---
title: Juan Manuel Fangio · HICONIUM
description: Juan Manuel Fangio in the HICONIUM register — one file carrying their credit.
canonical_url: https://hiconium.dev/people/juan-manuel-fangio
image: https://hiconium.dev/og/people/juan-manuel-fangio.png
---

> HICONIUM · Index: https://hiconium.dev/llms.txt · Every page: append `.md` or send `Accept: text/markdown`.
> Path: [Home](https://hiconium.dev/) › [People](https://hiconium.dev/people) › Juan Manuel Fangio
> On this page: [Four manufacturers, five titles](#four-manufacturers-five-titles) · [Letters before Italy](#letters-before-italy) · [Fangio F1, then Zonda](#fangio-f1-then-zonda) · [One file carries this name](#one-file-carries-this-name)

![Portrait photograph of Juan Manuel Fangio.](https://hiconium.dev/_derived/images/people/juan-manuel-fangio/portrait.jpg.w1920.q75.webp)

People

# Juan Manuel Fangio

Argentine Formula One champion; mentor to Horacio Pagani

| Label | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Born | Balcarce, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, 1911 |
| Died | Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1995 |
| Nationality | Argentine |

Wikimedia Commons

The record

Argentine racing driver who won five Formula One world championships between 1951 and 1957. He later mentored Horacio Pagani and wrote letters of introduction and recommendation for Pagani's move to Italy.

Juan Manuel Fangio was born in Balcarce, Buenos Aires Province, on 24 June 1911, the fourth child of Italian immigrants. He worked in repair shops from childhood, opened a garage with José Duffard in 1932, and made his debut as a driver at Benito Juárez on 25 October 1936 in a 1929 Ford Model A.

He signed with Alfa Romeo in 1950 and won the 1951 World Drivers' Championship in the Alfa Romeo 159. In 1954 he won the Argentine and Belgian Grands Prix in a Maserati 250F before joining Mercedes-Benz for the rest of the season and its W196 title. He repeated with Mercedes-Benz in 1955, won with Ferrari in 1956, and took a fifth title with Maserati in 1957.

Fangio decided to retire at Reims during the 1958 French Grand Prix. He died at Clínica Mater Dei in Buenos Aires on 17 July 1995 after pneumonia and respiratory complications. His remains were taken to the family vault in Balcarce, where he was buried alongside his parents and siblings.

In Argentina, Fangio and Oreste Berta took an interest in the Formula 2 car Horacio Pagani had built with friends. When Pagani left for Italy in December 1982, Fangio wrote letters of introduction and recommendation to major Italian automakers. Pagani developed his first car as Fangio F1; after Fangio died in 1995, the project became the Zonda, presented at Geneva in March 1999. The 2005 Zonda F paid tribute to Fangio.

### Four manufacturers, five titles

He won the World Drivers' Championship with four manufacturers: Alfa Romeo in 1951, Mercedes-Benz in 1954 and 1955, Ferrari in 1956, and Maserati in 1957. The 1954 title combined two early Maserati 250F wins with the rest of the season in the Mercedes-Benz W196.

### Letters before Italy

When Pagani left Argentina for Italy in December 1982, Fangio wrote letters of introduction and recommendation to major Italian automakers. Pagani's official history dates those letters to the departure for Italy.

### Fangio F1, then Zonda

Pagani developed his first car under the Fangio F1 working name. Following Fangio's death in 1995, the project became the Zonda and was presented at Geneva in 1999; the 2005 Zonda F paid tribute to Fangio.

The stations

1. 1950–1951 Alfa Romeo Driver
2. 1953–1954 Maserati Driver
3. 1954–1955 Mercedes-Benz Driver
4. 1956 Ferrari Driver
5. 1957 Maserati Driver
6. 1958 Scuderia Sud Americana Driver

The house

[![Pagani](https://hiconium.dev/images/marques/full/pagani.svg)](https://hiconium.dev/manufacturers/pagani)

In the register

## One file carries this name

- [Pagani Zonda Mentor and early-development adviser 1999–2019 €5.5M 1999–2019 €5.5M Rating 96.0](https://hiconium.dev/vehicles/pagani/zonda)

The files above are the register's own record of this name. [The people index](https://hiconium.dev/people) holds everyone the register credits.

Sources

- [pagani.com](https://www.pagani.com/press/20th-anniversary-of-pagani-zonda-to-be-celebrated-at-new-yorks-grand-central-terminal/)
- [pagani.com](https://www.pagani.com/zonda-f/)
- [pagani.com](https://www.pagani.com/app/uploads/2019/11/Pagani-The-Story-of-a-Dream_low.pdf)
- [museofangio.com](https://www.museofangio.com/es/juan-manuel-fangio/biografia/1-primera-parte-1911-1936/)
- [museofangio.com](https://www.museofangio.com/es/juan-manuel-fangio/biografia/4-cuarta-parte-1950-1958/)
- [museofangio.com](https://www.museofangio.com/es/juan-manuel-fangio/biografia/6-sexta-parte-1985-1995/)
- [museofangio.com](https://www.museofangio.com/en/juan-manuel-fangio/championships/2-1954/)
- [elpais.com](https://elpais.com/diario/1995/07/18/deportes/806018414_850215.html)
- [evropublishing.com](https://www.evropublishing.com/en-us/pages/extract-of-formula-1-car-by-car-1950-59)
- [mercedes-benz.com.ar](https://www.mercedes-benz.com.ar/passengercars/brand/about-us.html)