Alberto Ascari

Alberto Ascari

Ascari, April 1955
Born	(1918-07-13)13 July 1918 Milan, Italy
Died	Monza, Italy
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Italian
Active years	1950 – 1955
Teams	Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia
Entries	33 (32 starts)
Championships	2 (1952, 1953)
Wins	13
Podiums	17
Career points	107 ​9⁄14 (140 ​1⁄7)
Pole positions	14
Fastest laps	12
First entry	1950 Monaco Grand Prix
First win	1951 German Grand Prix
Last win	1953 Swiss Grand Prix
Last entry	1955 Monaco Grand Prix

Alberto Ascari (Italian pronunciation: [alˈbɛrto asˈkari]; 13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver and twice Formula One World Champion. He is one of two Italian Formula One World Champions in the history of the sport, and he won both his championships in a Ferrari.

Early life

Born in Milan, Ascari was the son of Antonio Ascari, a talented Grand Prix motor racing star in the 1920s, racing Alfa Romeos. Antonio was killed while leading the French Grand Prix in 1925 but the younger Ascari had an interest in racing in spite of it. He raced motorcycles in his earlier years; it was after he entered the prestigious Mille Miglia in a Ferrari sports car that he eventually started racing on four wheels regularly.

Formula One/World Championship career

Following the end of World War II Alberto Ascari began racing in Grands Prix with Maserati. His team-mate was Luigi Villoresi, who would become a mentor and friend to Ascari. Formula One regulations were introduced by the FIA in 1946, with the aim of eventually replacing the pre-war Grand Prix structure. During the next four transitional years, Ascari was at the top of his game, winning numerous events around Europe. He won his first Grand Prix race in Sanremo, Italy in 1948 and took second place in the British Grand Prix the same year. Ascari won another race with the team the following year. His biggest success came when he joined Villoresi on the Ferrari team and won three more races that year.

The first Formula One World Championship season took place in 1950, and the Ferrari team made its World Championship debut at Monte Carlo with Ascari, Villoresi and the famous French driver Raymond Sommer on the team. The team had a mixed year - their supercharged Tipo 125 was too slow to challenge the dominant Alfa Romeo team so instead Ferrari began working on an unblown 4.5l car. Much of the year was lost as the team's 2-litre Formula Two engine was progressively enlarged, though when the full 4.5l Tipo 375 arrived for the Italian Grand Prix (the final round of the championship) Ascari gave Alfa Romeo their sternest challenge of the year before retiring; he then took over team mate Dorino Serafini's car to finish second. The new Ferrari then won the non-championship Penya Rhin Grand Prix.

Throughout 1951, Ascari was a threat to the Alfa Romeo team though initially he was undone by reliability. However, after winning at the Nürburgring and Monza he was only two points behind Fangio in the championship standings ahead of the climactic Spanish Grand Prix. Ascari took pole position, but a disastrous tyre choice for the race saw the Ferraris unable to challenge, Ascari coming home 4th while Juan Manuel Fangio won the race and the title.

For 1952 the World Championship season switched to using the 2-litre Formula Two regulations, with Ascari driving Ferrari's Tipo 500 car. He missed the first race of the championship season as he was competing for Ferrari at the Indianapolis 500, at the time a World Championship event. He was the only European driver to race at Indy in its 11 years on the World Championship schedule, but his race ended after 40 laps without having made much of an impression. Returning to Europe he then won the remaining six rounds of the series to clinch the world title (also taking five non-championship wins) and recording the fastest lap in each race. He scored the maximum amount of points a driver could earn since only the best four of eight scores counted towards the World Championship. He won three more consecutive races to start the 1953 season, giving him nine straight championship wins (not counting Indy) before his streak ended when he finished fourth in France, although it was a close fourth as the race was highly competitive. He earned two more wins later in the year to give himself a second consecutive World Championship.

Following a dispute over his salary, Ascari left Ferrari at the end of the season and switched to Lancia for the 1954 campaign. However, as their car was not eventually ready for the final race of the season Gianni Lancia allowed him to drive twice for Maserati (sharing fastest lap at the British Grand Prix) and once for Ferrari. Ascari did at least get to win the Mille Miglia driving a Lancia sportscar in the meantime. When the Lancia D50 was ready it took pole position on its debut and Ascari led (and set fastest lap) before retiring, meaning a full season of competing against Fangio's previously dominant Mercedes was much anticipated.

Death

His 1955 season started promisingly, the Lancia taking victories at the non-championship races in Pau and Naples, though in championship events he retired in Argentina and at Monaco, where he crashed into the harbour after missing a chicane while leading, reportedly distracted by either the crowd's reaction to Stirling Moss' retirement or the close attentions of the lapped Cesare Perdisa behind. He escaped with a broken nose.

