Italy has produced top stars in almost all sports and one of them is motorsport. Many of the Italian Formula One drivers have achieved great success in this field. Here are the top 7 Italian Formula Drivers.
1. Alberto Ascari
Of the 17 races in the 1952 and 1953 championships, Ascari only entered 15 and won 11 of these. Throughout his career, he won over 40 percent of his races. In 1955, he was killed while testing a Ferrari sports car at Monza.
2. Giuseppe ‘Nino’ Farina
In 1950, Farina became the first Formula One world champion by beating Fagioli and Fangio at Monza. After this success, he raced just three more seasons. Despite surviving the deadly racetracks, he died in a car accident while driving to watch the French Grand Prix in 1966.
3. Riccardo Patrese
When Patrese retired in 1993, he was the most experienced F1 driver in history. During his career, he won six races and came in the top three of the championship on three occasions.
4. Luigi Fagioli
Although Fagioli was nearing the end of his racing career by the time the F1 world championships were organized for 1950, he still achieved great results in that first year. At the beginning of the season, he was 51 and this gives him the record of the oldest Grand Prix winner as he shared a win in the 1951 Grand Prix with Fangio.
5. Michele Alboreto
Over his long career, Alboreto won five races. He also came second in the 1985 championship which was won by Frenchman Alain Prost. He retired from the circuit at the end of the 1994 F1 season and was killed in 2001 while testing for Audi in Germany.
6. Piero Taruffi
Taruffi’s career was only short but extremely successful. He was one of the oldest drivers because he was 43 when the 1950 season began. Over the next six years, he started 18 races. However, the only race he won was the 1952 Swiss Grand Prix.
7. Luigi Musso
In the 28 races Musso was involved in, he achieved seven podium positions. His one victory was at the Argentina Grand Prix in 1958. Unfortunately, he was killed in the same year at the French Grand Prix at Reims.
Sources
- Main Image: Formula 1 Car Racing Speed [Pexels]
- Other Images: [Wikimedia Commons]
