Juan Manuel Fangio vs Mike Hawthorn

Champion of Champions

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Juan Manuel Fangio and Mike Hawthorn were rivals of the 1950s who spent many seasons racing against each other.

But although both won titles with Ferrari they were never paired up at the same team.

Fangio drove seven complete season in which he won five world championship titles before retiring two races into 1958. Hawthorn succeeded him as world champion.

With better reliability, Fangio could have been the first ever world champion instead of Giuseppe Farina. Both drove for Alfa Romeo, but Fangio lost three finishes to car failure while Farina’s only let him down in Reims.

The following year Fangio clinched his first championship but he injured his neck in 1952 and missed the season. He returned in 1953 and finished runner-up to Alberto Ascari.

Hawthorn’s first championship season was in 1952 at the wheel of a Cooper entered by his father Leslie. After several impressive drives he was hired by Ferrari and he won his fourth race with the team, edging Fangio at Reims.

Fangio dominated 1954, winning six of eight races (excluding the Indianapolis 500), starting the season with Maserati before moving on to Mercedes.

In 1955 Hawthorn abandoned a planned switch to Vanwall and returned to Ferrari. Fangio stayed at Mercedes where he won his third title, but the team quit Formula 1 at the end of the year following the Le Mans disaster.

That led Fangio to Ferrari but Hawthorn was no longer there. He’d moved on to BRM, mainly because he wanted to drive the British team’s sports cars. Fangio claimed the title in an ex-Lancia D50, before returning to Maserati.

Hawthorn re-joined Ferrari but couldn’t keep Fangio from title number five: Fangio famously defeated Hawthorn having fallen over a minute behind him at the Nurburgring that year. He retired not long after.

Hawthorn won the title in 1958 despite taking a single Grand Prix victory to Stirling Moss’s four. But he drove consistently, with seven podium finishes from ten starts. He retired after winning the title, but was killed in a road accident the following January.

Which of these drivers should go through to the next round of the Champion of Champions? Vote for which you think was best below and explain who you voted for and why in the comments.

Juan Manuel FangioMike Hawthorn
Titles1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 19571958
Second in title year/sAlberto Ascari, Jose Froilan Gonzalez, Stirling Moss, Stirling Moss, Stirling MossStirling Moss
TeamsAlfa Romeo, Maserati, Mercedes, FerrariCooper, Ferrari, Vanwall, Maserati, BRM
Notable team matesGiuseppe Farina, Peter Collins, Stirling MossGiuseppe Farina, Alberto Ascari, Peter Collins
Starts5145
Wins24 (47.06%)3 (6.67%)
Poles29 (56.86%)4 (8.89%)
Modern points per start117.1210.40
% car failures217.6522.22
Modern points per finish320.7913.37
NotesMissed 1952 season due to injuryFamously beat Fangio at Reims in 1953
Handed 1956 title by team mate Peter CollinsConsistent points-scoring brought him the 1958 title, aided by team mate Phil Hill
Record haul of five titles unequalled until 2002Retired but killed in a road accident in January 1959
BioJuan Manuel FangioMike Hawthorn

1 How many points they scored in their career, adjusted to the 2010 points system, divided by the number of races they started
2 The percentage of races in which they were not classified due to a mechanical failure
3 How many points they scored in their career, adjusted to the 2010 points system, divided by the number of starts in which they did not suffer a race-ending mechanical failure

Which was the better world champion driver?

  • Mike Hawthorn (3%)
  • Juan Manuel Fangio (97%)

Total Voters: 554

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Images © Daimler (Fangio), Chris Ilsley (Hawthorn)

Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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97 comments on “Juan Manuel Fangio vs Mike Hawthorn”

  1. No doubt on this one.

    1. I think we are getting close to Prost v/s Senna.

      1. I hope they’re not matched up in the first round. They should both probably be in the final four…

        1. I think Keith has seeded apart those who won multiple championships, so Prost & Senna wouldn’t meet that early. I don’t know if he’s fully seeded it though, so that “favourites” would only meet in the latter rounds, or whether they could potentially meet in round 2

      2. @Nin13: We haven’t even got to Sir Jack and Sir Jackie yet! :D

        Who is poor ol’ Denny Hulme going up against?