Four days later, on 26 May, he went to Monza to watch his friend Eugenio Castellotti test a Ferrari 750 Monza sports car, which they were to co-race in the Supercortemaggiore 1000 km race (having been given special dispensation by Lancia). Ascari was not supposed to drive that day but decided to try a few laps. In shirt sleeves, ordinary trousers and Castellotti's white helmet he set off; Ascari was a very superstitious man and had previously always insisted on using his distinct pale blue crash helmet. His usual helmet was at the repair shop, having a new chin strap fitted after the incident in Monte Carlo. As he emerged from a fast curve on the third lap the car unaccountably skidded, turned on its nose and somersaulted twice. Thrown out onto the track, Ascari suffered multiple injuries and died a few minutes later. The crash occurred on the Curva del Vialone, one of the track's challenging high-speed corners. The corner where the accident happened, renamed in his honour, has been subsequently replaced with a chicane, now called Variante Ascari.

There were several similarities between the deaths of Alberto and his father. Alberto Ascari died on 26 May 1955, at the age of 36. Antonio Ascari was also 36 when he died, on 26 July 1925 (Alberto was only four days older). Both were killed four days after surviving serious accidents and on the 26th day of the month. Both had crashed fatally at the exit of fast left-hand corners and both left behind a wife and two children. Another curiosity related to Alberto's death is that the only other driver to crash into the harbour at Monaco in the circuit's history, Paul Hawkins, also died on 26 May. Hawkins crashed into the harbour 10 years after Ascari, before dying when his Lola crashed into a tree at a Tourist Trophy race at Oulton Park in 1969.

Motor racing fans from all over mourned as Alberto Ascari was laid to rest next to the grave of his father in the Cimitero Monumentale in Milan, to be forever remembered as one of the greatest racers of all time. His distraught wife Mietta Ascari told Enzo Ferrari that "were it not for their children she would gladly have joined her beloved Alberto in heaven". His death is often considered to be a contributing factor to the withdrawal of Lancia from motor racing in 1955 (though the company was also in considerable financial trouble, needing a government subsidy to survive).

Legacy

A street in Rome (in the EUR region) named in his honour, while both the Autodromo Nazionale Monza and Autodromo Oscar Alfredo Gálvez have chicanes named after him. In 1992, he was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. The British supercar manufacturer Ascari Cars is named in his honour.

Italian-born American racing legend Mario Andretti counts Ascari as one of his racing heroes, having watched him at the Monza circuit in his youth.

Racing record

Complete World Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	WDC	Points
1950	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 125	Ferrari V12	GBR	MON 2	500	SUI Ret		FRA DNS				5th	11
		Ferrari 275						BEL 5
		Ferrari 375								ITA 2 *
1951	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 375	Ferrari V12	SUI 6	500	BEL 2	FRA 2 †	GBR Ret	GER 1	ITA 1	ESP 4		2nd	25 (28)
1952	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 375	Ferrari V12		500 Ret								1st	36 (53 ​1⁄2)
		Ferrari 500	Ferrari Straight-4	SUI		BEL 1	FRA 1	GBR 1	GER 1	NED 1	ITA 1
1953	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 500	Ferrari Straight-4	ARG 1	500	NED 1	BEL 1	FRA 4	GBR 1	GER 8 ‡	SUI 1	ITA Ret	1st	34 ​1⁄2 (46 ​1⁄2)
1954	Officine Alfieri Maserati	Maserati 250F	Maserati Straight-6	ARG	500	BEL	FRA Ret	GBR Ret	GER	SUI			25th	1 ​1⁄7
	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 625	Ferrari Straight-4								ITA Ret
	Scuderia Lancia	Lancia D50	Lancia V8									ESP Ret
1955	Scuderia Lancia	Lancia D50	Lancia V8	ARG Ret	MON Ret	500	BEL	NED	GBR	ITA			NC	0

