f1 history and legends

8/4/2019 f1 History and Legends

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F1 HISTORY AND LEGENDS

Silverstone 1951: What did you do, Pepe!

My name is Jos Froiln Gonzlez, but everybody calls me Pepe. I was born in

Argentina, in a place called La Colonia, nearby Arrecifes; in this city, my father

had bought the Chevrolet dealer, so I spent my childhood among cars, helping

the mechanics at the workshop. I was a very poor student, I never managed to

learn any mechanics; but I was crazy about cars, so when the dealer closed at

night I would stay back and take one of the clien tss cars to drive around the

city. I was very young and everything was going very fast; I started to race at

clandestine night races in Arrecifes, we called them "picadas" (note: could betranslated as challenges), then I moved onto competitions on dirt tracks, then

to Buenos Aires to race on tarmac, and there I was when I was called by the

Automvil Club de Argentina. They told me that President Pern was going to

sponsor the trip of a group of drivers to Europe so that they could compete in

the newly-created F1 World Championship, and I had been chosen for the group.

So I got into the plane together with Fangio himself, being a young guy of 28

Fangio was 39 already!

That first F1 season, 1950, was a disaster for me. I raced for the Achille Varzi

private team driving a Maserati, and I only managed to qualify for two races,

Monaco and France, but I could not finish either of them. Fangio, of course, did

much better, he had signed for Alfa Romeo; he was close to win the

Championship, but in the last race Nino Farina run away with it. Back in Buenos

Aires once the season was over, I signed with Ferrari to drive in some races

there; I managed to win ahead of the Mercedes and that cought Enzo Ferraris

attention, who sent me a personal telegram, congratulat ing me. The next year,

1951, I went back to Europe to race with a private Talbot; the truth is that I did


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not expect much out of that season, but it ended up being the most important

one in my life. Specially, I will never forget that years British GP, ru n at

Silverstone but let me tell you the story of that race.

.- A test with Ferrari

I am at the Reims track, about to start the French GP practice session; it was

the fourth race of the World Championship, and out of the other three races I

had only managed to qualify for the very first one, Switzerland, but I did not

finish the race; in the other two ones I did not get the minimum time to

participate. So now, looking at myself in the mirror as I shave, I am wondering if

the French track would suit my Talbot, and if the engine would hold for the

whole race in case I manage to qualify. One of the mechanics knocks at my

door:

.- Pepe, someone is asking for you. It is Nello Ugolini, Ferraris Sports Director.

Caramba! I wipe the soap from my face, I put on my shirt and get out

immediately.

.- Signore Gonzlez, I have an offer for you.

.- I accept!

.- Before knowing what I am going to offer?

.- Yes.

I already knew what Ugolini was going to offer to me. His fourth driver, Serafini,

had just had an accident at the Mille Miglia and was to be wearing a plaster for

months; and his third driver, Taruffi, had arrived to Reims in a rather poor


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condition, with a high fever, so it was clear that Ugolini wanted me to drive for

them on that GP, so that they could have as many cars as possible available on

track in case their official drivers, Ascari and Villoresi, had a breakdown. For

them I wasnt much more than a spare tyre or radiator, but for me they were

the chance to prove that with a good car I could drive like the best.

.- It will be just for this race

.- Very well.

.- You will have to give your car to any of our other drivers, in case of

breakdown.

.- Agreed.

Qualy wasnt bad for me, taking into account that it was the first time I was

driving the Ferrari. I was to start 6th, with Fangio starting 7th because of a

problem with his Alfetta. The two first positions were for the Alfa Romeo of

Fagioli and Farina, followed by the two Ferraris of Ascari and Villoresi. I was on

seventh heaven on the starting grid; off we went, wheel to wheel in the firstturns I drove calmly. With each turn I was feeling more comfortable in the

Ferrari; the long straights of Reims and its open turns allowed me to extract full

value out of its powerful engine. Without even realising , I was lapping at the

same times tan the best; when I got to Villoresi, I mercilessly overtook him;

then I saw that Ascari had a problem and went into boxes, Farina had gone off

track and was trying to get back in, and in Alfa Romeo the stopped Fagioli so

that he could give his car to Fangio, who had had a breakdown. Almost

effortlessly I was leading!

At that very moment, mid-race, they called me to boxes so that I could give my

car to Ascari; when Alberto went back on track he still held first position, such

was the advantage I had over my rivals. He was later overtaken by Fangio, but I

was delighted to get onto the second step of that podium together with Ascari

and I was yet to finish my first F1 race! When we step down of the podium, Nello

Ugolini came looking for me:

.- Don Enzo wants to see you on Wednesday at Maranello. We are leaving in a

couple of hours, you will come with us.

