Alberto Ascari

Alberto Ascari (13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver in Formula One from 1950 to 1955. He claimed two World Drivers' Championship titles back-to-back for Ferrari in 1952 and 1953, winning 13 Grands Prix over six seasons. In endurance racing, he took victory in the 1954 Mille Miglia driving for Lancia. As of 2025, Ascari and Michael Schumacher are the only Ferrari drivers to win consecutive world titles, and Ascari remains the sole Italian to have won the championship for the team. He died in a crash during a test session for Ferrari at Monza in 1955.

Born in Milan, Ascari was the son of Antonio Ascari, a celebrated Grand Prix driver of the 1920s who raced Alfa Romeos. Just two weeks before Alberto’s seventh birthday, his father was killed while leading the 1925 French Grand Prix at Montlhéry. Despite this, the younger Ascari developed a passion for racing, running away from school twice and selling his textbooks to fund his early efforts. He began on motorcycles, signing with the Bianchi team at age 19. In 1940, he entered the Mille Miglia in an Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 provided by his father’s close friend Enzo Ferrari, marking his shift to four wheels. He once said, “I only obey one passion, racing. I wouldn’t know how to live without it.”

That same year, Ascari married a local woman. When Italy entered World War II, the family garage—now run by Ascari—was requisitioned to maintain military vehicles. Along with fellow driver Luigi Villoresi, he started a profitable transport business supplying fuel to army depots in North Africa. The two survived a shipwreck in Tripoli harbour when a vessel carrying their lorries capsized. Because their work supported the war effort, they were exempted from military service.

After the war, Ascari raced Grands Prix in a Maserati 4CLT alongside Villoresi, who became his mentor and close friend. Known by the nickname “Ciccio” (“Tubby”), Ascari won his first race at the 1948 San Remo Grand Prix and finished second at the 1948 British Grand Prix at Silverstone. With Maserati, he won the first 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix. His biggest break came when he and Villoresi signed with Scuderia Ferrari; team boss Enzo Ferrari had been a close friend and teammate of Ascari’s father. In 1949, Ascari won three more races, all for Ferrari, including the third Buenos Aires Grand Prix.

The first Formula One World Championship season began in 1950. Ferrari entered the championship at the Monaco Grand Prix—the second race—with Ascari, Villoresi, and Raymond Sommer. There, Ascari became the youngest driver to score points and reach the podium at 31 years and 312 days, finishing second a lap behind Juan Manuel Fangio. The Ferrari 125 F1 was too slow to challenge the dominant Alfa Romeos, so the team developed an unblown 4.5-litre car. By the time the Ferrari 375 F1 appeared at the 1950 Italian Grand Prix, Ascari gave Alfa Romeo its toughest fight of the year before retiring; he then took over teammate Dorino Serafini’s car to finish second. The new Ferrari later won the non-championship Penya Rhin Grand Prix.

Throughout 1951, Ascari consistently challenged Alfa Romeo, though early unreliability held him back. After winning the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring and the Italian Grand Prix, he trailed Fangio by just two points heading into the Spanish Grand Prix. Fangio won the race and his first title, while Ascari—at 33—became the youngest runner-up. Ascari had taken pole position, but a poor tyre choice left the Ferraris unable to keep pace.