José Froilán González

Argentine racing driver

The Pampas Bull and Ferrari's first win

José Froilán González gave Ferrari its first World Championship victory at Silverstone in 1951 and finished runner up in the 1954 championship.

José Froilán González was born in Arrecifes, Argentina, on 5 October 1922. Known as the Pampas Bull and a close friend of Juan Manuel Fangio, he made his World Championship debut at the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix with Scuderia Achille Varzi, driving a Maserati.

His moment came in 1951. After starting the year in a Talbot, he joined Ferrari, and at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone that July he took pole position and won, the first World Championship victory for the Italian team. With five podiums that season he finished third in the standings. He returned to Maserati for 1952 and 1953, scoring podiums in both seasons.

Back at Ferrari in 1954 he won the British Grand Prix again, added four more podiums, and finished runner up in the championship behind Fangio. That year he also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ferrari with Maurice Trintignant. From 1955 he raced only occasionally, mostly in his home Grand Prix in Argentina, and his final championship appearance came at the 1960 Argentine Grand Prix.

In 29 starts he scored 2 wins, 3 pole positions, 6 fastest laps and 15 podiums, a podium in more than half of his races. In 2011 Ferrari and the FIA marked the 60th anniversary of his Silverstone win at the British Grand Prix. González died in Buenos Aires on 15 June 2013.

0 world titles, 2 wins, 3 pole positions, 29 starts.

Teams

Victories

Scroll to Top