* Indicates shared drive with Dorino Serafini

† Indicates shared drive with José Froilán González

‡ Indicates shared drive with Luigi Villoresi

Non-Championship Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17
1950	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 166	Ferrari V12	PAU Ret	RIC				BAR Ret	JER		NED 3		NOT	ULS				GOO
		Ferrari 125				SRM Ret	PAR	EMP			ALB Ret		NAT 4					INT Ret
		Ferrari 375														PES DNA	STT			PEN 1
1951	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 375	Ferrari V12	SYR NC	PAU Ret	RIC	SRM 1	BOR	INT DNA	PAR	ULS	SCO	NED DNA	ALB	PES Ret	BAR Ret	GOO ALT
1952	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 500	Ferrari Straight-4	RIO	SYR 1				PAU 1	IBS	MAR 1	AST	INT	ELÄ	NAP	EIF	PAR	ALB	FRO	ULS	MNZ Ret	LAC	ESS	MAR 3*	SAB Ret	CAE	DAI	COM 1†	NAT	BAU 1	MOD 1**	CAD	SKA	MAD	AVU	JOE	NEW	RIO
		Ferrari 375	Ferrari V12			VAL 5	RIC	LAV
1953	Scuderia Ferrari	Ferrari 500	Ferrari Straight-4	SYR Ret	PAU 1	LAV	AST	BOR 1	INT	ELÄ	NAP 5	ULS	WIN	FRO	COR	EIF
		Ferrari 375	Ferrari V12														ALB Ret	PRI	GRE	ESS	MID	ROU	STR	CRY	AVU	USF	LAC	DRE	BRI	CHE	SAB	NEW	CAD	SAC	RED	SKA	LON	MOD	MAD	BER	JOE	CUR
1954	G.A.Vandervell	Vanwall	Vanwall L4	SYR	PAU	LAV DNA	BOR	INT	BAR	CUR
	Spa Lancia	Lancia D50	Lancia 2.5 V8								ROM DNA	FRO	COR	BRC	CRY	ROU	CAE	AUG	COR	OUT	RED	PES	SAC	JOE	CAD	BER	GOO	DAI
1955	Scuderia Lancia	Lancia D50	Lancia V8	NZL	BUE	VAL 1	PAU 5	GLO	BOR	INT	NAP 1	ALB	CUR	COR	LON	DAR	RED	DAT	OUT	AVO	SYR

* Indicates shared drive with Luigi Villoresi

† Indicates shared drive with André Simon

** Indicates shared drive with Sergio Sighinolfi

Formula One records

Ascari holds the following Formula One records:

Record	Achieved
Highest percentage of wins in a season	75% race wins in 1952, winning 6 out of 8 races
Highest percentage of fastest laps in a season	75% fastest laps in 1952, setting the fastest lap in 6 out of 8 races
Most consecutive fastest laps	7 fastest laps: Belgian, French, British, German, Dutch, Italian / '53 Argentine
Highest percentage of possible championship points in a season	100% in 1952
Most hat tricks (pole, win & fastest lap in same race) in a season	5 in 1952
Most consecutive laps in the lead	304 laps in the lead between 1952 Belgian Grand Prix and 1952 Dutch Grand Prix

Footnotes

Indy 500 results

Year	Car	Start	Qual	Rank	Finish	Laps	Led	Retired
1952	12	19	134.308	25	31	40	0	Spun T4
Totals						40	0

Starts	1
Poles	0
Front Row	0
Wins	0
Top 5	0
Top 10	0
Retired	1

• Ascari was the only regular F1 driver to participate in the Indianapolis 500 while the race was part of the FIA World Championship (1950–1960).

External links

• Grand Prix History – Hall of Fame, Alberto Ascari
• Alberto Ascari statistics
• Statistical analysis of drivers, 1950-2013
• Alberto Ascari at Find a Grave

Sporting positions
Preceded by inaugural winner	BRDC International Trophy winner 1949	Succeeded by Giuseppe Farina
Preceded by Juan Manuel Fangio	Formula One World Champion 1952–1953	Succeeded by Juan Manuel Fangio
Records
Preceded by Reg Parnell 38 years, 315 days (1950 British GP)	Youngest Driver to score a Podium Position in Formula One 31 years, 312 days (1950 Monaco Grand Prix)	Succeeded by Manny Ayulo 29 years, 221 days (1951 Indianapolis 500)
Preceded by Reg Parnell 38 years, 315 days (1950 British GP)	Youngest Driver to score Points in Formula One 31 years, 312 days (1950 Monaco Grand Prix)	Succeeded by Cecil Green 30 years, 242 days (1950 Indianapolis 500)
Preceded by Juan Manuel Fangio 6 wins (1950 – 1952)	Most Grand Prix wins 13 wins, 7th at the 1952 Dutch GP	Succeeded by Juan Manuel Fangio 24 wins, 14th at the 1955 Argentine GP
Preceded by Juan Manuel Fangio 40 years, 126 days (1951 season)	Youngest Formula One World Drivers' Champion 34 years, 16 days (1952 season)	Succeeded by Mike Hawthorn 29 years, 192 days (1958 season)