    2. Quite easy I have to say!

  2. I think Hawthorne is one of the most undeserving champions! ;)

    Love Hawthorne, Voted Fangio…

    1. I would agree with this. Hawthorne was also very ill as far as I remember with a kidney infection and knew he was going to die young so he drove extremely fast. I’ve even seen reports that he drove intoxicated for some races. An underrated champion certainly, although a playboy too. However, despite this, he can’t compare to Fangio.

      1. yeah! Listening to the stories about Hawthorne, reminds me a bit of Hamilton, was aggressive and would take any chance just to get 1st place. Watched the 1955 Le Mans Documentary and it was between him and Fangio every lap both fighting. We all know how it ended, so sad.

        I voted for Hawthorne but he has no chance.

        1. Im sure its Hawthorn ;)

          1. heh I copied the poster above me and I think its stuck!

            @JT19 – that documentary is also mainly what I based my opinion on Hawthorn from – a genuinely fast, if wreckless driver. However, I think he’s up against a particularly difficult champion in Fangio, as he was widely regarded as the best.

    2. I disagree with you, no champion is ‘undeserving.’ In the circumstances of the season they took part in, they came out top, everybody else didnt. If somebody is consistent and has the right people they will win deservingly.

      1. i agree with you. No champion is undeserving. Let’s cut the crap.
        Any pilot driving in the 50’s deserves the utmost respect, and if they win a championship even more.
        If he wins 5 straight championships, everybody put the knee on the ground.

        1. it’s called sarcasm…i was only kidding, hence the ;)

          sorry for the misunderstanding

        2. vIf he wins 5 straight championships, everybody put the knee on the ground.

          *Gets 4/5 of thee way there then gets up again* :P

    3. Oh no, another one into that famous line. How many of these “non deserving champions” there were.
      I heard this being said of Hawthorne, Surtees, J.Villeneuve, Keke Rosberg, Alan Jones already in this contest, with Button, Vettel and Hill also being mentioned.

      Does one have to be a multiple WDC to deserve it? Sure, Fangio is miles ahead in this match, but does that have to mean Hawthorn is a non deserving Champion?

      1. I’ve never understood the idea of an undeserving champion. You can be the undeserving winner of a race but not a whole championship. If you are first over the course of a season then you have done a better job than everybody else. Perhaps you could say everybody else is even more undeserving than the winner.

        1. You shouldn’t make sweeping statements.

          Surely Hermann Lang was an undeserving winner of the 1939 European Championship?

          He was declared winner by the German run body after the war broke out, despite not being on top of any of the official points table.

          1. Lang was very fast that year and would not have been totally undeserving, but he was not the one winning most races, and even though it is hard to know for certain, but very probably did not score the best (lowest) points.
            Altough it is hard to say, as the points system was pretty obscure and the question what races actually counted towards that Championship is still unclear.

            But being named by the German body was certainly not going to make this convincing.
            A couple of years ago i followed a web tread where people were trying to find out why, based on what points etc. he got that title. Very interesting.

          2. I went hunting a while back and read up on the same topic. Really interesting. It seems he wasn’t even ahead on the ‘maximum’ scoring system (as published in draft form) either.

            No doubt Lang was a good driver, and he did well that year, but I don’t think you deserve to win if you don’t finish at the top of the scoring system.

          3. Very interesting reading about Lang, I guess we could debate the validity of being declared winner given the circumstances, but he at least was fast.

      2. Does one have to be a multiple WDC to deserve it?

        Not at all, I’ve heard a couple of people say that Schumacher didn’t deserve his titles either and he is kind of THE multiple WDC. :-P

  3. This is by far the easiest so far! Juan Manuel Fangio! No question, no doubts… just class!

  4. Nobrainer. Fangio.

  5. Fangio without a shadow of doubt. Average points per availiable finish – 20.79. Thats higher than an average of 2nd place! Astounding!

