The oldest Grand Prix winner

Luigi Fagioli was a prewar star for Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Mercedes who, at 53, shared victory in the 1951 French Grand Prix.

Luigi Fagioli was born in Osimo, in the Marche region of Italy, on June 9, 1898. He began in hill climbs and sports cars and entered Grand Prix racing in 1926. With Maserati from 1930 he won the Coppa Ciano and the Monza Grand Prix, and after moving to the Alfa Romeo team of Scuderia Ferrari for 1933 he won the Coppa Acerbo and the Italian Grand Prix.

Mercedes hired him for 1934, and he won the Coppa Acerbo, the Italian Grand Prix and the Spanish Grand Prix that season. In 1935 he won at Monaco, the AVUS and the Penya Rhin Grand Prix and finished second in the European Drivers' Championship.

When the World Championship began in 1950, Fagioli was 52 and joined Alfa Romeo's team. He finished second in the first championship race, the 1950 British Grand Prix, and again in Switzerland, Belgium and France, then third in Italy, ending the season third behind Giuseppe Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio. At the 1951 French Grand Prix his team ordered him to hand his car to Fangio and take over Fangio's ailing car. The car he started in went on to win, so Fagioli shared the victory and became the oldest driver ever to win a World Championship race. It was his last Formula 1 appearance.

Our record shows 8 starts, 1 win and 6 podiums across two seasons, all with Alfa Romeo. In June 1952 he crashed in practice for the sports car race at Monaco and died in hospital three weeks later.

0 world titles, 1 wins, 0 pole positions, 8 starts.

Teams

• Alfa Romeo Racing

Victories

• French Grand Prix 1951