Giuseppe Farina | |
|---|---|
 Farina in 1953, pictured on the cover ofEl Gráfico | |
| Born | Emilio Giuseppe Farina (1906-10-30)30 October 1906 |
| Died | 30 June 1966(1966-06-30) (aged 59) Aiguebelle,Savoie, France |
| Cause of death | Single vehicle road collision |
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Active years | 1950–1956 |
| Teams | Alfa Romeo,Ferrari |
| Entries | 35 (33 starts) |
| Championships | 1 (1950) |
| Wins | 5 |
| Podiums | 20[a] |
| Careerpoints | 1151⁄3 (1271⁄3)[b] |
| Pole positions | 5 |
| Fastest laps | 5 |
| First entry | 1950 British Grand Prix |
| First win | 1950 British Grand Prix |
| Last win | 1953 German Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 1956 Indianapolis 500 |
Emilio Giuseppe "Nino"Farina[c] (Italian pronunciation:[dʒuˈzɛppeˈniːnofaˈriːna]; 30 October 1906 – 30 June 1966) was an Italianracing driver, who competed inFormula One from1950 to1956. Farina won theFormula One World Drivers' Championship in its inaugural1950 season withAlfa Romeo, and won fiveGrands Prix across seven seasons.
Born inTurin, Farina was the son of Giovanni Farina, founder ofStabilimenti Farina. Aged nine, he started driving a two-cylinderTemperino, eventually progressing tohillclimbing in 1925. Aprotégé ofTazio Nuvolari, Farina attracted the attention ofEnzo Ferrari in his early career, who signed him toFerrari in 1936. He immediately impressed, finishing runner-up at theMille Miglia driving anAlfa Romeo 8C.[d] Farina took his maiden Grand Prix win at theNaples Grand Prix in 1937, winning three consecutive Italian Championships until 1939, the latter two withAlfa Corse. He earned notoriety for his involvement in the fatal accidents ofMarcel Lehoux andLászló Hartmann in 1936 and 1938, respectively. Farina won theTripoli Grand Prix in 1939, his last victory beforeWorld War II.
After the war, Farina returned to Alfa Corse, winning theNations Grand Prix in1946. Amongst four major victories in1948, Farina won theMonaco Grand Prix. He signed forAlfa Romeo in1950, making his Formula One debut at the series-openingBritish Grand Prix, which he won ahead ofLuigi Fagioli. Amidst a title charge by teammateJuan Manuel Fangio, Farina took further wins at theSwiss andItalian Grands Prix, becoming the first World Drivers' Champion. Although winning theBelgian Grand Prix in1951, Farina was unable to halt the ascent of Fangio andAlberto Ascari. He joined Ascari at Ferrari in1952, but was unable to hinder his dominance over the next two seasons. Farina took his final victory in Formula One at theGerman Grand Prix in1953.
After a string of injuries during1954, Farina retired from Formula One after Ascari's fatal accident in1955. Amongst five race wins, five pole positions, five fastest laps and 20 podiums, Farina also won 11 non-championship races in Formula One. Aged 49, he returned for theIndianapolis 500 in1956 withKurtis Kraft, but was unable to qualify. Farina withdrew from the1957 Indianapolis 500, after the death of teammateKeith Andrews during practice. Insportscar racing, Farina won theNürburgring 1000 km, the24 Hours of Spa and the12 Hours of Casablanca, all in 1953 with Ferrari and the former two as part of the inauguralWorld Sportscar Championship. On his way to spectate the1966 French Grand Prix, Farina died after he lost control of hisLotus Cortina in theFrench Alps.