.- The first time I went to Maranello


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I remember how surprised I was as I watched the land surrounding the town of

Maranello from a Ferrari truck. Fields and fields of wineyards, perfectly aligned,

gave the impression of it being a rural town, of agricultural economy. Nothing to

do with the industry-oriented Milan, which I had known when I went to visit the

Alfa Romeo Factory, invited by Fangio, and which was a conglomerate of

factories of all sectors, the mechanical one among them. I asked the truck

driver:

.- Ah, the wineyards! Maranello is in Modena, doesnt it ring a bell?

.- No, I dont know about the Modena wines.

.- No wonder! Because the Modena wine is so poor that it is only worth it tomake vinegar but the best vinegar in the world indeed!

.- And thats all? Maranellos worth is in the vinegar?

.- Ah, no! It is in Ferrari too. Youll see.

And I did see. As I said, I had been at Alfa Romeo in Milan; and there I saw a

big factory, in the new American line-work style that Ford had implemented,

with workers doing repetitive tasks in immense workfloors which produced

hundreds of cars each day. But what I did not see in Milan were the town

people, which I saw in Maranello, coming out as the Ferrari trucks went by to

cheer on us, forming a human line all the way to the factory. The factory lets

say an enhanced workshop, nothing to do with the Alfa Romeo prem ises in Mila.

At the Ferrari factory I still could see bits and pieces kept in old oil cans cut in

half to be used as containers, and the workers amble from here to there, without

a fixed position in an assembly line. I understood then that Alfa Romeo was the

urban Italy, that of the industrial and financial power site in Mila, that could

pay for the best Italian driver of that moment, Farina, and the greatest

international figure, Fangio; while Ferrari would be the rural Italy, the one that


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was fighting to come back after the disaster that the Second World War had

been hanging to the land, the agriculture and used to make money last as long

as possible; the Italy that had to do with hiring an Argentinean driver who had

yet to finish an F1 race.

In truth, Ferrari did not look like a very rich Factory, not one to be the economic

center of a region, not even of a town. Had I been fooled by the truck driver? Ormaybe I had not understood him, because Ferrari was obviously not the

industrial engine of Maranello but it was its heart; the whole town beat to the

sound of the roaring of its engines. We trained every day, and since there was

no nearby track where we could do it, we raced on the towns streets; I

remember that when the Factory doors opened and the single-seaters went out,

the Ferrari hooter would sound five times; it was the warning for all citizens of

Maranello to clear the streets and take away the few motor vehicles and many

horse wagons. The Ferrari were out training! We crossed the town at high speed,

among the joy of its people, who looked at us from their doorways and windows

and applauded us, screamed at us, cheered on us. We tested the engines in the

town, and the brakes and suspensions on a nearby mountain pass, on the firstfoothills of the Apeninos, coming down like crazy yes, that wasnt Alfa Romeo,

it wasnt Milan, it wasnt the Monza track but what the hell, I wasnt Fangio

either!

.- Gonzlez, this is your contract. Sign it on the last page.

.- Thank you very much, mister Ferrari.

.- Arent you going to read it?

.- It is not necessary, I trust you.

.- OK, Ill summarise it for you. You will earn 150.000 liras, half than Ascari,

since the season is already half way through. I dont know if I will be able to pay

you, it is on writing because the Unions demand so. If I couldnt pay you, you

will be given a car at the end of the season. Any prizes you win we will go 50/50.

You will be the fourth driver, and will race with the material we give you,

including tyres by the way, Ascari and Villoresi prefer Pirelli to Englebert and

are always fighting about it, do you have any preferences?

.- I never worried about the tyres of the cars I drove, I couldnt tell one from the

other.

.- Its better that way... and finally, you will give your pl ace on the race to

whichever of the two first drivers of the team who have a breakdown that forces

them out of the race. Any questions?

.- Will I race with an insurance policy?

.- All our drivers race with an insurance policy. (note: this could be poorly

worded in the original Spanish article, and talk about having a guaranteed race

seat, rather than an insurance policy!)

.- Fine then.


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.- The secrets of the Silverstone track

The first race I was going to drive for Ferrari under a proper contract would be

the Great Britain GP, at the Silverstone track an old Second World War

aerodrome turned into a racing track. I was to travel with the Ferrari team, and

before I left Maranello I got a phone call; it was Juan, as in Juan Manuel Fangio:

.- Pepe, when do you arrive to England?

.- Wednesday morning.

.- Good, Ill wait for you at the track at around five. Come on your own. At the

hangar entrance..- Ill be there.

And of course there I was. Juan was awaiting for me by an Alfa Romeo truck;

when I arrived they were unloading one of their sports car, a two-seater like the

one they used for the endurance races, in which Fangio was taking part too.

.- Get in, we are going for a few laps.

