Alberto Ascari (July 13, 1918 in Milan, Milan, Lombardy, Italy – May 26, 1955 in Monza, Milan, Lombardy, Italy) was an Italian racing driver and two time Formula One champion, in 1952 and 1953. Son of the famous Antonio Ascari, who was European champion for Alfa Romeo in 1925, he is only one of two Italian Formula One Champions and the only one to do this in a Ferrari.
His driving style was precise accurate and unflustered, and seldom never put a foot wrong, very rarely did he make a mistake.
During 1952 and 1953, Ascari took nine victories in nine successive starts. This record drops to seven wins when successive races is considered. This record is shared with Michael Schumacher.
He was killed during testing at Autodromo Nazionale Monza in 1955.
Before Formula 1 World Championship[]
Alberto was son of 1920's Grand Prix star Antonio Ascari. Antonio was a factory Alfa Romeo driver with inconsistent results but once he was given the new P2 to drive in 1924, Antonio was instantly formidable winning on his first outing. He followed this up with victory a high-profile victory at home in Monza.
The stage was set for Antonio to have an extremely promising 1925, again driving the P2 and that's what happened at Spa-Francochamp where he was so dominant that during a pit stop he found time to eat and drink slowly during before rejoining to take an impressive victory. Antonio speed was obvious was he was leading the French GP but disaster struck and Antonio was killed leaving a 7 year old without a father. Despite this Alberto had a love for racing, motorcycles particular in his early years and he also competed in the Mille Miglia in a Ferrari.
Ascari racing a Maserati in 1948
Following the end of WWII Alberto began racing for Maserati alongside Luigi Villoresi who would become his mentor and friend. Alberto won his first GP in Sanremo in 1948 and took second place in Britain and continued his form into 1949 taking his final victory for Maserati before moving to Ferrari to join his friend Villoresi mid season.
The move resulted in a further 3 victories in 1949 meaning coming into 1950, he and Fangio would be the in form drivers.
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Formula 1 Career[]
1950[]
For 1950 Alberto competed for the factory Ferrari team alongside his friend Luigi Villoresi. Ferrari had a mixed campaign, starting with missing the season opening British Grand Prix but Alberto was able to pick up a strong second at Monaco when most of the field were involved in a first corner crash on the first lap at the wet Tabac corner.
Ascari battles in Bern
The season looked as though it may be a promising one for Ascari, at the Swiss Grand Prix he found himself battling with the dominant Alfa Romeo's of Juan Manuel Fangio and Nino Farina until an early mechanical failure but wasn't in the running in Belgium and was lucky to pick up some points as others retired.
During practice for the French Grand Prix again the Ferrari's were off the pace they wanted, although Ascari set 5th fastest time, Enzo Ferrari decided to pull his cars out of the race.
Between the French GP and the Italian GP, Ferrari went testing in Geneva with a new engine which they brought to the final race of the year.
Ascari achieved a fantastic result in qualifying, second behind Juan Manuel Fangio and as the flag dropped he was able to get right in on the action, chasing Nino Farina for many laps. When Farina pitted his Alfa for fuel, Ascari inheritted the lead until his engine blew but the race was not over for Ascari as during a pitstop he took over the car of Dorino Serafini in third and chased down Luigi Fagioli in the Alfa, taking second position and fifth in the championship.
1951[]
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
F1 Career Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team(s) | Pts | WDC Pos | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1940 | Scuderia Torino | Maserati | No Grand Prix Championship | ||
| 1941–1946: Did Not Compete | |||||
| 1947 | Scuderia Ambrosiana | Maserati | No Formula One Championship | ||
| 1948 | Scuderia Alfa Romeo | Alfa Romeo | No Formula One Championship | ||
| 1949 | Scuderia Ambrosiana | Maserati | No Formula One Championship | ||
| Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | ||||
| 1950 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 11 | 5th | Report |
| 1951 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 25 (28) | 2nd | Report |
| 1952 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 36 (53) | 1st | Report |
| 1953 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 34 (46) | 1st | Report |
| 1954 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati | 1 | 25th | Report |
| Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | ||||
| Scuderia Lancia | Lancia | ||||
| 1955 | Scuderia Lancia | Lancia | 0 | NC | Report |
Statistics[]
| Entries | 33 |
| Starts | 32 |
| Shared Drives | 5 |
| Pole positions | 14 |
| Front row starts | 25 |
| Victories | 13 |
| Podia | 17 |
| Fastest laps | 12 |
| Points | 107.643 (140.143) |
| Laps raced | 1691 |
| kms raced | 11108.388 |
| Races led | 21 |
| Laps led | 928 |
| kms led | 5907.107 |
| Doubles | 9 |
| Hat-tricks | 7 |
| Grand chelems | 5 |
Wins[]
Non-Championship Wins[]
| No. | Race |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1947 French Grand Prix |
| 2 | 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix I |
| 3 | 1949 Swiss Grand Prix |
| 4 | 1949 BRDC International Trophy |
| 5 | 1949 Italian Grand Prix |
| 6 | 1949 Buenos Aires Grand Prix IV |
| 7 | 1950 Penya Rhin Grand Prix |
| 8 | 1951 Sanremo Grand Prix |
| 9 | 1952 Syracuse Grand Prix |
| 10 | 1952 Pau Grand Prix |
| 11 | 1952 Marseille Grand Prix |
| 12 | 1952 Baule Grand Prix |
| 13 | 1953 Pau Grand Prix |
| 14 | 1953 Bordeaux Grand Prix |
| 15 | 1955 Valentino Grand Prix |
| 16 | 1955 Naples Grand Prix |
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts | Pos | ||||||||||||
| 1950 | 
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11 | 5th | ||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | Ret | 5th | DNS | 2nd* | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1951 |
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25 (28) | 5th | |||||||||||||||
| 6th | 2nd | 2nd* | Ret | 1st | 1st | 4th | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1952 |
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36 (53.5) | 1st | |||||||||||||||
| Ret | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1953 | 
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34.5 (46.5) | 1st | ||||||||||||||
| 1st | DNA | 1st | 1st | 4th | 1st | 8th* | 1st | Ret | |||||||||||||||||
| 1954 |
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1.143 | 25th | ||||||||||||||
| Ret | Ret | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1955 |
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||
| Ret | Ret | C | C | C | C | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
* Shared drive
Notes[]
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