Born inTurin, Farina was the son of Giovanni Carlo Farina (1884–1957) who founded theStabilimenti Farina coachbuilder.[2] He began driving a two-cylinderTemperino, at the age of just nine. Farina became a Doctor of Political Science (although some sources say engineering); he also excelled at skiing,football and athletics. He cut short a career as a cavalry officer with the Italian army to fulfil a different ambition: motor racing.[3][4][5][1][6]
While still at university Farina purchased his first car, a second-hand Alfa Romeo, and ran it in the 1925 Aosta-Gran San Bernardo Hillclimb. While trying to beat his father, he crashed, breaking his shoulder and receiving facial cuts, establishing a trend that continued throughout his crash-prone career. His father finished fourth.[3][4][1][7][8]
During the 1933 and 1934 seasons Farina returned to the sport, racing Maseratis and Alfa Romeos forGino Rovere and Scuderia Subalpina, and began a friendship with Italian racing legendTazio Nuvolari. It was Nuvolari who to some extent, guided Farina's early career.[3] In 1935, he raced for the factory Maserati team, showing enough promise to impressEnzo Ferrari, who recruited him to drive forScuderia Ferrari, the team that ran the works-supported Alfa Romeos. It was in anAlfa Romeo 8C that he finished second in theMille Miglia, after driving through the night without lights. Farina also raced in the U.S., driving for Alfa Romeo in theAmerican Automobile Association-sanctionedVanderbilt Cups of1936 and1937.[9] He became a Grand Prix winner when he won the 1937Grand Prix of Naples.[3][4][1][6][7][8]
Although he was noted[by whom?] for his driving style and intelligence, he had a petulant streak and disregard for his fellow competitors whilst on the race track. He was involved in two fatal accidents. The first was during the 1936 Grand Prix de Deauville, when he tried to passMarcel Lehoux for second. Farina's Alfa Romeo 8C collided with Lehoux'sERA, causing the ERA to overturn and catch fire. Lehoux was thrown out, suffered a fractured skull and died in hospital, while Farina escaped with minor injuries. Two seasons later, during the1938 Gran Premio di Tripoli,László Hartmann'sMaserati 4CM cut a corner in front of Farina. The cars collided and overturned. Farina survived without major injuries, but Hartmann died the following day.[8][10][11]
In 1938, the official Alfa Romeo team,Alfa Corse, returned to motorsport and Farina was a member. Driving the newAlfa Romeo 158 Voiturette in 1939, he won the Grand Prix d'Anvers,Coppa Ciano and the Prix de Berne, to become the Italian Champion for the third year in succession. The following year, he won the Tripoli Grand Prix and finished second in the Mille Miglia for the third time.[3][4][6][7][8]
AfterWorld War II, Farina returned to Alfa Corse to drive their 158. He won the1946 Grand Prix des Nations. However, he left Alfa Corse after a disagreement over team leadership and sat out the whole of the 1947 season. He came back to the sport in 1948 with a privately entered Maserati and a works Ferrari. During this period, he also married Elsa Giaretto. In her opinion, motorsport was a silly and dangerous activity, and she tried to persuade Farina to stop.[12] Three days after their high society wedding, Farina flew to Argentina where he drove hisMaserati 8CL to victory in the Gran Premio Internacional del General San Martín. On his return to Europe, he won the Grand Prix des Nations and the1948 Monaco Grand Prix. Using Ferrari's first Grand Prix car, theFerrari 125, he won the Circuito di Garda before giving the Temporada another visit. This resulted in victory in the Copa Acción San Lorenzo in February 1949. The rest of the year he raced Maseratis for Scuderia Milano andScuderia Ambrosiana, and at times in his own 4CLT/48. He won the Lausanne Grand Prix and then was re-signed by Alfa Corse.[3][4][1][7][8][12][13][14][15][16]
In 1950, Farina returned to Alfa Romeo for the inauguralFIA World Championship of Drivers. The opening race of the season was held atSilverstone Circuit, in front of 150,000 spectators. Farina won, with teammatesLuigi Fagioli andReg Parnell, completing an Alfa Romeo 1–2–3 finish. The victory made Farina the first of only three drivers to win on their World Drivers' Championship début. The other two areJohnnie Parsons, who won theAAA-sanctioned1950 Indianapolis 500, 17 days later – andGiancarlo Baghetti, who won the1961 French Grand Prix.
