Juan Manuel Fangio

Juan Manuel Fangio (Balcarce, Buenos Aires Province, June 24, 1911-Buenos Aires, July 17, 1995) was an Argentine racing driver. He is considered by specialists as one of the most outstanding world motorsport drivers of all time, for having achieved five Formula 1 world titles during the 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956 and 1957 seasons and the runner-ups in 1950 and 1953..

As a child, he abandoned his studies to dedicate himself to automobile mechanics and participate in unofficial competitions. In 1938 he made his debut in Turismo Carretera and competed aboard a Ford V8. In 1940 he began to compete with Chevrolet, with which he won the International Grand Prix of the North and established himself as Argentine Road Tourism Champion, a title that he repeated the following year. He then competed in the Fuerza Libre categories (predecessors of the Argentine Mechanical Formula 1) where he won four times, from 1947 to 1949 with a Volpi-Chevrolet and in 1950 with a Talbot.

In 1947, with the collaboration of the Argentine government, he began to participate in the Grand Prix of the European continent. From 1947 to 1958, he competed in official Grand Prix for the brands Mercedes, Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari, obtaining five world titles and two runners-up.

Fangio achieved 24 victories, 35 podiums, 29 pole positions and 23 fastest laps in 51 Grand Prix. He held the record for the most titles in Formula 1 for an extended period until it was displaced by Michael Schumacher in 2003. However, he remains the driver with the best winning average, the only driver to win Formula 1 championships with four different teams and the longest-lived champion driver in history (46 years and 41 days). Victim of a serious accident in Monza in 1952, he spent two seasons away from the racetracks; once recovered, he was proclaimed world champion in 1954 (Maserati and Mercedes), 1955 (Mercedes), 1956 (Lancia-Ferrari). On the other hand, he triumphed in the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1956 and 1957 with Ferrari and Maserati respectively. After a kidnapping in Cuba in 1958, he won his last victory in February of that same year at the Argentine Grand Prix, at the age of 46, and retired from competition a few months later.

Since 1974, he was chairman of the board of Mercedes-Benz Argentina, and after his retirement he was appointed honorary chairman of Mercedes-Benz in Argentina since 1987, and inaugurated a museum in his hometown. In 2011, on the centenary of his birth, various activities were carried out on the occasion of his birth.

Biography

Childhood and youth

Fangio in his First Communion.

Juan Manuel Fangio was born at 12:10 am on June 24, 1911 as the fourth child of Italian immigrants Loreto Fangio (1880-1972) and Herminia D'Eramo (1885-1975) in a house located at number 321 Calle 13 de Balcarce. His siblings were Herminia, José, Celia, Rubén and Carmen. Since he was little he was nicknamed "Chueco" for his ability to hook left-footed shots and convert them into goals during matches of neighborhood soccer.

He began his primary studies at school No. 4 until in the fourth grade he transferred to school No. 1. At the age of nine he began working to contribute to the family's economy in a blacksmith shop, where he repaired the carriages in the area and carried out metal forging works. By 1922 he was already working as an automobile mechanic while studying. He joined the Rugby dealership the following year as an assistant to Raimundo Carlini, with whom he learned to drive vehicles and repair agricultural machinery. According to him, "the first time I drove... I got in the car, started up, started to walk and when I saw that I could turn and brake, I had the impression that the car had life... As a child, I always watched how the older ones drove. And he learned a lot on the buses ».

In 1924, he started his first jobs for the Ford automobile agency. His chief mechanic, Guillermo Spain, oriented him on the parts that make up an engine. He also joined the local driver Miguel Viggiano's Studebaker agency workshop as an assistant mechanic, where he learned issues related to engine tuning.

He bought his first vehicle, an Overland, as part of his wages at age 16. After resting for a year due to pleurisy, Fangio began to participate as a striker at Club Rivadavia in addition to practicing boxing. Years later he was incorporated into Club Leandro Alem y Miter and even became part of the national team Balcarce soccer team.

Aspiring Motorsport

In 1929 he obtained second place aboard a Chevrolet AB series as a companion to the driver Manuel Ayerza in a zonal competition that took place between Coronel Vidal and General Guido. He returned to participate as a companion on a 1929 Plymouth model with his brother-in-law José Brujas Font in the dirt circuit called "La Chata" that bordered the field where the Aero Club is currently located. At the same time, Fangio developed pneumonia after a football match that was almost fatal and led him to remain in bed for two months in the care of his mother.

After completing his military service, in 1932 he set up a rudimentary mechanical workshop in partnership with his friend José Duffard. His father Loreto provided them with land in front of his house where they built the workshop and the soccer player Francisco Cavalloti contributed an old truck as capital. In 1934, the factory was moved to Bulevar del Valle and Calle 14 under shared rent with a merchant, who occupied the front part of the premises. The society was expanded with the incorporation of one of José's brothers, Bernardo Duffard.

The first few competitions were unsuccessful. Under the pseudonym "Rivadavia" (name of the first soccer team in which he participated), he debuted as a driver in an unofficial race at the Benito Juárez circuit aboard a Ford A taxi. Due to a melting of a connecting rod, they had to leave the competition when they were third, two laps from the finish line. Shortly after, he was disqualified in Gonzáles Chaves for arriving late to the circuit in a Ford A.

On March 21, 1937, accompanied by Duffard, he took part again in an unofficial competition at the «La Chata» circuit driving a Buick, owned by Oscar Rezusta. At the beginning of the race, the gear lever came off, so he spent the entire race with the gear in third gear fixed with a screwdriver. However, he had to give up towards the end because of a derailment over a culvert.

