Giuseppe Farina

Italian racecar driver (1906-1966)

Fame58.4
Momentum11.4
Athletes rank#247

Source-basedRising

Fame58.4
Momentum11.4
Athletes rank#247
Wikipedia13.4K

Lived 1906–1966, aged 60Italy

Italy AthletesAthlete

Wikipedia
55 languages
Cross-language footprint
Era
1906–1966
Aged 60

Summary

Updated 2026-06-09

He won the first Formula One world championship ever held, then watched two teammates die and walked away. Nino Farina's name sits atop a list that includes Fangio, Senna, Schumacher — but his fame rests on being there first, not longest.

Biography

About

Born in Turin in 1906, the son of a coachbuilder, Farina started racing at nine and became a protégé of Tazio Nuvolari. Enzo Ferrari signed him in 1936; he won the Naples Grand Prix in 1937 and three straight Italian titles through 1939, but also became entangled in the fatal crashes of Marcel Lehoux and László Hartmann. After the war he rejoined Alfa Romeo and, at the 1950 British Grand Prix, won the first race in the new Formula One World Championship. He added wins in Switzerland and Italy to beat teammate Juan Manuel Fangio for the inaugural title. Ascari and Fangio eclipsed him over the n…

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