AtMonaco eight days later, a multiple pile-up on the first lap saw Farina spin out of a race thatJuan Manuel Fangio went on to win. In the1950 Swiss Grand Prix, Farina beat his teammate Fagioli into second. The next race, atCircuit de Spa-Francorchamps, saw Fangio beat Fagioli, with Farina finishing in fourth with transmission problems. At this stage, Farina still led the championship on points: Farina 22; Fagioli 18; Fangio 17.[6][7][17][18][19][20][21]
When Fangio won the1950 French Grand Prix, Farina finished outside of the points in seventh. By the season finale on 3 September, the1950 Italian Grand Prix, Farina was trailing his teammate by two points. For Alfa, Monza was home territory and so they fielded an additional car forPiero Taruffi andConsalvo Sanesi. It was the Ferrari ofAlberto Ascari who put pressure on the Alfas during the early stages of the race, lying in second, in the knowledge that his car only needed one fuel stop to the Alfas' two, but he retired with engine problems. Soon after, Fangio's gearbox failed and Taruffi handed over his car, only for it to drop a valve and retire. Instead, first position and therefore the championship went to Farina.[6][7][20][22][23]
He continued with Alfa Romeo for the 1951 season but was beaten by Fangio, who secured the title for the Milanese marque. Farina finished the season in fourth place, with his only world championship victory coming in the1951 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. Farina switched back to Ferrari in 1952, when Grand Prix racing switched toFormula 2 specification, but had to take second place to team leader Ascari. He won the non-championship Gran Premio di Napoli andMonza Grand Prix. Ascari's total domination of the championship had been a bitter blow to Farina's self-image.[20] He also droveTony Vandervell'sThinwall Special – a modifiedFerrari 375 F1 car to second place in the end-of-season Woodcote Cup atGoodwood.[24][25][26][3][6][7][8][27]
He remained at Ferrari for the 1953 season. He was involved in a large accident at the first race of the season, theArgentine Grand Prix: PresidentJuan Perón had allowed free access to the race, which meant that the drivers had to race with hordes of spectators lining the circuit, and a young boy ran across the track while Farina was committed to a fast corner, the Curva Nor Este. Farina was forced to take evasive action and swerved into the spectators standing on the exit of the corner, killing seven and injuring many others.[8][28][29]
Farina's best result of the season was the victory in the1953 German Grand Prix. He took up the challenge against the works Maserati of Fangio andMike Hawthorn when Ascari's car lost a wheel. Other non-Championship Formula One victories came in the Gran Premio di Napoli and Grand Prix de Rouen-les-Essarts. By now he had accepted that Ascari and Fangio were faster drivers than him.[8] He nevertheless took a string of podium finishes, gaining third place in the World Championship. This year saw the introduction of theWorld Sportscar Championship, and as part of the Scuderia Ferrari squad of drivers, Farina made a number of appearances, winning twice. The first came in the24 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps, when he and Hawthorn had a winning margin of 18 laps, which amounted to about an advantage of close to 90 minutes. The second victory came in the next race, the1953 1000km of Nürburgring, this time partnered by Ascari, with a smaller margin of just over 15 minutes. He also triumphed in the Daily Express Trophy race at Silverstone in another one-off race in the Thinwall Special.[3][6][7][30][31][32]
Although he was now 47, a golden opportunity arose at Ferrari when Ascari left the team, leaving Farina the team leader. After early season results including victories in the1000 km Buenos Aires sports car race, co-driven by the young ItalianUmberto Maglioli, and theSyracuse Grand Prix, he crashed heavily in theMille Miglia whilst leading in hisFerrari 375 Plus. Just seven weeks later, and with his right arm still in plaster, Farina raced in the1954 Belgian Grand Prix. He was leading before the end of the first lap, dicing with Fangio's Maserati, until the ignition failed on his Ferrari.[3][6][33][34][35] Later in the season he was badly injured in the Supercortemaggiore Grand Prix, a sports car race at Monza, as a consequence of which he spent 20 days in hospital.
He was back with Ferrari for the start of the 1955 season in Argentina, takingmorphine injections to ease the pain. But the heat took its toll on all of the drivers. Farina pitted due to exhaustion, with hisFerrari 625 being taken over by the team's spare driver, Maglioli. WhenJosé Froilán González pitted, a revived Farina was sent out in his place. Later in the race, González – who was back in his car – crashed but rejoined and handed the car back to Farina, who brought it home in second. Third place in the1955 Argentine Grand Prix went to Farina's original car which had been driven by Maglioli andMaurice Trintignant. After a third place in Belgium, Farina retired mid-season, owing to the continued pain and the death of Ascari.[citation needed] He returned for the1955 Italian Grand Prix, but his Scuderia Ferrari-enteredLancia D50 suffered a tyre failure at 170 mph during a practice session, whilst on the Monza's new banking. The car spun, but Farina stepped out unhurt. Ferrari withdrew the car from the event, and Farina did not start his final Grand Prix.[3][6][7][36][37]
TheAAA/USAC-sanctioned Indianapolis 500 was included in theFIAWorld Drivers' Championship from 1950 through 1960. Drivers competing at Indianapolis during those years were credited with World Drivers' Championship participation, and were eligible to score WDC points alongside those which they may have scored towards theAAA/USACNational Championship.
