Alberto Ascari

Alberto Ascari (13 July 1918 – 26 May 1955) was an Italian racing driver and a two-time Formula One World Champion.

Noted for careful precision and finely-judged accuracy, Ascari was a multitalented racer who competed in motorcycle racing before switching to cars.

He won consecutive Formula One world titles in and for Scuderia Ferrari, being the team's first World Champion, and the last Italian to win the title.

Born in Milan, Alberto Ascari was the son of Antonio Ascari, a talented Grand Prix motor racing star in the 1920s, racing Alfa Romeos.

When Ascari was a young child, his father Antonio Ascari, also a famous racing driver, died in an accident at the 1925 French Grand Prix.

A fortnight before Ascari's seventh birthday, his father was killed while leading the 1925 French Grand Prix at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry; the younger Ascari had an interest in racing in spite of this, and later came to dominate Grand Prix racing like no other before him.

Such was his passion to become a racing driver like his father that he ran away from school twice, and sold his school books to finance his racing.

Ascari raced motorcycles in his earlier years.

At the age of 19 he was signed to ride for the Bianchi team.

In 1940, after he entered the prestigious Mille Miglia in an Auto Avio Costruzioni 815 supplied by his father's close friend Enzo Ferrari, Ascari eventually started racing on four wheels regularly.

In an interview, he famously said: "I only obey one passion, racing. I wouldn't know how to live without it."

In 1940, Ascari married a local girl.

When Italy entered World War II, the family garage, by now run by Ascari, was conscripted to service and maintain vehicles of the Italian military.

During this period, he and his partner fellow racing driver Luigi Villoresi established a lucrative transport business, supplying fuel to army depots in North Africa.

The pair survived a ship they were aboard carrying lorries capsizing in Tripoli harbour.

As their business supported the Italian war effort, it made them exempt from being called up for military service during the war.

Following the end of World War II, Ascari began racing in Grands Prix with the Maserati 4CLT.

His teammate was Villoresi, who became a mentor and friend to Ascari.

The pair were successful on the circuits in Northern Italy.

He was nicknamed Ciccio, meaning "Tubby".

Formula One regulations were introduced by the FIA in 1946, with the aim of eventually replacing the pre-war Grand Prix structure.

During the next four transitional years, Ascari was at the top of his game, winning numerous events around Europe.

The 1948 San Remo Grand Prix was his first win.

He also took second place at the 1948 British Grand Prix, which was organised by the Royal Automobile Club and is generally considered the first British Grand Prix, at the Silverstone Circuit.

With Maserati he won the first 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix.

His biggest success came when he and Villoresi signed for Scuderia Ferrari.

The team boss Enzo Ferrari had been a great friend and teammate to Ascari's father, and had taken a keen interest in his successes.

In 1949, he won three more races, all with Ferrari.

Driving a Ferrari, he also won the third 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix.

The first Formula One World Championship season took place in.

The Ferrari team made its World Championship debut at the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix, the second race of the season, with Ascari, Villoresi, and the famous French driver Raymond Sommer on the team.

At Monaco, Ascari became the youngest driver to score points and a podium position in Formula One at 31 years, 312 days, finishing second one lap behind Juan Manuel Fangio.

The team had a mixed year as the supercharged Ferrari 125 F1 was too slow to challenge the dominant Alfa Romeo team, so Ferrari began working on an unblown 4.5-litre car.

Much of the year was lost as the team's 2-litre Formula Two engine was progressively enlarged.

When the full 4.5-litre Ferrari 375 F1 arrived for the 1950 Italian Grand Prix, the final round of the championship, Ascari gave Alfa Romeo their sternest challenge of the year before retiring; he then took over teammate Dorino Serafini's car to finish second.

This was sandwiched by an appearance in the 1952 Indianapolis 500, and winning the 1954 Mille Miglia.

As of 2024, Ascari and Michael Schumacher are Ferrari's only back-to-back World Champions, and Ascari remains Ferrari's sole Italian champion.

As the first driver to win multiple World Championship titles, he held the record for most World Championship titles from 1952 to 1954, becoming one of four drivers to have held the record for most World Championship titles.

Juan Manuel Fangio held the record from to (jointly with Ascari in 1954) and Schumacher has held the record since, although Schumacher also shares that record with Lewis Hamilton since.

Ascari himself was later killed during a test session for Ferrari at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza in 1955.