Fangio vs Moss

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Lore & Background

Stirling Moss is not mentioned in the source. The source only covers Juan Manuel Fangio's career. Fangio made his Formula One debut in the inaugural season of 1950 and went on to dominate the first decade of the championship. His five World Drivers' Championship titles stood as a record for 46 years. Among his greatest wins is the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix, where the 44-year-old drove the entire three-hour race alone in very hot weather, setting the fastest lap while most other finishing cars were shared by two or three younger drivers. His last Grand Prix win came for Maserati at the 1957 German Grand Prix, where he faced better Ferrari cars, made a delayed pit stop for fuel and tyres, then caught the leaders by taking unprecedented risks and beating the lap record several times.

In Their Own Story

The 1957 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring. Fangio, driving for Maserati, faced better Ferrari cars. He opted to make a pit stop for fuel and tyres, but the stop was delayed by mistakes, and his lead was lost. Rather than give up, Fangio drove patiently with new tyres and a half-full tank, then went all-out. He caught up to the leaders by taking unprecedented risks and beating the lap record several times, securing his last Grand Prix win. Earlier, at the 1955 Argentine Grand Prix, the race was contested in very hot weather for three hours. While the few other finishing cars were driven by two or three younger drivers who took turns, the 44-year-old Fangio drove the whole race on his own and set the fastest lap doing so.

Did You Know?

• Fangio's birth certificate was mistakenly dated 23 June in the Register of Balcarce, though he was born on 24 June 1911.
• Fangio won the 1940 Gran Premio del Norte, a rally-style race almost 10,000 km long from Buenos Aires to Lima, Peru and back, taking 15 days.
• In the 1948 South American Grand Prix, Fangio crashed at 140 km/h in thick fog near Huanchaco, Peru; his co-driver Daniel Urrutia was thrown through the windscreen.
• Fangio is the only Argentine driver to have won either the World Drivers' Championship or the Argentine Grand Prix.
• After retirement, Fangio served as honorary president of Mercedes-Benz Argentina from 1987 until his death in 1995.