He made his official debut as a driver on March 27, 1938 at the Necochea circuit with a Ford V8 that he bought with the support of several friends. He took third place in the second heat after setting the fifth qualifying time. However, Carlos Arzani finished first with an Alfa Romeo 3800 and Fangio finished seventh.

Road Tourism

In the Road Tourism category, he contested his first race from October 18 to 30, 1938 as co-driver of the Balcarce driver, Luis Finocchietti. Although they did not receive the Argentine Road Grand Prix, Fangio drove most of the journey and qualified in seventh place.In November he entered the competition called «400 km. from Tres Arroyos »but this was suspended due to a fatal accident, so he qualified eighth in the first four laps.

His last race with a Ford V8 was held at the Circuito del Bosque in 1939 with Héctor Tieri as a companion. He drove his first competition as a Turismo Carretera driver aboard a Chevrolet at the Argentine Grand Prix. Heavy rain interrupted the race and Fangio finished twenty-second in Concordia. However, it was resumed under the name of the Extraordinary Grand Prix in the province of Córdoba, where he achieved his first victory by winning the fourth stage from Catamarca to San Juan. After the victory, he began to think that motorsports could give a good impression. reputation to his business if he could demonstrate the quality of the work. This is how Fangio, Duffard y Cía. began to develop, which later became an important company.

In October 1940, after 9,500 km of competition in Argentina, Bolivia and Peru, he won his first race in Turismo Carretera by obtaining the Grand International Grand Prix of the North. The 1940 Chevrolet he drove there was purchased with the proceeds of a raffle. With the money obtained in that race, he bought it definitively and the remaining part was destined to his workshop to free him from interest.Fangio qualified as Argentine TC Champion and became the first in the history of Chevrolet.

Fangio in his TC eras.

He established himself again as Argentine TC Champion in 1941 when he defeated Oscar Gálvez in the Getúlio Vargas Grand Prix in Brazil, shortly before participating in the "Thousand Argentine Miles". In 1942 the pilot had a favorable result during the second and last stage of the South Grand Prix but finished in tenth place according to the general classification. Anyway, he managed to win the "Mar y Sierras" race with his Chevrolet coupe.

Around 1943, he had to close his workshop as a result of World War II and became associated with his friend Héctor Barragán, with whom he traveled permanently to the south of the country in order to acquire trucks and trailers to trade only their tires since they were in short supply in Argentina because of the war. In 1946, after a brief period of inactivity, he returned to motorsport with two unofficial competitions in Morón and Tandil aboard a Ford T.

His first competition in Mecánica Nacional (MN), prior to the race for the Ciudad de Rosario Award, took place in 1947 at the Retiro circuit aboard a Chevrolet with a Ford T chassis. After his triumph in MN, Fangio was authorized by regulation to compete in the Grand Prix car test that Aquiles Varzi won with Alfa Romeo. It meant his debut in international track events with a Mecánica Nacional car. During the rest of the year, he triumphed in the Ciudad de Montevideo-Uruguay GP, the Primavera GP in Mar del Plata and in the "Double Vuelta de la Ventana" circuit. Road Tourism.

During the Palermo circuit in January 1948, he drove his first Grand Prix racing car, a French Naphtra Course Maserati 1500 owned by steering wheel George Raph. His participation there was followed by that of "Vuelta de Pringles" and "Vuelta de Entre Ríos", both belonging to Turismo Carretera. He then triumphed in three MN races, on March 21 at the Palermo Autumn Award, on March in the "100 Millas Playas de Necochea" and on May 2 in the Ciudad de Mercedes Uruguay Award, all with Volpi-Chevrolet. During a stay in France, Amadeo Gordini invited him to compete with a Simca Gordini in Reims. Despite the fact that he retired in both tests, it meant his debut in European GP races.

Fangio won the Premio Fraile Muerto de Bell Ville and the Premio Jean Pierre Wimille at the Palermo circuit in 1949 with the Volpi-Chevrolet in MN. Likewise, he obtained his first victory against European drivers in Special Cars during the "El Torreón" circuit in Mar del Plata aboard a Maserati. He was then appointed captain of the Argentine "Aquiles Varzi" delegation that traveled to Italy to settle near from Milan, in Galliate. Installed in Europe, he won six of the ten races held: on April 3 in Sanremo, on April 18 in Pau, on May 8 in Perpignan, on May 22 in Marseille, on June 26 in Monza and on July 10 in Albi. During them, he used his Maserati, Ferrari and Simca race cars.His farewell to Turismo Carretera happened in the 1949 Highway Grand Prix with his 1939 Chevrolet coupe, with which he obtained second place behind Juan Gálvez.

Death of Daniel Urrutia

Fangio was one of the 141 flyers registered to compete in the South American Grand Prix, which covered 9,579 kilometers between Buenos Aires and Caracas, on the night of October 29, 1948. During the journey, scheduled in 14 stages, the 1939 Chevrolet he was driving fell into a hollow on the precarious Peruvian mountain roads. The organizers had decided that a large part of this section would take place at night despite the fatigue of the runners, since Peru was going through a tense political moment and a military uprising was feared during the course of the race. The accident not only disabled his vehicle but also caused the death of his co-driver, Daniel Urrutia.

