Giuseppe Farina facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Giuseppe Farina
Giuseppe Farina
Nationality	Italian
Born	Emilio Giuseppe Farina (1906-10-30)30 October 1906 Turin, Piedmont, Kingdom of Italy
Died	30 June 1966(1966-06-30) (aged 59) Aiguebelle, Savoie, France
Formula One World Championship career Active years 1950–1956 Teams Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lancia Entries 35 (33 starts) Championships 1 (1950) Wins 5 Podiums 20 Career points 115 1⁄3 (127 1⁄3) Pole positions 5 Fastest laps 5 First entry 1950 British Grand Prix First win 1950 British Grand Prix Last win 1953 German Grand Prix Last entry 1956 Indianapolis 500
24 Hours of Le Mans career Years 1953 Teams Scuderia Ferrari Best finish DSQ

Emilio Giuseppe Farina, also known as Giuseppe Antonio "Nino" Farina, was a famous Italian race car driver. He made history as the first official Formula One World Champion in 1950. Before that, he was also the Italian Champion in 1937, 1938, and 1939.

Giuseppe Farina's Early Life

Giuseppe Farina was born in Turin, Italy, on October 30, 1906. His father, Giovanni Carlo Farina, started a company that built car bodies called Stabilimenti Farina. Giuseppe began driving at a very young age, at just nine years old!

He was very smart and studied Political Science at university. He was also good at many sports like skiing, football, and athletics. Even though he started a career as a cavalry officer in the Italian army, his real dream was to race cars.

Farina bought his first car, an old Alfa Romeo, while still at university. He raced it in a hillclimb event in 1925. He tried to beat his dad but crashed, hurting his shoulder and face. This showed that his racing career would often involve crashes.

Farina's damaged Alfa Romeo 8C-35 at the 1936 Deauville Grand Prix

In 1933 and 1934, Farina returned to racing. He drove Maseratis and Alfa Romeos. During this time, he became friends with the famous Italian racer Tazio Nuvolari, who helped guide Farina's early career. In 1935, Farina raced for the Maserati team. He impressed Enzo Ferrari, who then asked him to join Scuderia Ferrari. This team raced Alfa Romeo cars. Farina finished second in the tough Mille Miglia race, even driving through the night without lights! He won his first big race, the 1937 Grand Prix of Naples.

Farina was known for his exciting driving style and intelligence. However, he sometimes had a temper on the track and didn't always get along with other drivers. He was involved in two serious accidents where other drivers were badly hurt. In 1936, his Alfa Romeo crashed with another car, and the other driver, Marcel Lehoux, was sadly killed. Two years later, in 1938, his car collided with László Hartmann's car, and Hartmann also died. Farina was not seriously hurt in either crash.

In 1938, the official Alfa Romeo team, Alfa Corse, returned to racing. Farina joined them. In 1939, driving the new Alfa Romeo 158, he won several races. These wins helped him become the Italian Champion for the third year in a row. The next year, he won the Tripoli Grand Prix and finished second in the Mille Miglia again.

Racing After World War II

After World War II, Farina went back to race for Alfa Corse. He won the 1946 Grand Prix des Nations. But he left Alfa Corse for a short time because of disagreements. He returned to racing in 1948 with Maserati and Ferrari cars. During this time, he married Elsa Giaretto. She thought racing was too dangerous and tried to get him to stop. But Farina kept racing and winning. He won races in Argentina, Monaco, and Italy.

Becoming the 1950 World Champion

In 1950, Farina rejoined Alfa Romeo for the very first FIA World Championship of Drivers. The first race was at Silverstone Circuit in England. Farina won this historic race! His teammates also finished second and third, showing how strong Alfa Romeo was.

At the next race in Monaco, Farina had to leave the race early after a big crash. But he bounced back. He won the 1950 Swiss Grand Prix. Even after some tough races, Farina was still leading the championship points.

The final race of the season was the 1950 Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Italy. Farina was just two points behind his teammate, Juan Manuel Fangio. It was a very exciting race! Farina drove brilliantly and won the race, which meant he also won the first-ever Formula One World Championship!

He continued to race for Alfa Romeo in 1951 but was beaten by Fangio. Farina still managed to win the 1951 Belgian Grand Prix. In 1952, he moved to Ferrari. He often finished second to his teammate Alberto Ascari, who was very dominant that year.

Farina stayed with Ferrari for the 1953 season. He was involved in a big accident at the Argentine Grand Prix. A young boy ran onto the track, and Farina had to swerve to avoid him. His car went into the crowd, sadly killing seven people and injuring many others.

His best result that season was winning the 1953 German Grand Prix. He also won other non-championship races. Farina knew that Ascari and Fangio were faster than him now. But he still finished on the podium many times, ending up third in the World Championship. In 1953, he also won two important sports car races: the 24 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps and the 1953 1000km of Nürburgring.

In 1954, even at 47 years old, Farina had a chance to be the team leader at Ferrari when Ascari left. He won the 1000 km Buenos Aires sports car race and the Syracuse Grand Prix. However, he had a bad crash in the Mille Miglia and was badly hurt later that year in another sports car race. He spent 20 days in the hospital.

He returned for the start of the 1955 season in Argentina, even needing painkiller injections. The extreme heat made it very tough for all the drivers. Farina had to stop because he was exhausted. Other drivers took over his car, and he even took over other drivers' cars! He ended up finishing second and third in different cars in that race. After another third-place finish in Belgium, Farina decided to retire from racing because of the pain and the sad death of his friend Ascari. He tried to return for the 1955 Italian Grand Prix but had a tire blowout during practice. He was unhurt, but Ferrari withdrew his car, and he didn't start the race.

Farina tried to race in the 1956 Indianapolis 500 but didn't qualify. He tried again in 1957, but his car had problems. His teammate, Keith Andrews, crashed the car during a test run and was tragically killed. Farina then decided not to race and never returned to Indianapolis.

Later Life and Death

After he stopped racing, Farina worked with Alfa Romeo and Jaguar car dealerships. He also helped at the Pininfarina car design factory.

On June 30, 1966, Farina was driving to the 1966 French Grand Prix. He lost control of his car in the Savoy Alps in France and was killed instantly. He was going to watch the race and also help with a movie called Grand Prix. He was supposed to be an adviser and a driving double for the actor Yves Montand, who played an ex-World Champion in the film.

Racing Highlights

See also

In Spanish: Giuseppe Farina para niños