  6. I don’t rate Fangio as highly as some others do but this one is easy.

  7. Fangio will win this but im not going to agree.He pretty much single handedly led Jaguar to win the 1955 Le Mans 24 hours against the Fangio and Moss all star Mercedes team. Unlike Fangio he never drove the fastest car of the time compaired to Fangio who jumped in and out of cars almost every season to find the best package, even the 1958 Ferrari wasnt considered as fast as Moss’s Vanwall. Hawthorn despite being a young man had severe health issues from 1955 up to his death with his one rememning Kidney failing. The one case i thought may swing it in Fangio’s favour was the 1957 Nurburg race where after a bad pit stop he clawed back 50 seconds to overtake Hawthorn and Collins in the two ferrari’s however yet again he was driving a Maserati which was the faster car of the time. Although he was lucky with his championship win, only won 1 race to Moss’s 4 and got the title by 1 point. I rate Hawthorn the better driver something i’d have never expected to do when i seen this draw.

    1. I agree – I refuse to ascribe the title of “best of all time” to Fangio. Why not?

      Rose tinted glasses.
      a) A real champion doesn’t get his teammate to move over so that he can win the race – Fangio went further than that and actually demanded that his teammates retire from the race and hand him their cars. “That was the culture of the time”? Well, that’s a culture that doesn’t make for a great champion, in my book.
      b) The Fastest Car effect. A lot of modern champions (Vettel, Button) have faced criticism for only being “able” to win in the fastest car. As above, Fangio always had the fastest car – and what’s more the “fastest” car in those days wasn’t a difference of a few tenths of a second, as it has been in the past couple of years, it was more like the difference between an F1 car and a Le Mans GT car – this was an era of proper “garage racers”, pay drivers, and teams buying three-year old used chassis to race in F1. When Fangio had the fastest car, it made a much bigger difference than when Button did.
      c) “The limit”. Much is made of drives like Nurburgring 57, or other races where a “legendary” driver carves through the back of the field and makes up astonishing amounts of time on the leaders. People tend to assume that’s because drivers of old were immensely more talented than these lily livered cosseted pansies driving today. What’s ignored is a simple, demonstrable fact: Drivers nowadays drive closer to the limit, all the time, every lap, with no mistakes. Fangio was able to make up 50 seconds in 2 laps not because he was naturally 50 seconds faster – but because the guys in front weren’t going 100% flat out. They were cruising towards a victory. And because they only got timing reports twice a lap, they simply had no idea how fast the guy behind was going. The modern driver simply doesn’t have the luxury of backing off – the team knows where he’s losing time as fast as he does – and they won’t stand for a driver who’s leaving a couple of tenths “on the table” as Webber would say. More to the point, his rivals will know what he’s doing, and will jump down his throat. Yes the drivers of the 50’s and 60’s did longer races, on tougher tracks – but they weren’t racing on the limit, every corner, every lap. The idea of a modern F1 driver having the time to smile and wave at pretty girls as they go around Monaco, as Moss did in the past, is laughable. That’s not to say that modern drivers are inherently better – but it’s true that they work under a much more intensely pressurised and scrutinised environment. So you don’t see modern drivers “suddenly” finding a few seconds a lap and making up huge distances – because you know what that means? All it means is that they *could* have been going a few seconds a lap earlier.

      1. You make some good points.

      2. but nowadays, even if they are much more prepared. They don’t risk their lives, being f1 so safe.
        Does that take off some points in your book?

        1. They don’t risk their lives, being f1 so safe.

          What rubbish, did you not see Schumacher almost get his head knocked to in Abu Dhabi? Do you fail to remember Massa’s crash at hungary? What about Webber’s flying attempt? What about Kubica’s brutal crash in Canada? What about the tyre coming of buemi’s car and bouncing OVER the safety barrier? What about the Marshall who died is Australia? And there are so many more examples…

          Don’t be naive.