We had passed Huanchaco and the reflection of my headlights on white walls blinded me. We faced a terraplén curve, but I didn't see it. And the car bit sandy and walked in. At that time I made a notion of the disaster.

Juan Manuel Fangio

His car was followed by Oscar Alfredo Gálvez and Eusebio Marcilla, who took care of transferring Fangio and Urrutia's remains to the Chicama Hospital. His death caused such a repercussion in America that the Association of Highway Tourism Corridors commemorated October 29 as the Day of the Companion and Co-pilot of Argentine Sports Motorsport. In fact, Turismo Carretera decided to eliminate the position of co-driver after Urrutia's death.

The rivalry with the Gálvez family

Oscar Alfredo Gálvez, one of the most outstanding motorists in the TC during the 1940s.

One of the most prominent rivalries in Argentine motorsport history was Fangio-Gálvez, which was often compared to River Plate-Boca Juniors. In the early 1940s, despite the existence of other brands automobiles, Chevrolet and Ford consolidated their position in the market and displaced the others. From that moment on, Fangio became synonymous with Chevrolet and the Gálvez brothers, with Ford. porteños Fangio was the symbol of the boy from the interior, humble, sacrificed".

Since it has never happened in our car, Fangio and Gálvez or Gálvez and Fangio originated the most marked division. He went Fangista or Galvista, and as Juancito's advent there was no change in the last names he continued the division without giving entry to any other. They were all Gálvez or Fangio. And they are still

Ricardo Lorenzo, 1951.

Fangio and Gálvez began competing together in 1940 during the Gran Premio Internacional del Norte de Turismo Carretera, a race of 92 participants conceived to be held over a distance of 9445.4 km divided into 13 stages. There, Julio Pérez took the lead until reaching Córdoba when he was displaced by Fangio, however, the next stage was obtained by Oscar Gálvez. Upon arrival in Lima, Fangio led Daniel Musso by an hour and Gálvez by almost two, who had mechanical damage and other difficulties. As a result of a light short circuit in the middle of a curve, he suffered a serious accident when he fell off a 100-meter cliff that led to his urgent hospitalization while Fangio became the first person to take Chevrolet to first place overall in TC.

In 1941, Gálvez and Fangio traveled to Brazil to compete in the seven stages of the President Getúlio Vargas Grand Prix. After almost 4000 km of travel, the first place was obtained by Fangio and the second, by Gálvez. That classification was repeated the following year in the Argentine Thousand Miles, with the difference that his younger brother Juan ran for the first time instead of Oscar. Although Fangio triumphed in the 1941 and 1942 seasons, the Gálvez had greater success between 1942 and 1946. During the 1948 South American Grand Prix, Fangio fell into an embankment and Gálvez, seeing that the car began to lurch, directed his machine to the opposite side of the road and ended up overturning in a reedbed. However, he helped Fangio search for the body of his companion Daniel Urrutia, who was lying about 20 meters from the Chevrolet.

Both drivers last competed in 1949 and maintained a long friendship until Gálvez's death in 1989.

Formula 1

In 1947 he traveled to Europe with the support of the Argentine Automobile Club. That year and the following, Fangio participated in few competitions. In 1949 he won five Grands Prix of the six in which he was present.

When the Formula 1 World Championship was created in 1950, Fangio joined the Alfa Romeo works team along with Giuseppe Farina and Luigi Fagioli. He achieved his first points-scoring victory in Monaco while taking another victory at the Circuit des Remparts in Angoulême with Maserati. He became Formula 1 world runner-up behind Farina by winning the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchams on June 18, Reims on July 2, the GP des Nations in Geneva on July 30 and the Pescara GP on August 15.

He returned to Argentina and won the Ciudad de Paraná GP on November 12 and the President Alessandri Palma GP in Chile on December 17, both with the Ferrari 125. His last performance of the year occurred during the Christmas season when participated in the "500 Argentine Miles" in Rafaela with Talbot-Lago. In total, he obtained 11 victories during 1950 in the different competitions in which he participated.

1954 Italian Grand Prix: Ascari pursues Fangio, who runs with a Mercedes-Benz W196.

In 1951, Fangio won his first F1 world title driving an Alfa Romeo 159 Alfetta and contested 14 races in total. At the start of the season, he raced for the Mercedes-Benz team in Argentina in the pre-war W163 model and participated in two European invitational events for Ferrari at Monza, Gordini in Paris and the "24 Hours of Le Mans" with Talbot.. His biggest rivals that season were José Froilán González and Alberto Ascari. Fangio, Farina and Fagioli made up the official Alfa Romeo team during the F1 World Championship although Piero Taruffi, Reg Parnell and Consalvo Sanesi eventually joined. At Silverstone, Farina took victory while Fangio triumphed in Monte Carlo, Belgium and France. Throughout the competition the motorist took first place at the Swiss GP in Bern on May 27, the European GP in Reims on July 1 and the Spanish GP at the Pedralbes Circuit in Barcelona on October 28.

On January 13, 1952, he triumphed at the Interlagos GP and on February 3, at the “Quinta da Boa Vista” GP (both in Brazil). After racing in Ireland on June 7 with BRM, he had to travel to Italy for a race at Monza the next day with Maserati. On the third lap during the Lesmo curve, he suffered a serious accident and had to remain hospitalized for almost four months, which generated rumors that his career had come to an end. In Argentina, for his part, he had victory on the 9th of March 1952 of the President Perón Award and the Eva Perón Award on March 16. In Uruguay, he won two races at the Piriápolis Circuit on March 23 and 30, both with a Ferrari 125. Recovered from his accident, he won a mountain climb at the Vue des Alpes in Switzerland and the Merano GP Supercortemaggiore with an Alfa Romeo. Shortly after, joining the Maserati team, he overtook Ascari and Farina in the last corner at Monza, which made him runner-up in the world in 1953.

