68 F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019
After Reims, Ferrari called Gonzáles.“He said, ‘Ifyou wantto
race Serafini’s car allseason, youcan’. Thenwe made a contract – to
be honest, Ididn’t evenknow what it said! I simply asked him, ‘Are
your driversinsured?’He said yes, so I said, ‘OK, I’ll si gn!’ I got a
wage, andhe also gave me some money for expenses.”
Next on theagenda was Silverstone,a track new toGonzál es, an d
there he stunned everyone by takingpole – by a clear second.
“Ah, Silverstone ’51...there werefour cars on the frontrow –
Fangio, Farina, Ascari and myself,” he recalled.“At the drivers’
meeting they saidanyone jumping the startwould get a on e-minute
penalty, andwe we re all so nervous none ofus moved – the thre e
cars on th e secondrow went straight past us! At thefirst cornerin2002.The Belgian Grand Prix had been won
by Michael Schumacher, andit mar ked the 100th
victoryfor a Ferrari runningon Shell: a happy
consequence wasthat Shell invited to Monzathe
man who had scored the first.
In fact, Gonzáles’s victory inthe 1951 British
Grand Prixwas also the first for Fer rari since the
inception ofthe world championship. Now he was back ina
paddockagain, andI couldn’t passup the opportunity of a chat.
In South America they love nicknamesfor their sporting heroes,
and just as hisfriend Juan Manuel Fangio wasEl Chueco(‘Bandy
Legs’), Gonzáles wasEl Cabezon. “Mean s ‘Big Head’,”hesmiled.
This wasn’t‘big head’ in the arrogant sense, buta straightforward
description. In his racing days Gonzáles wasindeed aburly fellow,
but StirlingMoss attests thatthere was nothing awry withhis
fitness:“It was solid muscle,boy, believeme...” Now, inold age,
El Cabezonseemed about halfthe size he had been.
Remembering his racing days, he was veryanimated, speaking
quickly,laughing often, makinghis elevation tothe top echelonof
motor racing sounddecept ively straightforward: “Fangio came to
Europe in 1949, andthe next year I followed, driving for a team
from the Automobile Club of Argentina. WeracedMaseratis, in
nationalcol ours, butthey weren’t very competitive or reliable.”
Occasionally Gonzáles drove a Ferrarifor the sameteam, and
back in South America the carwassuperchargedfor use in the
Formule LibreTemporada: early in 1951 a coupleof races were
run in Buenos Aires, and they provedcrucial. Itwas here Mercedes
made a brief returnto racing, running the W163s whichhad
dominated1939, one of themfor Fangio. In his Ferrari, Gonzáles
flayed themin b oth races, and that registered inMaranello.
“When back inEurope,Iwent to see theCommendatore, and
told him thatif he needed me, I wouldbe happy todrive for him,”
said Gonzáles.“When Serafini broke his leg in the Mille Miglia,
Ferrariaske d me todrive at Reims.”
Gonzáles adapted readily to the 4.5-litre 375, qualifying sixth,
then in the race handing overto Alberto Ascari, whosecar had
retired: “When Icame in to refuel, the teamdirectorsaid, ‘Ascari
has to get in the car’,so there wasn’t much Icoul d do – Ididn’t have
a contractthen! Alberto finished second, and thepoints were split.”NIGELROEBUCK’S
HEROES
FORMULA ONE
PICTURES
I MET
JOSÉ
FROILÁN
GONZÁLES
ONLY ONCE,Ferrari’s first world championship victory came courtesy of Gonzáles
at Silverstone in 1951 (above and below), after a titanic struggleJOSÉ FROILÁN GONZÁLES
68 F1 RACING DECEMBER 2019
After Reims, Ferrari called Gonzáles.“He said, ‘Ifyou wantto
race Serafini’s car allseason, youcan’. Thenwe made a contract – to
be honest, Ididn’t evenknow what it said! I simply asked him, ‘Are
your driversinsured?’He said yes, so I said, ‘OK, I’ll si gn!’ I got a
wage, andhe also gave me some money for expenses.”
Next on theagenda was Silverstone,a track new toGonzál es, an d
there he stunned everyone by takingpole – by a clear second.
“Ah, Silverstone ’51...there werefour cars on the frontrow –
Fangio, Farina, Ascari and myself,” he recalled.“At the drivers’
meeting they saidanyone jumping the startwould get a on e-minute
penalty, andwe we re all so nervous none ofus moved – the thre e
cars on th e secondrow went straight past us! At thefirst cornerin2002.The Belgian Grand Prix had been won
by Michael Schumacher, andit mar ked the 100th
victoryfor a Ferrari runningon Shell: a happy
consequence wasthat Shell invited to Monzathe
man who had scored the first.
In fact, Gonzáles’s victory inthe 1951 British
Grand Prixwas also the first for Fer rari since the
inception ofthe world championship. Now he was back ina
paddockagain, andI couldn’t passup the opportunity of a chat.
In South America they love nicknamesfor their sporting heroes,
and just as hisfriend Juan Manuel Fangio wasEl Chueco(‘Bandy
Legs’), Gonzáles wasEl Cabezon. “Mean s ‘Big Head’,”hesmiled.
This wasn’t‘big head’ in the arrogant sense, buta straightforward
description. In his racing days Gonzáles wasindeed aburly fellow,
but StirlingMoss attests thatthere was nothing awry withhis
fitness:“It was solid muscle,boy, believeme...” Now, inold age,
El Cabezonseemed about halfthe size he had been.
Remembering his racing days, he was veryanimated, speaking
quickly,laughing often, makinghis elevation tothe top echelonof
motor racing sounddecept ively straightforward: “Fangio came to
Europe in 1949, andthe next year I followed, driving for a team
from the Automobile Club of Argentina. WeracedMaseratis, in
nationalcol ours, butthey weren’t very competitive or reliable.”
Occasionally Gonzáles drove a Ferrarifor the sameteam, and
back in South America the carwassuperchargedfor use in the
Formule LibreTemporada: early in 1951 a coupleof races were
run in Buenos Aires, and they provedcrucial. Itwas here Mercedes
made a brief returnto racing, running the W163s whichhad
dominated1939, one of themfor Fangio. In his Ferrari, Gonzáles
flayed themin b oth races, and that registered inMaranello.
“When back inEurope,Iwent to see theCommendatore, and
told him thatif he needed me, I wouldbe happy todrive for him,”
said Gonzáles.“When Serafini broke his leg in the Mille Miglia,
Ferrariaske d me todrive at Reims.”
Gonzáles adapted readily to the 4.5-litre 375, qualifying sixth,
then in the race handing overto Alberto Ascari, whosecar had
retired: “When Icame in to refuel, the teamdirectorsaid, ‘Ascari
has to get in the car’,so there wasn’t much Icoul d do – Ididn’t have
a contractthen! Alberto finished second, and thepoints were split.”NIGELROEBUCK’S
HEROES
FORMULA ONE
PICTURES
I MET
JOSÉ
FROILÁN
GONZÁLES
ONLY ONCE,Ferrari’s first world championship victory came courtesy of Gonzáles
at Silverstone in 1951 (above and below), after a titanic struggleJOSÉ FROILÁN GONZÁLES