped to third behind the Ferraris of Hawthorn and Collins but managed to get past both by the end of the third lap. Fangio had started with half-full tanks since he expected that he would need new tyres half-way through the race. In the event Fangio pitted on lap 13 with a 30-second lead, but a disastrous stop left him back in third place and 50 seconds behind Collins and Hawthorn.

Fangio came into his own, setting one fastest lap after another, culminating in a record-breaking time on lap 20 a full eleven seconds faster than the best the Ferraris could do. On the penultimate lap Fangio got back past both Collins and Hawthorn, and held on to take the win by just over three seconds. With Musso finishing down in fourth place, Fangio claimed his fifth title. This performance is often regarded as the greatest drive in Formula One history, but it was to be Fangio's last win. After his series of back-to-back championships he retired in 1958 , following the French Grand Prix . Such was the respect for Fangio, that during that final race, race leader Hawthorn had lapped Fangio and as Hawthorn was about to cross the line, he braked and allowed Fangio through so he could complete the 50-lap distance in his final race. He would cross the line over two minutes down on Hawthorn. He won 24 World Championship Grands Prix from 51 starts - a winning percentage of 47.06%, the best winning percentage in the sport's history [6] .

Later life and death During the rest of his life after retiring from racing Fangio sold Mercedes-Benz cars, often driving his former race cars in demonstration laps. Even before he joined the Mercedes Formula One team, in the early 1950s, Fangio had acquired the Argentine Mercedes concession. He was appointed President of Mercedes-Benz Argentina in 1974, and its Honorary President for Life in 1987. Cuban rebels kidnapped him on February 23, 1958, but he was later released, and remained a good friend of his captors afterwards. The incident was dramatized in a 1999 Argentine film directed by Alberto Lecchi , Operación Fangio. [7] Following his retirement, Fangio was active in assembling automotive memorabila associated with his racing career. This led to the creation of the Museo Juan Manuel Fangio , which opened in Balcarce in 1986. [8] Fangio was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1990.

He returned to the spotlight in 1994, when he publicly opposed a new Province of Buenos Aires law denying driver's licences to those over 80 (which included Fangio). Denied a renewal of his card, Fangio reportedly challenged Traffic Bureau personnel to a race between Buenos Aires and seaside Mar del Plata , a 400 km (250 mi) distance, in two hours or less, following which an exception was made for the five-time Grand Prix winner. [9] Juan Manuel Fangio died in Buenos Aires in 1995, at the age of 84. He was buried in his home town of Balcarce in Argentina . Legacy "You must always strive to be the best, but you must never believe that you are." Juan Manuel Fangio [10] A statue of Fangio in Monaco According to the official Formula One website, "Many consider him to be the greatest driver of all time." [11] Several highly successful 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, as the qualities required for success, the levels of competition, and the rules have changed over time. His record of five 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." [12] [13] In his home country, Argentina , Fangio is revered as one of the greatest sportsmen the nation has ever produced. Argentines often referred to him as The Maestro, [14] [15] Six 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 ; Stuttgart-Untertürkheim, Germany ; and Monza, Italy .

In 1986, an automobile museum was established in Balcarce, birthplace of Fangio, and named Museo Juan Manuel Fangio (Juan Manuel Fangio Museum). As a 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 (a belated honoring, as the Zonda was originally intended to be named "Fangio F1," but was changed out of respect after his death). In 2007 Maserati created a special website to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his fifth and final world championship triumph. [16] Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year

Question: Juan Manuel Fangio, Mario Andretti, James Hunt and Niki Lauda were world champions in which sport?
Answer: Formula One