Juan Manuel Fangio was undoubtedly one the finest ambassadors for motor sport. Not only was he respected by those who raced against him but by those outside the sport but who came into his orbit. His legendary ability to befriend people was demonstrated when, in 1958, he suffered the misfortune of being kidnapped in Cuba by members of Fidel Castro’s revolutionary guard in order to promote their cause; thanks to his innate ability to charm everyone he was soon released unharmed.
But his fame spread around the world as soon as he left Argentina for Europe in 1949 when he proceeded to demonstrate his other-worldly skill behind the wheel; almost immediately the grand prix teams lined up to sign him. Even more remarkable was the fact that he was 38 years old at the time having spent to previous decades competing in long distance endurance races in South America, events that served to hone his skill and ability to concentrate for hours at a time as well as building up his upper body strength as he man-handled crude home-made automobiles along treacherous roads, cars that made the emerging European Formula 1 cars seem simple to drive in comparison. He was born into a family of Italian immigrants who had moved to a small frontier town in Argentina where they raised their six children, instilling a culture of integrity, respect and hard work. At the age of 11 Juan Manuel found as an automobile mechanic, a skill that would serve him well in his later career as a grand prix driver. He would eventually retire from the sport at the age of 46 having won his fifth and final title having established a remarkable 24 victories in 51 races with 23 fastest laps and 35 podium finishes. He drove for four teams during his career one of which was Mercedes-Benz. The photograph shows Fangio during the last race of the 1954 season held at the Pedralbes circuit in Barcelona where he drove the open-wheel W196 against strong opposition from Ferrari, Maserati and the latest car from Lancia. Fangio’s Mercedes had enjoyed a successful season but it struggled at the temporary Spanish street circuit where not even the great Fangio could coax more from it despite starting from the front row of the grid. At the start the Mercedes slipped back to fifth but as other cars retired it moved up the order to second, some way behind Hawthorn’s Ferrari, before it began to leak hot oil over an unhappy Fangio. With twelve laps remaining many drivers would have retired but Fangio was made of sterner stuff and he brought the car home, covered in oil, in third place.
