Jose Froilán Gonzalez 1922 - 2013

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Hun200kmh

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Now together in racing heaven with his argentinian compatriots and friends Juan Manuel Fangio and Onofre Marimon.

Marimon was the first death of Formula 1 and that impacted greatly on JFG, the "Pampas Bull", this one having also a "first" to his record, by being the driver that took Ferrari to its first victory in F1 (Silvertsone 1951). Here's Autosport's brief account of this man (not an obituary, the news just came in).

Autosport
The other great Argentinian grand prix driver of the 1950s was nicknamed El Cabezon (Fat Head) and The Pampus Bull tells you a lot about Jose Froilan Gonzalez's physique. That he was able to stun Ferrari team leader Alberto Ascari with his speed as he dominated the 1951 British Grand Prix tells you everything you need to know about his ability.
Overshadowed by Juan Manuel Fangio, Gonzalez never contested a full world championship season despite being a Ferrari and Maserati factory driver - easing off his racing activities following the death of compatriot Onofre Marimon at the Nurburgring in 1954 two weeks after winning his second British Grand Prix.
He continued to make sporadic appearances until 1960 and he would surely have won more grands prix had he accepted Tony Vandervell's overtures to become a full-time Vanwall driver after his one-off apperance at Silverstone in 1956.
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I particularly like this picture. How different from these days was Formula 1

foto-a_0001.jpg


He had a long life, and one filled with great moments. We all must go and he "went" today. RIP
 
Those were the days when the drivers were fat and the tires were skinny. :)

My statistics show that from 1950 to 1982, fully 33% of all GP drivers died behind the wheel of some kind of high speed vehicle. But not Fangio or Gonzalez!

Thanks to folks like Jackie Stewart drivers are much safer now. Prominent motorsports writer Denis Jenkinson opposed many if not most most of the safety measures.
 
So Stirling Moss is the oldest surviving grand prix winner now? It's scary to think how long motor racing has been going for. It was already over 50 years old when Gonzalez took Ferrari's first grand prix win.

RIP Jose

Your F1 victories and Le Mans win will be remembered.
 
R.I.P., at least he died of old age and not a fiery crash like so many of his opponents in that era.:(

Jimlaad43
No, Jack Brabham is both older and still alive.
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Stirling both started and won before Jack did though(Stirling first win was Jack's first race). Guess it depends on how you look at it.
 
Roger The Horse stated it as Moss being the oldest as in age rather than time since win.
 
Wow, sad news indeed. There are not many racers from that generation left anymore :(.

Anyone who has read about the early days of F1 and sportscar racing will know he was one of the fastest and feared drivers of the 50's. Hopefully he will receive some sort of tribute at next week's Le Mans.
 
Sad news. Missed this thread, opened one, duly closed by moderator.
We argentinians haven't had an F-1 top driver for a long while now, or any F-1 driver for that matter the last years. One the heroes of the golden age has saddly left us, surely chatting with el chueco in motorsports heaven...
 
Dotini
Those were the days when the drivers were fat and the tires were skinny. :)
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Aye, a great one from the era when the cars were wayward, low-tech beasts. To think what might have been if his competitors weren't Ascari and Fangio...

RIP, rest easy Cabezon. (Can you imagine the fallout if a driver was named this today?)
 

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