Fangio with his 250F Maserati.

After taking first place in the IV Carrera Panamericana with a Lancia D24, early in the 1954 season he ran in two qualifying races with the Maserati 250F because the Mercedes-Benz W196 had not yet been completed. This is how he added his first points for the F1 World Championship by winning the Argentine GP at the Buenos Aires Autodrome on January 17 and the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps on June 20. Fangio signed a contract with Mercedes-Benz in the middle of the year just like Karl Kling, Hans Herrmann and Hermann Lang. Aboard a silver arrow, he continued to score points throughout the World Championship by debuting with a win at the French GP in Reims on July 4 and continuing at the European GP at the Nürburgring on August 1, the Swiss GP in Berne on August 22 and the Italian GP in Monza on September 5. He achieved his second World Champion title in 1954 after participating in eight qualifying races, of which he won six (three of them with the fastest lap).). In total, he obtained 57 of the 72 points at stake and led his guard by 30. For his performance, he was distinguished as "sportsman of the year" and received the Olimpia de Oro Award from the Association of Sports Journalists of Argentina.

He again formed the Mercedes-Benz team with Stirling Moss as a teammate for the following season. The 1955 F1 World Championship had been scheduled with 11 qualifying events in Argentina, Monaco, Indianapolis, Belgium, the Netherlands, England, Italy, Spain, France, Germany and Switzerland. However, due to a car tragedy that occurred at Le Mans, the organizers of the World Championship races in Spain, France, Germany and Switzerland decided to cancel them. In this way, the 1955 season was one of the shortest in the history of F1 with only seven competitions. Fangio won the GP of the Argentine Republic on January 16, on June 5 at the Belgian GP in Spa -Francorchamps, on June 19 the Dutch GP in Zandvoort and on September 11 in the Italian GP in Monza. Of the six races he won four, three of them with the fastest lap. He led his escort with 41 points and his teammate, Stirling Moss, by 18 points. On the Mercedes-Benz W196, Fangio commented that "since the first test in 1954 with the Mercedes-Benz, I had the feeling of being on a perfect car, the kind that drivers dream of racing one day." In addition to being the first model from the German team to win a Formula 1 Grand Prix after World War II, the W196 introduced pioneering technologies to motorsports such as the injection engine or the independent suspension. The model he drove in 1954 was auctioned in 2013 for 22.7 million euros, the highest amount paid for a vehicle in the world. His other non-championship triumphs occurred on January 30 at the Ciudad de Buenos Aires GP with Mercedes-Benz in the Free Formula category, on May 29 at the Nürburgring Eiffel Prize, on August 7 at the Swedish GP in Kristianstad and finally, on November 6 at the Venezuelan GP with Maserati 300 S.

Fangio after his victory at Nürburgring in 1957.

In 1956, Mercedes-Benz withdrew from F1, so Fangio signed a contract with Ferrari. Throughout the season he experienced various failures and organizational problems that harmed him. In order to remain in it, he demanded that Enzo Ferrari assign a mechanic to attend his car exclusively. Marcelo Giambertone analyzed in his book some aspects of the 1956 tournament and noted that Enzo Ferrari wanted Peter Collins to win the championship because England meant a better car market than Argentina. Giambertone's publication aroused Ferrari's anger, so Fangio had to clarify:

(Giambertone) was a very light man and when he told me about the book, I agreed to do it... But I did not intervene in it and when I read it I realized the intentionality of the written there and the mention of those of mine not certain, except that clarification of the relationship with Ferrari. I recognize that when editing the book containing my signature, Ferrari's disgust was logical.

The circumstance that declined his relationship with Ferrari that year was the modality of the team that required the mechanics to work on all the team's machines. Fangio did not have a mechanic assigned to his vehicle as he used to have at Mercedes-Benz and this situation seemed illogical to him. In England, he suffered a broken clutch and in Monaco, he had to pit on lap 42 after brushing a curb. In Italy, Peter Collins lent him his machine so that Fangio could continue to advantage in the World Championship. Fangio recalled his good attitude by pointing out that “Collins knew that he had to win with a lap record and at that moment he was third behind [Daniel] Musso. However, the race was not over, but he gave me his car anyway, a gesture I will never forget ».During the Belgian Grand Prix, one of the differentials on his Lancia-Ferrari engaged, which caused I abandoned her. The drawbacks continued with a fuel leak from the dashboard at the French Grand Prix that dropped him to fourth. After the incident he decided to resign from the team but the appointment of an exclusive mechanic for his machine made it possible for him to return. He managed to rally behind him during the following circuits and by the end of the season, he had posted six wins and four second places.

During the following season, he left the Ferrari team and joined Maserati. Ferrari ironically stated that "we will not have Fangio in 1957 because we are not rich enough". les-Esasrts and on August 4 the German GP at Nürburging in an outstanding race with Peter Collins and Mike Hawthorn. The competition at Nürburging was considered one of the best of his life as he beat the Ferrari team on the last lap and He achieved his fifth and last world title. By the end of the tournament, he had 46 points to Stirling Moss's 25. Despite winning the title, Maserati withdrew that year. Fangio received multiple accolades following his performance, including the Driver of the Year Trophy from the British Motoring Writers Guild and being named Germany's Guest of Honor by President Theodor Heuss.

