Alberto Ascari

Alfa Romeo – Drunk on the Thought of Impending Return

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We would go down to the fish market early to cleanse our vision: the fish were silver, and scarlet, and green, and the color of sea. The fish were lovelier than even the sea with its silvery scales. We thought of return. We thought of return the way a man thinks of morning after an … Read more

The man who inspired Enzo Ferrari

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On this day… 26th July 1925 Italian racing driver Antonio Ascari was killed while leading the French Grand Prix. This race was a gruelling 621 miles in length, held in Monthery and as had been the case in previous races, Ascari rocketed into an ever increasing lead. The lap was 12.5km in length and the … Read more

On This Day in #F1: 20th February 2007: Inspirational advert

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Brought to you by TheJudge13 chronicler: The Grumpy Jackal – 2007: The Greatest commercial ever On this day seven years ago – Monaco residents woke up from their ‘perfect lives’ to the V10 screams of a Ferrari F1 car. Shell was just completing the final filming for their new commercial which would celebrate 60 years … Read more

#F1 History: Part 1: Alberto Ascari and the Lancia D50

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Brought to you by TheJudge13 chronicler: Jennie Mowbray “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry – Airman’s Odyssey~ Vittorio Jano’s latest creation, the long-promised Lancia D50, eventually materialized at the closing race of 1954, the Spanish Grand Prix at … Read more

The #F1 Bar Exam: 26 September 2013

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Welcome to another week of TheJudge13 #F1 Bar Exam. Last Week’s Question(s): Can you name the circuit in the image. Can you also name the first ever Formula 1 winner (in a Formula 1 race) and the last winner in a Formula 1 race. This would be the home track of a very successful Formula 1 racing … Read more

Formula 1’s first world champion:

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Rose tinted spectacles

“In the golden days of F1 every Grand Prix was a classic, with 20 changes of lead and a photo finish. Dashing drivers would climb from beautiful, sponsor-free cars, light a cigarette and regale the world’s press with quick-witted quips” (Keith Collantine). I love the picture this conjures up, and the further back in Grand Prix history we go, the more rose-tinted the spectacles become.

The names of Fangio, Ascari, Hawthorn and Moss all trip of the lips of every true F1 fan when discussing the very beginnings of Formula 1, but there is a name I never heard in my early F1 education and it is particularly strange because he is credited with winning the first FIA Formula 1 world drivers championship. Maybe this was because he was a ‘here today gone tomorrow type character’, or possibly he ‘lucked in’ to win a title when those much better around him failed to deliver.

Nope. None of that is true. Guiseppe ‘Nino’ Farina born in 1906 had nearly 25 years in motor racing and was still employed by a works F1 team when he retired at the age of 55. The nickname ‘Nino’ is Italian and means “God is gracious” and the reason for this label will become apparent.

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