It is well known that Juan always prepared for the races in that way, getting

there one day prior to the teams arriving at the track to get to know it and

practice at it; what I could not imagine was that this time he would take me as

co-driver. And we started doing laps and laps and more laps Fangio took notice

of all details: the bumps, the areas with sand, where the wind was blowing and

he tried different racing lines, different braking and acceleration points, in which

turns you could slide and in which ones you couldnt.. I had never done anything

like that, I just got in the car and tried to drive to the finish line as fast as

possible. And when he reached a conclusion, he would tell me:


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.- Maggotts, full throttle, no problem. But stick to the apex. Youll be able to do

so with the Ferrari.

.- Did you see the bump in the middle of the hangar straight? Dont take it.

.- Careful at Copse, brake hard when you are at the level of that bush, did you

see it? Then accelerate without fear and let it backslide.

.- Here you can overtake; in Abbey you can attack the turn from the mi ddle ofthe track, there is no need to go to the extreme. You place yourself parallel to

the other car and pass it.

That was a full lesson, and Juan was a great teacher. I listened to him and tried

to remember everything he was saying, as if I were learning the multiplication

tables I think I never made an effort at school like the one I made at

Silverstone on that day! When Fangio finished the lesson, we went back to the

Alfa Romeo truck. I didnt know what to say, Alfa Romeos number one driver

and WDC leader had just explained all the secrets of the Silverstone track to

Ferraris fourth driver; I remember I clumsily tried to thank him and wish him

good luck for the race Juan replied with his usual laconism:

.- Here you guys will win.

I took it as a compliment, not as a forecast; Alfa Romeo had won all the F1 races

that had taken place to that date, both the previous year and the current one,

except for the Indianapolis 500 Miles, the US GP, in which they did not

participate. But Fangio knew what he was talking about, after having studied the

track in-depth he was able to detect which car would do better there, because

he knew the Ferrari almost as well as he knew the Alfetta. During the Friday

practice sessions I tried to remember everything Juan had told me, I tried to

take the racing line he took, I remembered the braking and acceleration points

and practised the sliding when exiting the turns everything went as Fangio had

told me it would go. On Saturday I got pole, Fangio would start second , Farina

third and Ascari fourth; Juan was one of the first ones to congratulate me; he

gave me a big hug, and whispered in my ear:

.- I told you, Pepe. Here you guys will win.

For years it was discussed whether Fangio helped me on that Wednesday

selflessly or because he wanted me to finish ahead of my teammate Ascari, his

main rival for the WDC. Whoever defends the second theory does not knowJuan; he was incapable of thinking that another driver could help him beat a

rival and also he was perfectly aware of the fact that in case of a breakdown

Ascari would take my place. Juan helped me for more simple reasons: because I

was a rookie who had to earn his seat at Ferrari, because I was Argentinean

and because I was his friend.


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.- From Fangios nobility to Ascaris

On race day I was far more nervous than on qualy; starting from pole had made

me feel a huge responsibility, and although the Ferrari team had tried to calm

me down and told me to do what I could, I knew I could have a good race, even

more, I knew that I could win. I walked up and down the grid trying to look

calm, but deep inside I was shaking like a leaf. When the time to get into the car

came, something got loose inside me and I had to rush to the restroom; I

jumped the low wall between the track and the pits and run towards the first

door with a WC sign. I rushed in loosening my belt and trousers, and when I

raised my eyes looking for a free cubicle I saw a group of women looking at mewith puzzlement and fear. I had rushed into the ladies s restroom! But there was

no time, so I went through the first open door and closed it behind me. When I

was done I left with as much dignity as possible; there was nobody in the

restroom, but plenty of curious people at the door; lowering my head and red der

than my Ferrari I went to the starting grid.

On the start Farina was close to winning the lead from Fangio and myself, but

when entering the first turn I was still ahead; on lap 10 Fangio overtook me,

precisely in Abbey as if I didnt know that he would do it exactly on that point!

But I stuck to him, with Farina and Ascari behind me. I was following Juans

racing line, knowing exactly where he would brake and where he would

accelerate, and in all fairness the guy in the Alfa Romeo didnt do anything

unexpected, each lap had the precision of a Swiss watch. When Fangio pitted for

new tyres and fuel he was barely 5 secs ahead of me; I knew that was my

opportunity, because Ferrari had abandoned the turbo engines to go back to the

atmospheric ones, which translated into a lower peak speed, negligible in

Silverstones short straights, and also into a lower fuel consumption. The Alfa


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Romeo needed to take some 300 litres, which would take in between 40 and 50

secs, while the Ferrari would reach the finish line with just 220 litres, and we

could take that in about 25 secs, or at least so we had been practicing. Fangios

stop lasted 48 secs, so I thought that I could overtake him when I pitted.