He won his last race in February 1958 when he raced in the Buenos Aires GP. He decided to retire months later at the Reims circuit, where he had made his debut ten years earlier. His kidnapping prevented him from participating in the Cuban GP although he was able to compete in the Race of the Two Worlds at Monza with a Dean Van Lines SP.

After his retirement, he was distinguished as honorary president of the Automotive Sports Commission of the Argentine Republic.

Kidnapping

Fangio in 1957.

In February 1958, Fangio was in Havana to compete in the Cuban Grand Prix. Fidel Castro, who at the time commanded the guerrilla Movement July 26 in Sierra Maestra, considered that the kidnapping of the motorist would be a good publicity coup and a way to ridicule the government of Fulgencio Batista.

When Fangio was in the hall of the Hotel Lincoln where he was staying, a young man from the guerrilla command approached him with a revolver and said: "Excuse me, Juan, but you're going to have me." to accompany". He was put into a car in which there were two other men and they remained in transit through the city for an hour. Finally, he was transferred to an apartment where members of Castro's movement told him that the reason for the kidnapping was to spread the ideals and struggle of the same The mission was led by Arnol Rodríguez and Faustino Pérez, later ministers of the revolutionary government. There was a possibility that the Batista regime decided to kill the pilot and blame the movement headed by Castro. To avoid that, Fangio proposed that they contact the Argentine ambassador Raúl Guevara Lynch, cousin of Ernesto "Che" Guevara.

In Fangio's absence, Frenchman Maurice Trintignant replaced him in the race. However, the competition was brief due to an accident in the fifth lap that caused the death of six spectators and generated 40 injuries. Later, Fangio would say ironically that "I could have been in that crash, so my kidnappers saved my life". After his release after 26 hours of kidnapping, the motorist declared to the public press that "they have tried to an excellent way... In truth, I had the same comforts as if I had been among friends... If what the rebels did was for a good cause, then, as an Argentine, I accept it as such». Despite this, he contested the Copa Dos Mundos in Monza with a Dean Van Lines vehicle.

A year and a half later, after the inauguration of Fidel Castro, he was designated Cuba's "Guest of Honor." In 1981, when he returned to Havana as honorary president of Mercedes-Benz in Argentina, he was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arnol Rodríguez, and was invited to a meeting with Fidel Castro. Fangio never showed that he had a bad memory of his experience in 1958: «We hardly talked about the kidnapping. I think it was something special, made by people who had their ideals and wanted to make them known in any way". Grandinetti in the role of the motorist.

Last stage

After Activity

Fangio and Bordeu in 1966.

After his retirement, he participated in many world exhibition races, tributes to motorsport figures and in the organization of events related to his profession. In 1960 he held an exhibition in Parque Sarmiento (city of Córdoba). with a Maserati 2500 owned by Ettore Chimeri, with which he went off the track, he brushed against a cord and accidentally rose into the air without consequences. He became honorary president of the Club International des Anciens Pilotes de Grand Prix F1 in 1962.

Fangio driving a Mercedes-Benz W196 in Nürburgring, 1986.

In 1968, he collaborated with ACA in the organization of the International Formula 2 Season that took place in Argentina, a task that would become constant for the next few years. Shortly after, he spearheaded the "84 Hours of Nürburgring" project for Argentine-made IKA-Renault Torino cars and traveled to Germany as a driver advisor with the Argentine team.

He participated in the so-called "Carrera del Remembrance" held on October 17, 1973 at the Buenos Aires Autodromo with a Fiat Berlina 125. Legendary motorsport figures such as Oscar Alfredo Gálvez also participated there. He was appointed president of Mercedes -Benz Argentina in April 1974 and the following year, was part of an exhibition test in Dijon on the occasion of the Swiss Grand Prix aboard a Maserati 250F. On the 50th anniversary of the Nürburgring circuit, Fangio participated in the Fifth International Race of Historic Racing and Sports Cars, called the "Parade of Remembrance", with the Mercedes-Benz W196 R. In 1979 he entered the English circuit of Donington Park in occasion of an event organized by the Gunnar Nilsson Foundation.

After racing in the Brussels Rally in 1981, he participated aboard a Chevrolet TC in the Gran Premio del Recuerdo, a caravan carried out in 1983 through the center of the city of Buenos Aires to contribute funds to the Children's Board and to the Association for Aid to Minors of the Province of Buenos Aires. He was appointed honorary president of Mercedes-Benz Argentina in 1987, the only distinction granted in its history by the German factory, and held the position until 1994. Fangio became president from the Renault Foundation in 1990 and continued to make public appearances especially in international exhibition races until his health began to deteriorate. He held his last competition on the Island of Sardinia in 1993 aboard an Alfetta 159 in the company of other figures of his time.

His role at Mercedes-Benz during the military dictatorship

On the centenary of his birth in 2011, two bills were presented to the Buenos Aires Legislature by the PRO to honor him, which were resisted by both the Buenos Aires Deputy Ombudsman and deputy Delia Bisutti, who pointed out that «A claim is being made for Fangio in its entirety and someone of his renown could not be oblivious to what was happening. Here there was a military dictatorship with civic accompaniment, and it is very important to highlight what happened to Fangio ». Fernando de Andreis, the deputy who presented the project, dismissed the accusation, assuring that it was unfounded. Graciela Borges, Bordeu's ex-wife, also defended Fangio, arguing that his visit to Venezuela would have been done with any other government.

