JUAN MANUEL FANGIO (1911-1995) – Argentinean
It is difficult to define the greatest car rider of all time. Much depends on the car, which the competitor rides. But if a list of the best was made according to any criteria, Fangio would definitely be in the top three. In its best period of the 1950s, in which he won five world titles, of which four year after year (1951, 1954—1957), he was unbeatable. His career started relatively late, because at the age of twenty-five. Until then, his favorite pastime was soccer. At first he could not afford expensive equipment for financial reasons; for this reason, at the first races of the Buenos Aires Grand Prix in 1939 year he drove a car bought by friends. Only when a representative of General Motors noticed him, Fangio started driving as a representative of Chevrolet. W 1948 however, he left her and came to Europe with the slogan “to win, and at the same time stay alive”. The Argentine President Peron gave him a Simca-Gordini car for the French Grand Prix competition. A year later, he and Campos drove Maserati cars, representing 'Scuderia Achille Varzi”. In the season 1949 won six notable Grand Prix races, immediately becoming the number one sensation. Nothing unusual, that Alfa Romeo, the strongest at the time, won him over for the next season. Again, seven Grand Prix victories and, of course, the first world title. Juan Fangio's greatness is there, that he won not only then, when he had a machine better than his opponents at his disposal, as it was in 1954 i 1955 year, but also in the competition of Ferrari or Maserati cars. He won five world titles driving four different cars, the technique of conducting which differed dramatically from each other. But Fangio was also able to leave at the height of his fame, which is quite an art. W 1958 year, after the French Grand Prix races, where he started his career ten years ago, retired from the racing world having 47 years, followed by twenty-five winning Grand Prix events.