          1. Mike, You trying compare 50th’s with nowadays ???

            This is madness

          2. naive!!!! in the 50’s at least 3 drivers used to die every season. What kind of argument is that? schumacher. That would be considered a minor incident then, and not being even mentioned in the newspapers.
            Next time measure your words better young man.

        2. short, good point. mr Kowalsky
          full agree

          1. it may have been far more dangerous in the past but f1 probably should not be described as safe

          2. alex wurth won the le mans 24 hours in 2009, and he said that when he drove there for practice the first time, was very aware of the dangers at some parts of the track. He needed to get used to it, coming from f1 that’s “so safe”.
            I also heard it’s too safe by some drivers and journalists. And i fully agree.
            bigdaddydog, i agree with you on f1 not being regarded as safe. classic dancing is safer than current f1.

          3. F1 in those days is safe, more then that, is sily safe. If you know what I mean.
            No innovation, no visionares, just stupid ideas… bleh

            Last TRUE racing cars was used in CART Series series, by guys like Gil de Ferran, or Greg Moore [rip].

            To create perfect racing, Is only one way Fear and Danger

            Gil said:
            “..we’ve gone too slow with the new generation of cars, or whether it’s necessary in today’s world, I don’t know…
            …The faster the car, the more challenging it is to a driver, essentially because you have less time to perform the same maneuvers. That’s really the bottom line. Whether the speed comes from the cornering speed or from having more power, the more challenging it is for the driver.
            …I always thought that what defined an Indy car was this slightly insane combination. It’s not for everyone. Not quite everyone can get ahold of it. I think when fifty percent of the people think this is a bit crazy, that is an Indy car. Then you are getting close to the right mix for an Indy car. That was one of the key differentiations in my mind between a Formula 1 car and an Indy car. To me, an Indy car was always a slightly insane car to drive….
            I remember hearing stories about the Formula 1 drivers who came and tested Indy cars and said, ‘I can’t do this. This is too much for me.’
            …And that’s what you want. You need to get to the point where it’s not for everyone. The public that’s watching Indy car racing needs to realize that they’re watching a select few drivers that not only are able, but are also willing to drive these cars.”

            Auto Racing ~ Gordon Kirby

            no enough ?
            http://ow.ly/3BfwI

      3. Fangio was winning as an old man whilst his competitors were dying young. His philosophy was always drive as slowly as you can to still win. Hawthorn on the other hand knew he was going to die young and raced like he had nothing to lose. The fact that Fangio won more championships under these circumstances I think counters some of your points.

      4. a) That’s the way it was done in the 50s. Moss did it all the time. I don’t recall any instance of Fangio “demanding” these things…it was just done. Interestingly, in 1956 when Collins handed his car to Fangio, giving up his chance to win the WDC, Musso had earlier refused to do so. So, on that team at that time at least, the driver had the option of refusal.

        b) In 1957 the Ferrari’s were faster than any other car except (sometimes) one- the Maserati that Fangio was driving.

        c) Good point. However, at Nurburgring in 1957 Collins knew where Fangio was for most of those ten (not two) famous laps, and kept Hawthorn informed with hand signals. I think they were both going as fast as the could, but Fangio was on a new set of tires and drove superbly…nothing they could do.

        1. To add to that, in ’57 Fangio was driving a six year old Maserati. Hardly what anyone would call the Fastest Car.

          1. Ah but that Maserati was still one of the best cars at the time. That chassis was used for ages!

            Its an interesting question about Fangio being overrated. I wasn’t around to see him racing so its very difficult to make statements like that and to be justified. On the surface, i’d agree, but because I don’t know the specific circumstances, to come to a conclusion based on a gut feeling would be wrong. He must have been doing something right to have won 5 championships…! Hawthorn was great too, but as i’m basing my opinion on the only fair way that I personally can, Fangio has to get it.

