On 6/25/25 07:19, Mark Jackson wrote:
On 6/25/2025 9:44 AM, a425couple wrote:
Fagioli appears in this feature for a second time courtesy of that
part- drive to victory at Reims-Gueux in 1951, where he ticked off the
opening 20 laps before handing over to team mate and title contender
Fangio.
"Handing over" is rather euphemistic; he was ordered to swap his healthy
Alfa Romeo with team leader Fangio (whose car was sick) and quit the
team in disgust after the race.
Yes, indeed, when one is a good driver, and ordered by boss to turn over
your car over to the team's 'younger' star, would be disgusting.
As one wiki says,
"By the end of World War II, Fagioli's health had improved and at
52-year-old he joined Alfa-Romeo's 1950 Formula One squad for the first
ever FIA World Championship. Fagioli drove the 158/159 Alfetta, and
managed to score five podium finishes in six races, entering the final
round as one of three drivers in contention for the title. Giuseppe
Farina eventually won the championship, with Juan-Manuel Fangio
finishing second and Fagioli third. In 1951 Fagioli won the French Grand
Prix with Juan-Manuel Fangio, earning the distinction of being the
oldest person to ever win a Formula One race."
and
""Fagioli was allegedly so disappointed with this arrangement that he
elected to retire from Formula One racing there and then."
But, fate can be unpredictable and fickle. If it were not for
that 'shared' win, we would have less reason to remember Fagioli.
Perhaps, it's like a touch of immortality.
Because Fagioli had only qualified 8th, 8 seconds a lap slower than
Fangio. Most likely if he had run the whole race, the Ascari/Gonzales,
and Viloressi cars would have beaten him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1951_French_Grand_Prix
sad addition,
"In June 1952, while practising for the Monaco Grand Prix, which was a
sport cars event that year, Fagioli crashed during practice in the
tunnel. His injuries, initially believed to be minor, worsened after a
few days. Fagioli died in a Monte Carlo hospital three weeks later."
I rejoice at the number of extra years of racing I got to enjoy
because of our modern safe race cars.
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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