Fangio (Maserati 250F) en route to victory at Roen in 1957. (LAT archive)
A tip of the hat to the five-time F1 World Champion, who passed away on this date in 1995 at the age of 84.
Nicknamed El Maestro ("The Master"), the Argentine dominated the first decade of modern Formula 1. He won five Formula 1 World Drivers' Championships – a record long thought to be unassailable until Michael Schumacher eventually exceeded it, but Fangio's winning percentage of 47.06%, with 24 victories in 58 starts, remains at the top. Amazingly, he also won his five titles with four different teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati
It's also noteworthy that Fangio started his racing career at a mature age by race driver standards, and was frequently the oldest driver in the field. And this in an era in which the cars' and drivers' safety equipment was rudimentary at best.