José Froilán González (October 5, 1922 – June 15, 2013) was an Argentine racing driver, particularly notable for scoring Ferrari's first win in a

Formula One World Championship Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

race at the 1951 British Grand Prix. He made his

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

debut for Scuderia Achille Varzi in the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix. His last Grand Prix was the 1960 Argentine Grand Prix. González competed in 26 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix over nine seasons (1950–1957 and 1960) and numerous non-Championship events. In the 26 World Championship races, González scored two victories (the 1951 British Grand Prix and the

1954 British Grand Prix The 1954 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Silverstone on 17 July 1954. It was race 5 of 9 in the 1954 World Championship of Drivers. The 90-lap race was won by Ferrari driver José Froilán González after he started from ...

), seven second-place finishes, six third-place finishes, three

pole position In a motorsports race, the pole position is usually the best and "statistically the most advantageous" starting position on the track. The pole position is usually earned by the driver with the best qualifying times in the trials before the rac ...

s, six fastest laps, and 72 points. He won the 1951

Coppa Acerbo The Coppa Acerbo was an automobile race held in Italy, named after Tito Acerbo, the brother of Giacomo Acerbo, a prominent fascist politician. Following Italy's defeat in World War II, and the consequent demise of fascism, the race was renamed ...

, in 1954 the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

with

Maurice Trintignant Maurice Bienvenu Jean Paul Trintignant (30 October 1917 – 13 February 2005) was a motor racing driver and vintner from France. He competed in the Formula One World Championship for fourteen years, between 1950 and 1964, one of the longest care ...

, and the

Portuguese Grand Prix The Portuguese Grand Prix (''Grande Prémio de Portugal'') is a motorsports event that was first held in 1951 as a sportscar event, and then intermittently disappearing for many years before being revived again. In 1964 event was held as a spo ...

for

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

. Physically well built, González was nicknamed ''The Pampas Bull'' (by his English fans) and ''El Cabezón'' (Fat Head, by his Argentine fans). His close friends, like

Juan-Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 – 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...

and

Roberto Mieres Roberto Casimiro Mieres (3 December 1924 – 26 January 2012) was a racing driver from Mar del Plata, Argentina. He participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 7 June 1953. He scored a total of 13 championship ...

, called him ''Pepe''.

Sixtieth anniversary tribute

On 10 July 2011, during the

British Grand Prix The British Grand Prix is a Grand Prix motor race organised in the United Kingdom by the Royal Automobile Club. First held in 1926, the British Grand Prix has been held annually since 1948 and has been a round of the FIA Formula One World Cha ...

meeting, González was honoured by the Ferrari team and the FIA on the 60th anniversary of Ferrari's first Formula One World Championship race victory. As part of the celebration, Ferrari driver

Fernando Alonso Fernando Alonso Díaz (; born 29 July 1981) is a Spanish racing driver currently competing for Alpine in Formula One. He won the series' World Drivers' Championship in and with Renault, and has also driven for McLaren, Ferrari, and Mi ...

drove González'

Ferrari 375 F1 :''See also the 340 and 375 road cars sharing the same engine'' After finding only modest success with the supercharged 125 F1 car in Formula One, Ferrari decided to switch for 1950 to the naturally aspirated 4.5-litre formula for the series. ...

for four laps of the Silverstone track. Later that day, Alonso won the British Grand Prix in his

Ferrari 150º Italia The Ferrari 150º Italia, formerly known as the Ferrari F150, was a Formula One car used by Ferrari to compete in the 2011 Formula One season. The chassis was designed by Aldo Costa, Pat Fry, Nikolas Tombazis and Marco de Luca with Luca Marmor ...

Death

He died in Buenos Aires from

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

, aged 90, after a downturn in health following a heart attack earlier in 2013.

Racing record

Complete Formula One World Championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) * Shared drive.
** Joint fastest lap.
^† González started the race in a

Ferrari 553 __NOTOC__ The Ferrari 553 was a racing car produced by Ferrari which raced in (when the World Championship was run to F2 regulations) as a Formula Two car and in as a Formula One car. 553 F1 The 1953 553 F2 car was raced in the 1953 World Driv ...

''Squalo'', but took over one of his teammates'

625 __NOTOC__ Year 625 ( DCXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 625 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...

during the race.

Complete Formula One non-championship results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ¹Gonzalez drove the 553 in the heat and the 625 in the final of the 1954 BRDC International Trophy.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Other race results

* Grand Prix of Interlagos: 3rd, (1952), Formula Libre * Grand Prix of Rio de Janeiro 1st, (1952), Formula Libre * Grand Prix of Buenos Aires 1st, (1951), Formula Libre *

Glover Trophy The Glover Trophy, also known as the Richmond Trophy, was a non-championship Formula One motor race held in the spring at Goodwood, England from 1949 to 1965. In the 1962 race, Stirling Moss, who had won the race on two previous occasions and ...

: 1st, (1952), Formula Libre * Supercortemaggiore: 2nd, (1954) * Monsanto Park Circuit: 1st, (1954) * 1000 miles of Buenos Aires: 3rd, (1956), 1st (1960) * 500 miles of Rafaela: 1st, (1958), 1st (1959)

References

External links

Video: Tribute to Froilán González by Fernando Alonso
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Jose Froilan 1922 births Argentine racing drivers Argentine Formula One drivers Formula One race winners Enrico Platé Formula One drivers Ferrari Formula One drivers Maserati Formula One drivers Vanwall Formula One drivers Turismo Carretera drivers People from Arrecifes 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans winning drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers 2013 deaths Deaths from respiratory failure Sportspeople from Buenos Aires Province