FANGIO, THE BEST DRIVER OF ALL | Tudo sobre fórmula u

FANGIO, THE BEST OF ALL

DIFFICULTIES IN DRIVING CARS FROM THE 30S, 40S AND 50S:

The drivers of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s were literally heroes, in the truest sense of the word.

They drove cars without a safety belt, without power steering, with leather helmets, truck steering wheels, thin-cane tires, and drum brakes, in a time without telemetry, when the driver had to be fast, precise, and consistent. These cars reached speeds of 300 km/h with zero safety measures. It was not uncommon for the brakes to give out before the end of the race, as Stirling Moss said in an interview.

In the racing of the 1930s and 1940s, Tazio Nuvolari was considered the best pre-F1 driver. He won races with 2.0-liter or 2.7-liter engines against opponents with 4.0-liter (Mercedes) or 5.0-liter 16-cylinder (Auto Union) engines, as there were no regulations for equalizing engines. In general, cars with smaller engines were more agile and lighter, gaining time during braking and acceleration, while more powerful and heavier cars gained time at the end of straights.

In 1950, F1 regulated the cars' engines at 4.5 liters or 1.5 liters compressed, this shortened the difference between the cars. In those days, to improve the car, the driver had the option of changing the mechanical set-up, as there was no aerodynamic or electronic set-up and besides that, the Engineers did not always give support to the drivers on race weekends, so the driver had to talk directly to the Chief Mechanic to try to improve the car.

Of course, the car and the team have always made a difference in motorsport, whether in touring, rally, prototype or formulas, but in the 1950s, the driver was around 50% of the team's success and Fangio is living proof of that.

CAREER BEFORE F1

Fangio began his professional career as a mechanic at the age of 16. After enlisting in the military at the age of 21, he opened his own mechanics workshop to race in local events.

In 1936, he began racing on touring roads on dirt and asphalt tracks, winning dozens of races in Argentina and abroad, including the 1000 Miles of Argentina in 1939 and the Presidente Getúlio Vargas race (Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Goiânia, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro) in 1941. In 1940 and 1941, he was Argentine champion with a Chevrolet.

Fangio's first major victory was in the 1940 Northern GP, a race of almost 10,000 km between Argentina-Peru-Argentina, passing through the Andes Mountains in Bolivia and the Atacama Desert in Chile. Fangio raced for 15 days with his co-driver at altitudes of up to 4,300 m, in deserts, tropical forests and on dangerous cliffs, oscillating between cold and heat, dry weather and high humidity. His car suffered some breakdowns (drive shaft, fan blade, radiator and even the headlight), but he managed to fix it and win this grueling race.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juan_Manuel_Fangio

In 1948, the Argentine government and the Automobile Club of Argentina helped him buy a Maserati and Fangio went to Europe. In 1949, he won the Pau GP, San Remo GP and Perpignan GP, all with Maserati. Fangio also won the Marseille GP (with a Simca Gordini) and the 1949 Monza GP (with a Ferrari). This caught the attention of Tazio Nuvolari (considered the best pre-F1 driver) who said that the Argentine would be the best driver of the 1950s.

In 1950, Alfa Romeo invited Fangio to a new category that was emerging, Formula One, about a month before the first race. He won the 1950 Pau and San Remo GPs, both for Alfa Romeo, before the first F1 race.

FANGIO'S OPPONENTS

Fangio perdeu o campeonato de 1950, por causa da quebra de câmbio na última corrida do ano, mas depois ele ganhou 5 títulos disputando contra grandes dois gênios (Moss e Ascari) e um excelente piloto (Farina).

Stirling Moss (55/56/57): even though he did not win a title, he was a brilliant driver with impressive numbers. Moss won 212 of the 529 races he competed in from 1948 to 1962 and managed 84 different types of cars and competed in 62 races in one year. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_Moss

Alberto Ascari (51): he was Ferrari's number one driver in the 1950s, and held the record of 9 consecutive victories in 1952/1953 (Belgium 1952 to Belgium 1953), this record was broken by Verstappen in 2023. He was a brilliant driver, who unfortunately died in 1955 during Ferrari's private tests in Monza.

Giuseppe Farina (50): he was an excellent driver, he was the first F1 champion in 1950, then he went into decline due to his advanced age, but he was a driver with great qualities, he was the only teammate who defeated Fangio.

FANGIO X FARINA

Giuseppe Farina had been racing for Alfa Romeo since the 1930s, and was Tazio Nuvolari's 2nd driver at Alfa Romeo, recognized by many as the best pre-F1 driver. Farina won the Grand Prix Motor Racing championships in 1937, 1938 and 1939. Even though he was behind Nuvolari and Fangio, he was an excellent driver, had a lot of experience and was the first F1 champion in 1950.

Fangio x Farina in 1950 and 1951:

Starts: 11 x 2 (1.1s Fangio)

Finishes: 8 x 5

Points: 58 x 49

Fangio lost to Farina in 1950 because the Argentine had one more breakdown, but in 1951 he easily beat the Italian driver.