Juan Manuel Fangio Museum

Museo del automovilismo Juan Manuel Fangio.

In 1979, some residents of the city of Balcarce began to promote the formation of a work commission to finalize the construction of a museum when they learned of the intention of Juan Manuel Fangio to gather his trophies, cars and presents accumulated over the years. throughout his sporting life in one place. On October 26 of that year, the "Comisión Pro-Museo del Automovilismo Juan Manuel Fangio" was established under municipal aid.

An old building from 1906, in which the municipality and the deliberative council of Balcarce had functioned, was chosen to establish the museum. Although it remained closed and in a deplorable state of preservation, it occupied a lot of significant proportions and was located in the southern corner of the town's central square. Its community history generated a desire to recover it as an architectural heritage of the city.

Aware of the proposal of the Pro-museum Commission at the end of 1980, the de facto governor of the Province of Buenos Aires at that time, Ibérico Saint Jean, promoted it and provided the initial capital that made the bidding process possible and the beginnings of the work. The contribution, which given the inflationary process was close to 18% of the cost (at the beginning it represented 75%-80%), was increased with donations from national and international companies, people adhering to the project, contributions from Fangio himself and was completed with different activities organized by the commission. The motorist donated part of his trophies and a wide variety of automobiles to the municipality of Balcarce in 1983 for its subsequent presentation at the museum.Finally, on November 22, 1986, the Technological-Cultural Center and Museum of Automobile Racing was inaugurated Juan Manuel Fangio.

The renovation of the building and its contents caused an astonishment among visitors and world journalists that led it to be described as the most important motoring museum in South America and the best dedicated to a competition driver.

At the end of its objective, the Pro-Museum Commission was dissolved. However, at the request of Fangio and Juan Manuel Bordeu, the Juan Manuel Fangio Automobile Museum Foundation was created, an entity that manages and governs the fate of the museum and is in charge of preserving, maintaining and increasing Fangio's sports heritage.

Declining health and death

His health deteriorated in the last decades of his life. In December 1970, he suffered a serious heart attack and in 1981, after performing in a show with a Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR in Dubai, he had a heart condition. The following year he underwent surgery in which Dr. René Favaloro implanted five bypasses .At the end of the 1980s he was diagnosed with chronic renal failure and in 1992, he underwent surgery to remove a benign tumor of the kidneys. He suffered an intestinal infection in 1993 in Stuttgart, for which he had to be hospitalized. At the end of that year, he had to be admitted again for fifteen days at the Mater Dei Clinic due to blood hypercalcemia. In his last years, he had to undergo three weekly dialysis sessions by Dr. Roque Sala at the same time that he began with a progressive loss of consciousness and motor problems derived from his previous pathologies. After an emergency hospitalization in January 1995, he confined himself to his home in Palermo Viejo, where he continued his treatment and abandoned practically all of his public appearances.

On July 14, 1995, he suffered respiratory failure with excessive phlegm that led to his admission to the Mater Dei Clinic, where he was diagnosed with bronchopneumonia. Two days later he had a respiratory crisis and his diagnosis worsened on July 17 when he suffered a decompensation in his state of health that until then had remained stable. He passed away at the age of 84 at 4:10 UTC-3 in Buenos Aires.

After his death, President Carlos Menem arranged the White Room of the Government House for his funeral. The president of FIFA, João Havelange, expressed his condolences and Jackie Stewart, three-time Formula 1 world champion, decided to travel for the funeral. Later his remains were transferred for a new wake at the headquarters of the Automóvil Club Argentino and another at the Fangio Museum to later be finally placed in the family pantheon in the Balcarce cemetery.

Private life

Andrea Berruet congratulates Fangio after his victory at the 1957 German Grand Prix.

Fangio never married but maintained a sentimental relationship for twenty years with Andrea «Beba» Berruet, with whom he had a son on April 6, 1938: Oscar «Cacho» Espinoza. The two separated in 1960. In 2000, Espinoza publicly admitted in a report to Olé that he was the unrecognized son of the pilot and in 2008 he filed a case in a Buenos Aires civil court to demonstrate his affiliation and power. use the father's last name.

Espinoza, also a pilot, said: «These are personal and difficult things. If for journalists it was a complicated issue, imagine for me. But they are things that are left to the side. As Alberto Olmedo said, that has already prescribed. But it's been so long that it's better to forget about it. I never made notes talking about that." During the 1960s and part of the 1970s, Espinosa was publicly known as Oscar Fangio and came to compete in Europe in Formula 3. Other versions indicate that Fangio had a serious personal problem with his son and after twenty years of estrangement, they managed to reconcile.

Fangio along with Andrea «Beba» Berruet and Oscar «Cacho» Fangio, the son of both. Decade of 1950.

"Cacho" Espinoza filed a filiation lawsuit against Juan Manuel Fangio, repudiating the paternity of his father Espinoza. The claim was rejected in First and Second Instance by the National Civil Justice of the Federal Capital, Argentine Republic. He was forbidden to use the last name Fangio. After said episode, he never saw Juan Manuel Fangio again, who at all times was unaware of said paternity. Only in 1994, with Fangio's health deteriorating and without his consent, he was present at the former Mercedes-Benz headquarters building on Av. Libertador. To proceed with the filiation claim, on August 7, 2015, his remains were exhumed from the Balcarce Municipal Cemetery. On December 16, 2015, a court in Mar del Plata confirmed what Espinoza had stated after the results of the DNA tests showed that Espinoza is 99.999% the son of the runner.

