Alfonso Antonio Vicente Eduardo Angel Blas Francisco de Borja Cabeza de Vaca y Leighton, Marquis of Portago, known as Alfonso de Portago (born 11 October 1928 in Marylebone, London, England, United Kingdom – died 12 May 1957 in Cavriana, MN, Lombardy, Italy) was a British-born Spanish racing driver, and sportsman. He competed in five World Championship Formula One races for Ferrari in the mid-1950s, a shared podium being his best result.
De Portago began his racing career in 1953, with Luigi Chinetti, and was winning sportscar races by 1954. He competed in five non-championship F1 races in 1955 before competing in his World Championship race in 1956, the French Grand Prix, retiring with a gearbox problem. He scored his first podium at the next race, the British Grand Prix, in a shared drive with Peter Collins, as the car crossed the line second. 1957 saw him compete in one race, the Argentine Grand Prix, where he finished fifth in a shared drive with José Froilán González, scoring one point.
Outside of motor racing, he was an international polo player, rode twice in the Aintree Grand National Steeplechase, and was even a bobsleigh runner, competing in the Winter Olympics in 1956 but missed out on a medal, classifying fourth. Additionally, he spoke four languages, was a millionaire (by descent), a playboy, a nobleman and heir to one of the most respected titles in Spain.
He was killed in a accident at the 1957 Mille Miglia, after a tyre blew on his Ferrari. The resulting crash also killed co-driver Edmund Nelson and nine spectators, including five children. Largely because of this accident, the Mille Miglia was discontinued after that year.
Formula One Career
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Formula One Statistical OverviewEdit
Formula One RecordEdit
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | Private | Ferrari | Non-championship races only | ||
| 1956 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 3 | 15th | Report |
| 1957 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 1 | 21st | |
Career StatisticsEdit
| Entries | 5 |
| Starts | 5 |
| Pole Positions | 0 |
| Front Row Starts | 0 |
| Race Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 1 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Points | 4 |
| Laps Raced | 167 |
| Distance Raced | 1032 km (641 mi) |
| Races Led | 0 |
| Laps Led | 0 |
| Distance Led | 0 km (0 mi) |
Career ResultsEdit
| Complete Formula One results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Pts | Pos | ||||||||||||
| 1956 | 
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| 3 | 15th | ||||||||||||
| Ret | 2nd† | Ret† | Ret | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1957 |
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| 1 | 21st | ||||||||||||
| 5th‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||
| NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | DNS | Did not start | ||
| Italics | Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap | [+] More Symbols | |||
Notes:
- † Shared drive with Peter Collins
- ‡ Shared drive with José Froilán González
NotesEdit
External linksEdit
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