Farina attempted to qualify for one World Drivers' Championship race at Indianapolis, failing to make the 1956 race.[9]
Following abortive entries in 1950 and 1952 where he was set to drive modifiedgrand prix-style cars,[9] Farina entered the1956 Indianapolis 500 with the "Bardahl-Ferrari" - aKurtis Kraft chassis with a six-cylinder Ferrari engine installed.[9] This car carried sponsorship from theSeattle-basedBardahl performance lubricants corporation.
Qualifying for the race took place during four days through May. Farina failed to get up to speed during the first two qualifying sessions. The second weekend of the month saw heavy rain, cancelling the third day of qualifications, and leaving a limited amount of time for drivers to contest the remaining spaces on the grid. On the fourth day of qualifying, Farina was among a number of drivers who were unable to make a final attempt.
Farina elected to race a conventionalOffenhauser-powered car in 1957,[9] but he had difficulty getting the car up to speed, experiencing handling issues. His teammate,Keith Andrews, stepped into the car for a test run. Andrews crashed on the front stretch, backing the car into the inside wall and getting crushed to death between the cowl and fuel tank. Following Andrews' death, Farina withdrew from the event.[3][4][6][7][38][39][40][41]
Following his retirement, Farina became involved in Alfa Romeo andJaguar distributorships and later assisted at thePininfarina factory.[3][4]
On his way to the1966 French Grand Prix, Farina lost control of hisLotus Cortina in the Savoy Alps, nearAiguebelle, hit a telegraph pole and was killed instantly. He had been on his way to both watch the race and to take part in filming as the adviser and driving double of the French actorYves Montand, who played an ex-World Champion in the filmGrand Prix.[3][4][7][8][42][43]
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(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | EDC | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Gino Rovere | Maserati 6C-34 | Maserati 3.7L6 | MON Ret | FRA | BEL | GER | SUI 8 | 21st | 51 | ||
| Scuderia Subalpina | MaseratiV8RI | Maserati 4.8V8 | ITA DNS | ESP | ||||||||
| 1936 | Scuderia Ferrari | Alfa Romeo8C-35 | Alfa Romeo 3.8L8 | MON Ret | GER | SUI Ret | 14th | 26 | ||||
| Alfa Romeo12C 1936 | Alfa Romeo 4.1V12 | ITA Ret | ||||||||||
| 1937 | Scuderia Ferrari | Alfa Romeo12C-36 | Alfa Romeo 4.1V12 | BEL | GER Ret | MON 6 | SUI Ret | ITA Ret | 7th | 28 | ||
| 1938 | Alfa Corse | Alfa RomeoTipo 312 | Alfa Romeo 3.0V12 | FRA | GER Ret | SUI 5 | 8th | 21 | ||||
| Alfa RomeoTipo 316 | Alfa Romeo 3.0V16 | ITA 2 | ||||||||||
| 1939 | G. Farina | Alfa RomeoTipo 316 | Alfa Romeo 3.0V16 | BEL Ret | FRA | GER | 13th | 25 | ||||
| Alfa Corse | Alfa Romeo158 | Alfa Romeo 1.5L8 | SUI 7 | |||||||||
Source:[113] | ||||||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Giuseppe Farina | Maserati4CL | Maserati 4CL 1.5L4s | MON 1 | SUI Ret | FRA | ||
| Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari125 | Ferrari 125 F1 1.5V12s | ITA Ret | |||||
| 1949 | Giuseppe Farina | Maserati4CLT/48 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5L4s | GBR | BEL Ret | SUI Ret | ||
| Automobiles Talbot-Darracq | Talbot-LagoT26C | Talbot 23CV 4.5L6 | FRA Ret | |||||
| Scuderia Milano | Maserati4CLT/48 | Maserati 4CLT 1.5L4s | ITA Ret | |||||
Source:[114] | ||||||||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | WDC | Pts[b] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo158 | Alfa Romeo 158 1.5L8s | GBR 1 | MON Ret | 500 | SUI 1 | BEL 4 | FRA 7 | 1st | 30 | |||
| Alfa Romeo159 | ITA 1 | |||||||||||||
| 1951 | Alfa Romeo SpA | Alfa Romeo159 | Alfa Romeo 158 1.5L8s | SUI 3 | 500 | BEL 1 | FRA 5 | GBR Ret | GER Ret | ITA 3* | ESP 3 | 4th | 19 (22) | |
| 1952 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari500 | Ferrari 500 2.0L4 | SUI Ret | 500 | BEL 2 | FRA 2 | GBR 6 | GER 2 | NED 2 | ITA 4 | 2nd | 24 (27) | |