In 2005 Rubén Vázquez, a former railway employee born in Balcarce and currently residing in the town of Cañuelas, filed a paternity suit similar to the one filed by "Cacho" Espinosa to find out if he is also the son of Fangio. Born 4 years after Espinoza (on June 25, 1942, the day after Fangio's 31st birthday), Vázquez claimed to be the result of the relationship between his mother Catalina Basili and the five-time Formula 1 world champion, who was also his father. baptism godfather and even at one point Vázquez turned to Fangio to ask him to start working at Mercedes Benz. of the legendary runner

In June 2016 Juan Carlos Rodríguez, a former retired Agronomist, born and currently residing in Balcarce, after his mother Silvia Rodríguez revealed to him that his father was Fangio, underwent DNA studies with Oscar Fangio. The result of the DNA between Rodríguez and Fangio was that they are brothers with a certainty of almost 98%, which would lead to the conclusion that Rodríguez would also be the son of the broker, although the next step is still missing, which is to carry out the same study, comparing it with the DNA of the parents. mortal remains of "Chueco". In May 2021, DNA studies confirmed that Juan Carlos Rodríguez is also the son of Fangio.

His nephew, Juan Manuel Fangio II, is also a motorist.

Legacy

Commemorations and influence

In the official Formula 1 headquarters there is a statement that expresses: "For many, Fangio will be the best driver of all time." Many well-known drivers such as Jim Clark, Alain Prost, Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher were related to Fangio (quintuple F1 world champion) and praised him. Michael Schumacher, who broke the F1 driver's record in 2003, said: “Fangio is at a higher level than I see myself. His achievements are very important... I respect them a lot. You cannot take personalities like Fangio and compare them with current events in Formula 1. Such a comparison is not possible at all."

In Argentina, he is considered one of the most important athletes, just like Diego Maradona, Emanuel Ginóbili, Guillermo Vilas, Carlos Monzón and Lionel Messi. Nicknamed El Maestro or El Chueco, Fangio was selected the "best Argentine of all time" behind René Favaloro and José de San Martín in the television series El Gen Argentino, broadcast in 2007 by Telefé. In November 1986, he inaugurated a museum in Balcarce that traces his life; by that time he had received a large number of distinctions such as honorary doctorates, orders of merit and the title of Illustrious Citizen of the City of Buenos Aires.

The monument to Ayrton Senna and Juan Manuel Fangio in the gardens of Donington Grand Prix Collection.

The Spanish artist Joaquim Ros Sabata designed five statues with his image in Puerto Madero (in front of the headquarters of Mercedes Benz Argentina), Monte Carlo (Monaco), in the circuit of Montmeló (Spain), Nürburgring (Germany) and Monza (Italy). In his honor, the national oil and gas company, Repsol YPF, launched the "Fangio XXI" fuel line.

In June 2011, commemorating the centenary of his birth, he was honored around the world and various official activities were held, including a civic-military parade in his hometown followed by the presentation of a monument in his honor.

On December 21, 2012, Autosprint magazine posted a video on its website where it listed the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. Although it excluded Ayrton Senna from it, it included Sebastian Vettel despite not being the best driver of 2012 according to F1 team principals. The Italian publication designated the following positions:

1. Juan Manuel Fangio
2. Sebastian Vettel
3. Jackie Stewart
4. Michael Schumacher
5. Jim Clark
6. Alain Prost
7. Stirling Moss
8. Alberto Ascari
9. Niki Lauda
10. Gilles Villeneuve

In 2016 the University of Sheffield located in England, carried out a study which was prepared by the Methods Institute of this same university and they concluded that the quality of the car accounts for 85% of the success of a pilot. After the studies, the university made a list of the best Formula 1 drivers of all time after measuring the skill of the driver. This designated the following positions:

1. Juan Manuel Fangio
2. Alain Prost
3. Fernando Alonso
4. Jim Clark
5. Ayrton Senna
6. Jackie Stewart
7. Nelson Piquet
8. Emerson Fittipaldi
9. Michael Schumacher
10. Sebastian Vettel

"I don't think it's fair to compare myself to Fangio, because now the cars are safer, and he got his championships at a tremendous speed considering the vehicles that existed in his time. Fangio was far superior to us."

Michael Schumacher

" Running is not just driving a car. It is also being complete, living a passion, marking a story. That's why no one is going to equal Fangio."

Ayrton Senna

"He was the best of all. His most remarkable features were his personality and his sympathy."

Niki Lauda

"He was the most important of all time. He was a flyer artist. Despite being my rival all my life, I was a paternal figure for myself."

