F1's first-ever world champion died on the way to a Grand Prix after wild career
Max Verstappen is the most recent F1 world champion, becoming the 34th driver to hold the title, but the first-ever champion has an even more incredible tale.
Since the F1 World Championship was formed in 1950, 34 different drivers have held the prestigious title of world champion. The first of those - Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina - is entrenched in the history books after winning the sport’s inaugural season, but he is also famous for his death, which occurred in tragic circumstances en route to a Grand Prix.
Born in the Italian city of Turin in 1906, Farina turned to motorsport after a short career in the military, and his first experience of racing came as a teenager at the 1925 Aosta-Gran San Bernardo Hillclimb event. Over the next two-and-a-half decades, he gained experience in Grand Prix racing, as well as a reputation as a brutal competitor and complex personality.
Prior to his career in F1, Farina’s aggressive approach to racing claimed the lives of two of his fellow competitors. After an impatient move on Marcel Lehoux at the 1936 Grand Prix de Deauville, his rival was thrown from the car and later died in hospital.
Two years later, Laszlo Hartmann was killed after a collision with the Italian driver overturned both vehicles. Despite these incidents and Farina’s volatile temperament, he also picked up a reputation as an uncompromising racer with a distinct, relaxed-arm driving style.
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Describing his view of Farina, F1 legend Sir Stirling Moss said: “He was a great driver, and I loved his style at the wheel - that relaxed, arms outstretched way he had. I thought it looked so good that I copied it! On the track, though, Farina was a b***ard, completely ruthless - dangerous."
When the first-ever F1 World Championship arrived in 1950, he was partnered with future five-time world champion Juan Manuel Fangio at Alfa Romeo. Farina took victories at the season opener at Silverstone, round four of the campaign in Switzerland and the finale in Monza, where he clinched his first and only title at the age of 39.
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For the next seven years, Fangio and Alberto Ascari traded titles, but Farina would never claim another World Championship. Despite a slew of podium appearances, he won just two races after his 1950 triumph, and retired from racing entirely in 1956 after his team-mate, Keith Andrews, was killed during a test for the Indianapolis 500.
Farina’s love for motorsport remained, but it was this that ultimately led to his death. While driving his Lotus-Cortina in the Savoy Alps on the way to the 1966 French Grand Prix, the icy conditions caused him to lose control. The 59-year-old collided with a telephone pole and was killed on impact.