            However, I also can’t imagine Fangio as being a greater driver as those who race nowadays. Thats because the sport has changed – and as someone else said, racing on the limit is what F1 is all about now, whereas then it was about getting to the end. In my opinion – stressed MY – being on the limit the entire race is more difficult, even if less dangerous. Modern drivers are incredible in the amount of information they have to process, and drivers in the 50’s and 60’s had other priorities.

      5. Hairs, this EXACTLY what I wanted to say and put across.

        Great comment.

    2. Very interesting thread, and good points being made.

      I obviously haven’t seen either of them driving. I have to give credit to someone who managed to stay on top for so long, and got himself into a good car for a large slice of that time, gaining 5 championships in the process; no matter what, it does say something about persistence, courage, speed and resourcefulness. I am late to the vote and it is clear who is winning,, but I’m giving my vote to Hawthorn after this thread.

  8. we have two drivers here that are in a diferent league. And in a sense we are going to find some of the same dificulties between voting through the heart, or using the head. Mostly for the british fans.
    I go for “el maestro” without a doubt. He is a top five in anybody’s list.

  9. Poor Hawthorn didn’t deserve to be trounced. Fangio hands down.

  10. I wish Stirling could be in one of these showdowns…

  11. Fangio but of all of the Ferrari drivers Mike’s always been one of my favourites. Mike will probably get trounced this round but he could be incredibly quick on his day and anyone who can see off Fangio in style such as at Le Mans and the reportedly epic 1953 French GP gets my admiration plus his wore a bowtie which I liked. He’s also helped me in arguments against my friends who say I’m not patriotic by supporting Ferrari but he was the first Brit world champ which he got in the Scuderia :P

    Moss did help Mike to his championship but I don’t feel that makes him any less deserving. Moss did what he thought was right and knew that it could eventually wind up with him losing the title but it was ultimately his choice. Hawthorn also lost one of his closest friends that year his teammate Collins and he could have easily packed it all in that year but he carried on.

    Fangio has to win and will be a big contender for the Champion of Champions but although Hawthorn will go out in the first round his title shouldn’t be dismissed as quickly. It’s a bit of a shame actually that he’s not going up against someone like Jody, Jacques or the Hills as I’d like to see how he’d do against someone a bit more obscure but I am loving this series so I’m happy :P

    1. er, the Hills? Damon yes, but the big G, how can you not rate a man with a fighter pilot moustache. You can almost hear the tache as he speeds by to two titles, it says “gentlemen” in cliped military tones.

      1. But mostly, nice post :) agree’d

      2. I loved G Hill and really rate him but compared to Stewart and Clark he seems to be underrated in his era.

  12. Fangio, without a shadow of a doubt. I think he could go far in this one. Making sure they don’t meet in the lower categories, I reckon the final four will be Fangio, Schumacher, Senna and Clark. And for those who’ve never seen this, here’s some footage of the master at work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7Ifcgl789E

    1. You’re probably right about the final four. I think Prost could end up in there though. Kind of depends on how Keith sets up the next rounds…

    2. what a great piece of footage, cheers

      1. Indeed a great clip. I went from that one to this one of Fangio vs Brabham – well worth a look:
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QeQ_jVjBvg4

  13. The comments section here is going to be crazy if/when Fangio meets Schumacher. Hmm.

  14. I think that the 16 that are knocked out could be put in a new draw to determine 17th to 32nd place – could someone work out the best way to do this?

    Also this should apply to the other rounds, where all of the “losers” are placed in a new draw after each round.

    1. Why 17 to 32? I find it quite likely that some driver who got kicked out in the first round would defeat some of the drivers who survived the first round by a lucky draw.

      The only reasonable way to get a complete ranking is to do all possible face-offs, that is, the standard league format. However, for that we would need an F1 break lasting a few years, so I am definitely not suggesting it :-), just commenting.

  15. I’m torn on this one, too close to call.

  16. Poor Hawthorn, against someone else (such as a single WDC winner) he might have had a chance. Probably has the least known about him by anyone who doesnt have a decent F1 history knowlegde or forever remembered for winning the title with the help of Sir Stirlings kind defence after the Portugese GP. But every WDC deserves their win in many respects.

