Sunday 18th July 1948

Juan Manuel Fangio, made his Formula One debut finishing 12th at the Grand Prix de l’ACF in France. Fangio was 37 years old at the start of his first Formula One race, but his late appearance onto the racing scene did not diminish his impact. Born to an Italian immigrant family outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fangio learned to race on the death-trap tracks of Argentina for little reward. But, when his talent was recognised by Argentine dictator Juan Peron, Fangio’s racing career received the boost that was needed. Formula One Grand Prix racing began in 1950, and Fangio took second place in the World Driver’s Championship driving for Alfa Romeo. The next year he won the championship. A crash kept him out of the circuit for the next two years, but in 1954, he switched to the Mercedes team and won his first of four consecutive World Driver’s Championships.