On 30th June 1966, Giuseppe Farina, died in tragic circumstances. He was the first Formula 1 World Champion in 1950, with Alfa Romeo and later won with Ferrari. On that day, he was driving his sports car from Turin to Clermont Ferrand to attend the French Grand Prix. Unfortunately, he lost control of the car in heavy rain, which made the mountain roads around Chambery slippery. Having escaped death so often while racing, he perished in a normal road car.
Farina graduated in engineering and immediately began racing at the wheel of an Alfa Romeo, taking part in the 1932 Aosta-Great St. Bernard hillclimb. In 1934, at the wheel of a Maserati, he won the Circuit of Biella and triumphed in the Bohemia Grand Prix, setting out his stall as a star of the future.
The Italian stayed with Maserati for one more season, before being taken on board at Scuderia Ferrari, which ran some Alfa Romeos. He came a fantastic second in the Mille Miglia with the Scuderia, along with fellow countryman Stefano Meazza, finishing behind team-mates Antonio Brivio and Carlo Ongaro, by a mere 32 seconds.
Giuseppe Farina began racing with Ferrari in Formula 1 in 1952, finishing runner-up in the championship, with four second places – Belgium, France, Germany and Holland – always behind Ascari and one fourth place in Italy. He won non-championship races in Naples and Monza. In 1953, he was third in the championship, taking his final win in the top category, in Germany at the wheel of a Ferrari 500. Where he really shone was in the world of Sports car racing, winning the Spa-Francorchamps 24 Hours, teamed with Englishman Mike Hawthorn and the Nurburgring 1000 Km with Alberto Ascari at the wheel of a works Ferrari 375 MM. At the end of the ’55 season, in which he finished third in Belgium and fourth in Monaco, he opted for retirement. Eleven years later, came the fatal crash.
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