    But Fangio was just something else and has to get my vote.

    1. Spare a thought for Denny Hulme – he’ll probably have Senna!

      1. As far as on track deaths go Denny Hulme’s was by far the most peaceful. That’s kind of the way I think of him. A dedicated racer who kept to the track till the end and didn’t make a fuss about it. That’s probably wrong, but please no one shatter my illusion!

  17. Jonathan W (@)
    9th January 2011, 17:56

    Apart from Phil Hill Hawthorn is probably the least well known world champ which is a shame but you cant deny Fangio. Not only did he win almost every race he was in let’s not forget the Cuba incident with Stirling Moss….. A real hero.

  18. Fangio’s points per finish total is just obscene in many ways, but I wonder if the reason its so high is that by the time the world championship was established, Fangio had proven himself worthy of a top Grand Prix ride.

    Id be interested to know how he did in the previous Grand Prix season in 1949, as well as Ascari etc, because their averges may be boosted by the fact that the first year or two of lesser rides, and ceding to serior drivers that many F1 drivers do go through in the early years of their career, have effectivly been discounted.

    How would Stewart, Clark, Graham Hill, Senna, Prost points per finish total look like if we only count from the point they got into a competitive car?

  19. The best there is, the best there was and the best that ever will be, Fangio…

    Coming to a poll near you…

    Only driver which I can think of who might knock out Fangio through this voting championship will be either Senna, Clark or Stewart. Don’t think Prost, Schumacher or Lauda will stop this man getting to the final.

    1. What Brabham doesn’t even rate a mention on your list? 3 Titles, one in his own car, no mention?

      1. Just cause you rate Brabham doesn’t mean I have to bother mentioning him to keep you happy.

        What? Nelson Piquet doesn’t even rate a mention on your list? 3 titles, no mention?

        See what I did ?

        1. But your statement wasn’t about who you rate, it was about who could win in this contest. So, it is about who others might rate.

  20. Both are great, Mike with his tie, put more emotions to racing, than MJ to pop music.

    There is only one winner, El Chueco

    Keith, thx

  21. Fangio. By a mile.

  22. That’s not a difficult one by anyone’s book I would guess…

    Keith, this way we are working up to the second round, then to the third etc, but will we also have “losers” ronds??? SO that we get a complete ranking, instead of just the winner and the runner up?

  23. It’s gotta be “Maestro” Fangio. And that says it all.
    Respected by everyone, admired by all the greatest.
    A true, honest, fair and bloody fast Racer.

  24. What I find strange about all of this is the comments regarding drivers who raced decades before people were born. I am fully aware that the digital age gives access to information but please be careful what information you read. As someone who has now watched for 40 odd years I was always reminded by my peers about great drivers of the past and one name that always stood out was that of Fangio. If he was racing today he would have been slaughtered because of his driving style and tactics. Schumacher is the greatest driver ever in terms of results and I’m sure if there was a poll now he would not be in the top 3 on this site. Fangio would be where regarding this? You can’t just look at this in a black and white fashion (as too many do about drivers like Senna) and come up with an answer. F1 is like any other competitive sport and to compare competitors from different eras is very difficult. To try and explain this I think that Hamilton is one of the bravest and most willing drivers to take a chance out of the present group, if he did that in the 60’s or 70’s he would be dead. Where’s the comparison. This is an interesting thing to do but please remember it can never be a level playing field.

  25. Again, the brit in me says Hawthorn. But my head cant deny that Fangio is a true legend, one of the all time greats. Had to vote for Fangio, seems my heads stronger than my heart

  26. If there were a match Moss vs. Hawthorne, I would have picked Moss : he should have been champion in 1958. A pity he wasn’t just because of a miscommunication in the Portugal Grand Prix.

  27. Juan Manuel Fangio Comments not required.

  28. Glad for the exposition. Fangio’s greatness cannot be disproved, but he did win an awful lot of championships by moving to the best team and was gifted one (albeit a genuine one, no “Juan Manuel is faster than you” telegrams).