| 1953 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari500 | Ferrari 500 2.0L4 | ARG Ret | 500 | NED 2 | BEL Ret | FRA 5 | GBR 3 | GER 1 | SUI 2 | ITA 2 | 3rd | 26 (32) |
| 1954 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari625 | Ferrari 625 2.5L4 | ARG 2 | 500 | 8th | 6 | |||||||
| Ferrari553 | Ferrari 554 2.5L4 | BEL Ret | FRA | GBR | GER | SUI | ITA | ESP DNA | ||||||
| 1955 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari625 | Ferrari 555 2.5L4 | ARG 2+3† | 5th | 101⁄3 | ||||||||
| MON 4 | 500 | |||||||||||||
| Ferrari555 | BEL 3 | NED | GBR | |||||||||||
| LanciaD50 | Lancia DS50 2.5V8 | ITA DNS | ||||||||||||
| 1956 | Bardahl-Ferrari | Kurtis Kraft 500D | Ferrari 446 4.5L6 | ARG | MON | 500 DNQ | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | NC | 0 | |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)
* Indicates Shared Drive withAndré Simon
| Year | Chassis | Engine | Start | Finish | Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1956 | Kurtis Kraft | Ferrari | DNQ | Bardahl | |
| 1957 | Kurtis Kraft | Offenhauser | Wth | Farina | |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Scuderia Ferrari |  Mike Hawthorn | Ferrari 340 MM Pininfarina Berlinetta | S5.0 | 12 | DSQ | DSQ |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1936 |  Scuderia Ferrari | Eugenio Siena | Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A | Compr. | DNF | DNF | |
| 1953 | Scuderia Ferrari | Mike Hawthorn | Ferrari 375 MM Pininfarina Berlinetta | S | 260 | 1st | 1st |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1934 | Scuderia Subalpina | Luigi Della Chiesa | Alfa Romeo 6C 1750 | T2.0 | DNF | DNF |
| 1936 | Scuderia Ferrari | Stefano Meazza | Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A | +2.0c | 2nd | 2nd |
| 1937 | Scuderia Ferrari | Stefano Meazza | Alfa Romeo 8C 2900A | S+2.0 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 1938 | Alfa Corse | Stefano Meazza | Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B | S3s/4.5 | DNF | DNF |
| 1940 | Paride Mambelli | Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS | 3.0 | 2nd | 1st | |
| 1953 | Ferrari Spa | Luigi Parenti | Ferrari 340 MM Touring Spyder | S+2.0 | DNF | DNF |
| 1954 | Scuderia Ferrari | Luigi Parenti | Ferrari 375 Plus | S+2.0 | DNF | DNF |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 |  Scuderia Guastella | Bill Spear | Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale Spyder | S | DNS | DNS |
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Scuderia Ferrari | Piero Scotti | Ferrari 375 MM | S+2.0 | 1st | 1st |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by None | Formula One World Champion 1950 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Gran Premio di Tripoli winner 1940 | Succeeded by None |
| Preceded by | Grand Prix de Monaco winner 1948 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Grand Premio di Bari winner 1950 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | BRDC International Trophy winner 1950 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Grand Prix de Paris winner 1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Gran Premio di Napoli winner 1952 & 1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | Gran Premio Ciudad de Buenos Aires winner 1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Spa 24 Hours winner 1953 With:Mike Hawthorn | Succeeded by |
| Records | ||
| Preceded by None | Youngest Grand Prix polesitter 43 years, 195 days (1950 British Grand Prix) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | Youngest Grand Prix race winner 43 years, 195 days (1950 British Grand Prix) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | Youngest driver to set fastest lap in Formula One 43 years, 195 days (1950 British Grand Prix) | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | Most Grand Prix wins 2 wins 1st at the1950 British GP | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by None | Youngest Formula One World Drivers' Champion 43 years, 308 days (1950 season) | Succeeded by |
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