Stirling Moss

In cinema, music and literature

At the Café Nacional on Corrientes Avenue, Anselmo Aieta premiered the tango Fangio. the tracks, a film produced by Armando Bó and directed by Román Viñoly Barreto. In 1956 the book The Life Story of Fangio by Federico B. Kirbus and Roland Hansen. A twenty-minute non-commercial film was also released, Homage to Fangio, produced by British Petroleum, which compiled scenes from the pilot while he was driving on the Modena and Villa de Como circuits. In 1966 The documentary From Balcarce to Glory was made by the journalist Carlos Alberto Aguilar —with unpublished material contributed by Fangio himself— for the documentary series Argentina in this century. In 1971 the film was shot i>Fangio, directed by Hugh Hudson and in 1999, under the direction of Alberto Lecchi, was presented Operation Fangio, which tells the story of his kidnapping in 1958. In 2020 it premiered in Netflix the documentary film Fangio: The Man Who Tamed the Machines by director Francisco Macri —son of former Argentine President Mauricio Macri—

Fangio appears in the following Argentine films:

• Road tourism (1968)
• A Summer Night Trip (1965)
• Fangio, the demon of the tracks (1950)

Acknowledgments

• 1949: Silver plaque "in the test of admiration" of the Cordobesa Volantes Association.
• 1949: Medal to the Knight of Sport granted by President Juan Domingo Perón.
• 1949: Gold Condor “in honor of merit” of the Mendoza Automobile Club.
• 1950: Gold Medal «in homage to its performance in Europe» by the Chilean Flying Association.
• 1954: Olympia Gold Award of the Association of Sports Journalists of the Argentine Republic.
• 1955: Tazio Nuvolari Award for Italian journalism.
• 1956: Trophy of the Argentine Association of Rosario Volantes.
• 1957: Trophy to the Conductor of the Year by the Gremio de Cronistas de Automovilismo Británico.
• 1957: Distinction as Master of Nürburgring.
• 1957: Guest of Honor of Germany by President Theodor Heuss.
• 1958: Officer of the Order to Merit of the Italian Republic in the degree of Comndador, appointed by President Giovanni Gronchi.
• 1958: French Sports Academy Award.
• 1969: Officer of the Order to Merit of the Italian Republic in the rank of great officer by President Giuseppe Saragat.
• 1972: Opening of the Juan Manuel Fangio Authodrome in the city of Balcarce.
• 1973: City of Buenos Aires.
• 1976: Order of the Merit of the Republic of Germany to the extent of the comener by President Walter Scheel.
• 1978: Commander of the National Order of Ivory Coast by President Felix Huphouet Boigny.
• 1979: Commander of Magistral Grace of the Sovereign, Military, Hospitaller Order of Saint George of Carincia.
• 1979: Trofeo Juan Manuel Fangio de la revista The chart.
• 1980: Choosed the “better motorist of all time” by a survey by the International Racing Press Association.
• 1980: Honorary Member of the International Federation of Sports Automobiles.
• 1980: Konex Award by Brillante.
• 1982: Trophy of the magazine Quatro Rodas from Brazil.
• 1984: Vermeil Medal in Paris.
• 1986: Distinction of Grand Prix International Des Ancient Pilots Club.
• 1989: Premio Águila de Buenos Aires awarded by the Order of Knights of San Martín de Tours.
• 1990: Tribute at the Renault factory in Córdoba.
• 1991: Tribute at the Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart.
• 1991: Distinction "Periodist symbol of Argentina" of the Circle of Sports Journalists.
• 1992: Doctorate Honoris Causa of the Catholic University of Santiago del Estero.
• 1993: Order to the Distinguished Services of the Argentine Army.

Career Summary

Formula 1

Results

Grandes Épreuves

Formula 1

(Key) (bold indicates pole position) (italics indicates fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans

Year	Equipment	Copilots	Automobile	Class	Returns	Pos.	Pos. Class
1950	Automobiles Gordini	José Froilán González	Gordini T15S	S3.0	95	DNF
1951	Louis Rosier	Louis Rosier	Talbot-Lago T26C	S5.0	92	DNF
1953	S.P.A. Alfa Romeo	Onofre Marimón	Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM	S5.0	22	DNF
1955	Daimler Benz AG	Stirling Moss	Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR	S3.0	134	DNF
Source:

12 Hours of Sebring

Year	Equipment	Copilots	Automobile	Class	Returns	Pos.	Pos. Class
1954	Scuderia Lancia Co.	Eugenio Castellotti	Lancia D24	S5.0	51	DNF
1956	Scuderia Ferrari	Eugenio Castellotti	Ferrari 860 Monza	S5.0	194	1.o
1957	Maserati Factory	Jean Behra	Maserati 450S	S5.0	197	1.o
Source:

24 Hours of Spa

Year	Equipment	Copilots	Automobile	Class	Returns	Pos.	Pos. Class
1953	S.P.A. Alfa Romeo	Consalvo Sanesi	Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM Spider	S	5	DNF
Source:

Mille Miglia

Year	Equipment	Copilots	Automobile	Class	Pos.	Pos. Class
1950		Augusto Zanardi	Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Competizione	S+2.0	3.o
1952		Giulio Sala	Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint	GT2.0	22.	7.
1953	S.P.A. Alfa Romeo	Giulio Sala	Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM	S+2.0	2.
1955	Daimler Benz AG		Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR	S+2.0	2.
1956	Scuderia Ferrari		Ferrari 290 MM	S+2.0	4.o
Source:

Pan American Race

Year	Equipment	Copilots	Automobile	Class	Pos.	Pos. Class
1953	Scuderia Lancia	Gino Bronzoni	Lancia D24 Pinin Farina	S+1.6	1.o
Source:

Indianapolis 500

Predecessor: Angel Lo Valvo	Campeón de Turismo Carretera 1940-1941	Successor: Desert
Predecessor: Giuseppe Farina	Formula 1 Champion 1951	Successor: Alberto Ascari
Predecessor: Alberto Ascari	Formula 1 Champion 1954-1957	Successor: Mike Hawthorn