FANGIO X ASCARI

We can only compare Fangio and Ascari in 1951, because despite being in different teams (Alfa Romeo and Ferrari), they both had very balanced cars. From 1953 to 1955, due to the large difference in cars between them, there is no way to compare them.

Fangio x Ascari in 1951:

Starts: 5 x 2 (0.9s Fangio without counting the Swiss GP)

Finishes: 4 x 3

Victories: 3 x 2

Points: 31 x 25

In 1951, Ascari gave Fangio a hard time, finishing ahead of the Argentinean 3 times and winning two races. The Italian was the runner-up that season. But in 1952 and 1953, Ascari, helped by the excellent Ferrari car, gave no one a chance, winning 11 of the 15 races (not counting the Indy 500).

Ascari victories:

1952 (6): Belgium, France, England, Germany, Holland, Italy.

1953 (5): Argentina, Holland, Belgium, England, Switzerland.

FANGIO X MOSS

Stirling Moss was a brilliant driver, he won about 50% of the races he competed in in all categories he raced in from 1948 to 1962, and he raced in 84 different types of cars, something astonishing. But when he had Juan Manuel Fangio as a teammate, the story was different. In fact, they were both GENIUSES, but Fangio was above Moss.

Fangio x Moss in 1955:

Starts: 5 x 1 (0.3s Fangio)

Finishes: 4 x 1

Points: 40 x 23

Even though Fangio easily beat Moss in the points, in practice the Englishman was very close to the Argentine, only 3 tenths slower on average, which shows that Moss was a super talented driver.

RACES IN THE RAIN

Fangio won 75% of the races he competed in in the rain, the highest percentage of victories in the rain in the history of F1, even above Senna, who is considered the best driver in the rain in the history of F1.

Fangio (6 in 8) 75%
Senna (13 in 21) 62%
Ascari (4 in 8) 50%
Moss (3 in 7) 45%
Schumacher (19 in 51) 36.5%
Hamilton (16 in 44) 36.4%
Verstappen (8 in 22) 36.4%
Clark (3 in 12) 25%
D Hill (5 in 21) 24%
Stewart (3 in 15) 20%
Hunt (3 in 15) 20%
Ickx (3 in 16) 20%

CHAMPION FOR ALL THE TEAMS HE RACED FOR

Fangio was champion in all 4 teams he raced for, a unique feat in F1 to this day: Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Ferrari and Maserati. To this day, no driver has managed to be champion for 4 different teams, and he won the 1951 title, but Ferrari was probably a little better.

The 1957 title was the only one in the history of Maserati, a team he transferred to after they said he "only won because he had the best car". He went to the Italian team and was champion, but without Fangio in the team, they never managed to be champions again in F1.

PERCENTAGES

Fangio's percentages are the highest and most impressive among all F1 champions. Of course, the fact that he had good cars throughout his career helped a lot, but at that time the driver made a lot of difference.

Title by championship contested: 5/7 71%
Percentage of champion or runner-up: 7/7 100%
Wins in percentage: 24/51 47%
Poles in percentage: 28/51 57%
Starts in the front row in percentage: 48/51 94%
Fastest Lap in percentage: 45%
Podiums in percentage: 69%
Hat trick in percentage: 17.6%

PERFORMANCE IN THE CHAMPIONSHIPS DISPUTED:

His results show what a GENIUS Fangio was as a driver:

1950- runner-up

1951- champion

1953- runner-up

1954- champion

1955- champion

1956- champion

1957- champion

NOTE: Fangio did not race in 1952.

THE TITLE WON THROUGH GENIUS (1951)

In 1950, Alfa Romeo brought its cars that were stored in a garage in Italy before World War II. In the last race of the year (Italian GP), Fangio needed to come in 3rd place to be champion, but his car broke down and the title went to Farina.

In 1951, Alfa Romeo practically continued with the same car as the previous year with few improvements, and Ferrari came in strong, giving tough competition to the Fangio and Farina team, even being better in more races than Alfa Romeo.

Best Alfa Romeo: Sui, Bel

Best Ferrari: Ing, Ale, Ita

Tie: Fra, Esp

Fangio was champion because he was a genius and managed to get everything out of the car. The Ferrari drivers (Ascari and Gonzalez) finished ahead of the previous year's champion (Farina), which is a sign that Ferrari was very strong in 1951.

In those years Fangio had 8 pole positions and won 6 races.

THE SERIOUS ACCIDENT THAT TOOK HIM OUT OF F1 (1952)

In 1952, before starting F1, Fangio took part in a race in Dundrod (Northern Ireland) and had to take a flight from Ireland to France, and another from France to Italy to take part in another race in Monza. His plane landed in France, but the connecting flight to Italy did not depart due to the bad weather conditions.

So Fangio drove a car from Lyon (France) to Milan (Italy), for 700 km without sleeping. He arrived minutes before the race in Monza without training, started the race in last place, made 15 overtakes, but suffered a serious accident at the Lesmo curve. He spent 4 weeks in hospital and 5 months with his neck and torso in plaster and immobilized, unable to race in F1 that season.

FANTASTIC RUNNER-UP (1953)

In 1953, Ferrari's dominance of 1952 continued the same, only this time Fangio was racing for Maserati in F1, and in fantastic fashion the Argentine managed to finish second in the championship, ahead of the other Ferrari drivers: Farina, Hawthorn and Villoresi, only behind Alberto Ascari, who won 5 of the 7 races.

