José Froilán González (October 5, 1922 in Arrecifes, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina – June 15, 2013 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) was an Argentine Formula One driver who raced during the championship's early years. He is most notable for scoring Ferrari's first win in Formula One, at the 1951 British Grand Prix.
He made his début at the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix. He moved to Ferrari mid-way through 1951, scoring five consecutive podiums, including winning the British Grand Prix. After two years driving for Maserati, González moved to Ferrari once again in 1954, getting another five podiums, including another British GP win and coming second in the championship in the process. González's appearances at Championship Grands Prix became rare, making only five starts from 1955 to 1960. His last appearance was the 1960 Argentine Grand Prix.
González was sometimes referred to by English fans of the time as "The Pampas Bull" for his driving style whilst colleagues referred to him as El Cabezón meaning fat head. His close friends and family called him "Pepe".
He died on 15 June 2013 at the age of 90 in Buenos Aires of respiratory failure.
Before Formula 1 World Championship[]
Gonzalez 1949 Ferrari 166
González was a large man but surprisingly good sportsman and was adept at Soccer, Swimming and Cycling and began his motorsports career on Motorbikes.
Spotted by Juan Manuel Fangio, González was first noticed driving a Maserati that Fangio had found for him in 1949 and he also drove a Ferrari 166 that the Argentine Automobile Club had part funded with the Government, much the same way as Juan Manuel Fangio had made it to European racing.
Formula One Career[]
1950[]
In 1950, González, racing a Maserati 4CLT/48 would qualify an incredible third on his World Championship debut at Monaco, splitting the dominant Alfa Romeos. At the start, he was in third as the cars entered the Tabac corner for the first time. When they arrived they found it had been flooded by a rogue wave, and although Juan Manuel Fangio made it through, second placed Giuseppe Farina spun his Alfa Romeo 158 in front of González who rammed him. González was rammed in turn by Luigi Fagioli and in 10 cars retired from the incident. González would receive burns caused by fuel on his skin.
González would return for the French GP, qualifying 8th. But, like most of the Maserati runners in the race, he retired with engine trouble.
Formula One Statistical Overview[]
Formula One Record[]
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Scuderia Achille Varzi | Maserati | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1951 | José Froilán González | Talbot-Lago-Talbot | 24 (27) | 3rd | Report |
| Enrico Platé | Maserati | ||||
| Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | ||||
| 1952 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati | 6.5 | 9th | Report |
| 1953 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati | 13.5 (14.5) | 6th | Report |
| 1954 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 25.143 (26.643) | 2nd | Report |
| 1955 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 2 | 17th | Report |
| 1956 | Officine Alfieri Maserati | Maserati | 0 | NC | Report |
| Vandervell Products Ltd. | Vanwall | ||||
| 1957 | Scuderia Ferrari | Lancia-Ferrari | 1 | 21st | Report |
| 1958 | José Froilán González | Maserati | 0 | NC | Report |
| 1959: Did not compete | |||||
| 1960 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari | 0 | NC | Report |
Career Statistics[]
| Entries | 30 |
| Starts | 29 |
| Pole Positions | 3 |
| Front Row Starts | 12 |
| Race Wins | 2 |
| Podiums | 15 |
| Fastest Laps | 6 |
| Points | 78.643 |
| Laps Raced | 1266 |
| Distance Raced | 7,593 km (4,718 mi) |
| Races Led | 9 |
| Laps Led | 271 |
| Distance Led | 1,521 km (945 mi) |
| Doubles | 1 |
Race Wins[]
| Win Number | Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1951 British Grand Prix |
| 2 | 1954 British Grand Prix |
Career Results[]
| Complete Formula One Results | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Pts | Pos | ||||||||||||
| 1950 | 
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||||||
| Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1951 |
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24 (27) | 3rd | |||||||||||||||
| Ret | DNA | 2nd[1] | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1952 |
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6.5 | 9th | |||||||||||||||
| DNP | 2nd | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1953 | 
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13.5 (14.5) | 6th | ||||||||||||||
| 3rd | 3rd[1] | Ret | 3rd | 4th | DNP | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1954 |
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25.143 (26.643) | 2nd | ||||||||||||||
| 3rd | 4th[1] | Ret | 1st | 2nd[1] | 2nd | 3rd[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1955 |
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2 | 17th | ||||||||||||
| 2nd[1] | C | C | C | C | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1956 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||||||||
| Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1957 |
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1 | 21st | |||||||||||||||
| 5th[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1958 |
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0 | NC | ||||||||||||
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| 1959: Did not compete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1960 |
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0 | NC | |||||||||||||
| 10th | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Key | |||||
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| 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 | |||
Notes[]
External links[]
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