But something went wrong: on lap 53 Ascari had to abandon becau se of a

broken gearbox. I was called into boxes a couple of laps later, and I pitted

immediately, I wanted to give the car to the Italian on P1 and ready to win the

race. I was not upset about giving him my seat, he was Ferraris number 1

driver, the one who could challenge Fangio for the WDC, plus I had already done

so in France and he kindly invited me to join him on the podium. So I was notsurprised to see Alberto waiting for me in the garage; as I braked I stood up

when I felt a hand on my shoulder tha t didnt let me get out of the car; it was

Ascari

.- This is your race, bambino. You win it.

I dont know if Alberto took the decision on his own or if he had previously

checked with Enzo Ferrari, but at that time I didnt even think about it; I sat

down again and accelerated to return to the track we had done a 23-secs stop

and I was first! The race was 90 laps long, so there was still a long time to go,

and I focused on remembering everything I had seen Fangio do; in those first

laps my Ferrari was much lighter than his Alfetta, so the time difference went

up, but when the fuel weight started to get equal the Alfettas started to fly;

Farina hit the fast lap for the race, but fortunately for me he had a breakdown

on lap 75 and had to retire.

I had been racing for over two hours and I was already enjoying the track; my


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Ferrari danced on the tarmac, taking advantage of our lower peak speed I could

brake less on entering the turns and exit them faster, so I managed to stabilise

the time difference with Fangio, whom I could not even see in my mirrors. In

fact, winning that race, the first F1 race I managed to finish, was much easier

than I could have imagined. I crossed the finish line 51 secs ahead of Fangios

Alfa Romeo, after 2 hours and 42 minutes of racing. When I got off the car thefirst person to congratulate me was Ascari, the man who could by right have

taken my place and who let me win; the second one was the master, my friend

Juan Manuel Fangio:

.- See Pepe, I told you, that you would wipe the f loor with us here.

I saw myself surrounded by fans who asked for my autograph and barely let me

walk. They were asking me, Pepe Gonzalez, for autographs in the presence of

Fangio, Ascari or Farina! When I arrived to the garage I saw Enzo Ferrari crying;

I thought that it was because of the emotion, the happiness of the first win forone of his cars. We all knew that Ferrari had learnt everything he knew in the

Alfa Romeo racing team, which he left to create his own Scuderia, leaving there

his friends, his colleagues, his teachers. But Don Enzos tears were of true

sadness; when he finally overcome his feelings, he told those around him:

.- I feel a great pain inside. I feel as if I had killed my mother.

- Back to Maranello

We went all together back to Maranello after the race. When the big red Ferrari

trucks were in sight of the town, we were greeted by the chime of the bells from

the bell tower of the Marano castle, which could be heard in the whole


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countryside. People left their work and came by the r oad, forcing the convoy to

reduce its speed to finally adjust to the pace of the townfolks. That was a

triumphal entrance indeed, men and women hug me, kissed me, I could see

tears in their eyes On that day I understood that I had entered the history of

Ferrari. Ever since that first race, every time a Ferrari wins a GP the bells of the

castle ring again so that the whole town of Maranello knows.Almost 21 years later, at the Argentinean GP that opened the 1972 season and

which took place in Buenos Aires, I remember that they took me to the starting

grid to greet the drivers. Most of them were youngsters who barely knew who I

was, until I saw one of them come running to me; he was the later 3-WDC,

Jackie Stewart. When he got up to where I was he gave me a b ig hug. I was a

bit surprised, because I didnt know the Scottish driver personally.

.- Seor Gonzlez, I have waited for a long time to finally meet you in person!

I was half confused, half embarrassed. Stewart probably noticed, because he

gave me a naughty smile, reached into his pocket and took out an old pic of me,

with my signature..- Do you remember this pic? I was 12 when I saw you win at Silverstone. I

fought with many other fans to get to you after the race and get your autograph.

If I am an F1 driver today is in a great part thanks to you. What a great victory

that one was!

The day after we arrived to Maranello, Enzo Ferrari called me to his office. I saw

he had a big pic of me crossing the finish line at Silverstone on the wall behind

his desk. He showed to me a pile of papers.

.- Gonzlez, this is your new contract. Sign it on the last page.


.- Arent you going to read it?

.- It is not necessary, I trust you.

.- OK; Ill summarise it for you. You will earn 6 million liras per year, you will be

able to choose the tyres you want on each race, and you will not have to give

your place on the race to any other driver in case of breakdown.


.- Thanks to you, Gonzlez. Trust me if I say that I will not forget you for as long

as I live.

.- Not at all, mister Ferrari, it is me who has to thank you. Trust me if I tell you

that Ferrari will become a great team and whole books will be written telling

your history, counting wins and more wins. I will just be Pepe Gonzalez, theArgentinean driver who will take the first row of that list of wins.

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