    Nonetheless there could only be one winner in this match. But if El Maestro comes up against Le Professeur, it’s a whole different ballgame.

    1. “Juan Manuel is faster than you” telegrams

      Priceless!

  29. Wow, 5 WDC’s from 51 starts! They did have it a lot easier back then :)

    Apart from a slight danger aspect of course …

  30. Pretty easy pick for me. While Hawthorn’s legacy is secure as one of the early great drivers, it would be quite a stretch to choose him over Fangio.

  31. Never taken my car for a Haw, but I’ve taken it for a Fang (yes, this is where the term comes from), so Fangio for me.

  32. No doubt over this as Juan Manuel Fangio is the second best driver in the world on paper next to Schumacher.

    1. Depends which stat you look at.

      1. Number of championships & with that race win percentage & pole position. He was a true legend I don’t think F1 WC of these days will ever dream of driving those machines of those days.

        1. I’m confused you say Fangio is second best on paper to Schumacher on the basis of Championships or wins percentage? Because Schumacher is ahead on one and Fangio ahead on the other.

          1. I didn’t put that thing together easily,sorry for creating confusion.

            I meant his Championship. I accidentally used the word percentage!

  33. I’m surprised Hawthorn won only 3 races in a career spanning 7 seasons. Especially since most of it was spent at Ferrari.

    1. Well, when Fangio, Moss, Collins, Brooks, et. al. were out there with him, his turn didn’t come up very often. But he was almost always in the points and often on the podium when he finished. Mike didn’t win too many, but he was usually in with a chance.

      1. Yeah, I forgot about multi-car teams and customer cars. I’m not putting Hawthorn down though. It takes serious guts to keep driving in spite of all the danger of driving in F1 in the ’50s.

    2. You’ve got to remember there weren’t that many races in a season then. Button’s number of wins would probably look pretty similar to Hawthorn’s if we had the same number of races in a Championship now.

  34. Fangio!

    In my humble opinion the best driver ever.

    And Hawthorn was lucky to be world champion, because of Moss misreading a pitsign which cost him the one point for fastest lap, which would make him world champion.

  35. I mean that voting is all fun, but isn’t it obvious that either Clark or Senna or Fangio will win it?

    1. Or Schumacher.
      Or Prost.
      Or…

      1. what makes a champion, the champion of champions?
        Could it be stewart a better champion that lauda, just because of the way he handle himself after retirement. When both have more or less the same titles-victories?
        Should we focus more on raw speed. The esence of the sport. (senna qualy record?)
        Or should we focus on the sportmanship while being an active driver.
        Do you realize that nationality plays a bigger factor than should in the way fans vote?
        Should schumacher be consider better than fangio because he had better fitness?
        Or should i go for the champion that capture my imagination when i was a kid?

  36. It seems Fangio has eclipsed Hawthorn in this one, and I don’t blame anyone. Although Hawthorn is underrated Fangio still comes out on top. The 1957 German GP is but one example of his sheer brilliance. Hawthorn only beat him once in France ’54. Fangio could’ve been a 6 time champion had it not been for reliability issues in 1950. Hawthorn won only won 1 race in his championship year that just goes to show that it’s about consistancy not race wins.

  37. Hi everybody,

    I just wanted to add a comment about Fangio, having grown up in Argentina. The country has sports figures that were celebrated despite their faults, like Maradona, who may have been a terrific football player yet was a disaster in his personal life, and even a bad sportsman on the soccer field (remember the famous “hand of god” goal.) But Fangio was the opposite, just as famous for being humble and a gentleman as for his results. I think perhaps he had equals as drivers, say Ayrton Senna. But I can’t think of any other with quite such a good reputation for his conduct, driving or otherwise.

    1. steward and clark are as close to fangio as you are going to get in that area. With 3 wdc and 2wdc respectibly, their record is vey good as well. The rest, all did something at the track than wouldn’t let them qualify in the same league.

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