That year Fangio scored two pole positions and won a race.

TITLES FOR MERCEDES (1954 and 1955)

In 1954, Fangio raced two races for Maserati and then raced the rest of the season for Mercedes, easily winning the 1954 and 1955 championships.

But the tragedy that occurred at Le Mans in 1955 was decisive in Mercedes' withdrawal from the track. The Mercedes 300 SLR driven by Frenchman Pierre Levegh crashed into the back of Lance Macklin's car and its engine and bonnet were thrown into the stands, killing 83 spectators and leaving 180 injured. This was the most serious accident in the history of motorsport and the Mercedes team therefore abandoned F1.

Due to this tragedy, Mercedes abandoned competitions and Fangio went to race for Ferrari in 1956, an Italian team that always prioritized Italian drivers.

In those years Fangio had 8 pole positions and won 10 races.

THE TITLE WON BY EXCHANGING CARS (1956)

In 1956, Fangio was at Ferrari and competed for the title with Stirling Moss at Maserati. The Argentinean had a troubled relationship with Enzo Ferrari, so much so that at the end of the year he left the Italian team. Fangio and Moss used the rulebook that allowed them to take their teammates' cars and complete the race, earning half the points for themselves, something inconceivable today:

Fangio (3x): Argentina and Monaco and Italy.

Moss (2x): Belgium and France.

Fangio was crowned champion and today they say, wrongly, that he was only champion because Peter Collins gave him the car in the last race of the year, which is not true, because even if the English driver had not given him the car, the Argentine would have been champion anyway, with a 2-point advantage over Collins himself.

This was the only title that could be contested for the Argentine, so much so that he was criticized for being champion with the best car.

In that year Fangio had 6 pole positions and won 3 races.

FINAL CONSECRATION: THE ONLY CHAMPION FOR MASERATI (1957)

In 1956, they said that Fangio would only be champion with the best car, but history has proven them wrong.

So in 1957, Fangio transferred to the Maserati team, which had been runner-up with Stirling Moss, and began competing against Ferrari, the team with which the Argentine had been champion in 1956. The Argentine worked on the Maserati 250F T2 Lightweight and had sensational performances, becoming the season champion, defeating the Ferraris and silencing his critics.

His performance at the 1957 German GP is considered by many to be the greatest performance by a driver in the history of F1. He won by making a 45-second pit stop to get back in, passed both Ferraris and won the race on the last lap. This race is considered the greatest performance by a driver in the history of F1.

In that year Fangio had 4 pole positions and won 4 races.

INCREDIBLE LONGEVITY, CHAMPION AT 46 YEARS OLD

We all know that the F1 cars of the 1950s did not require the quick reactions that modern F1 cars (after 1968) have, but all the great drivers who reached close to 40 years of age showed a slight decline in their careers.

Below is a list of great drivers and their age when they began to decline in their careers:

Farina was champion in 1950, but after 1951 at the age of 45 he began to decline in his career.
Jack Brabham was three times champion in 1966, but then in 1967 at the age of 41 he began to decline.
Graham Hill was two times champion in 1968, but then in 1969 at the age of 40 he began to decline.
Niki Lauda was three-time champion in 1984, but then in 1985 at the age of 36 he began to decline.
Nelson Piquet was three-time champion in 1987, but in 1991 at the age of 39 he began to decline.
Alain Prost was four-time champion in 1993, but was clearly already in decline at the age of 38.
Michael Schumacher was champion in 2006, and returned to F1 in 2010 at the age of 41, clearly in decline.

Fangio is the great exception to this rule. He was the five-time world champion in 1957 at the age of 46, in a year in which he had fantastic performances, indicating that he was far from declining. He is the oldest champion in the history of F1, which only proves that the Argentine was a brilliant driver and above the average of the great F1 drivers.

WHY WAS FANGIO THE BEST OF THEM ALL?

Fangio was an extraordinary driver, fast, precise, with good knowledge of mechanics, he knew how to talk to mechanics and understood race strategy. If you have any doubts, just look at his victory in the 1957 German GP.

He was champion with 4 different teams, a unique feat in the history of F1. In 1951, he was with Alfa Romeo, everything indicates that Ferrari was slightly better, but the Argentine was champion that season. In 1954 and 1955 he won with Mercedes and in 1956 with Ferrari.

In 1956, Fangio was unfairly criticized for only winning with the best car. The Argentinean transferred to Maserati in 1957 and was champion that year. In other words, he did not have to wait 5 years to transform the team into a winner, nor did he have to hire the technical staff of another team to become champion.

Fangio never needed to throw his car at anyone to become champion, as Prost, Senna, Schumacher and Verstappen did. He also never had a 1st driver contract to make the 2nd driver a "doormat", nor did he fall out with anyone to become champion, which is why he was always a driver admired by everyone in F1.

For all that has been said, any F1 fan who understands the sport should put Fangio in at least the TOP 3 in history. In the opinion of the author of this website, he was the BEST OF ALL TIME.