The tragedy that forced Ferrari's first F1 winner to quit

I met Jose Froilan Gonzales only once, in 2002. The Belgian Grand Prix had been won by Michael Schumacher, and it marked the 100th victory for a Ferrari running on Shell: a happy consequence was that Shell invited to Monza the man who had scored the first.

In fact, Gonzales's victory in the 1951 British Grand Prix was also the first for Ferrari since the inception of the world championship.

Now he was back in a paddock again, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity of a chat.

In South America they love nicknames for their sporting heroes, and just as his friend Juan Manuel Fangio was El Chueco ('Bandy Legs'), Gonzales was El Cabezon.

"Means 'Big Head'," he smiled. This wasn't 'big head' in the arrogant sense, but a straightforward description.

In his racing days Gonzales was indeed a burly fellow, but Stirling Moss attests that there was nothing awry with his fitness: "It was solid muscle, boy, believe me..."

Now, in old age, El Cabezon seemed about half the size he had been.

Remembering his racing days, he was very animated, speaking quickly, laughing often, making his elevation to the top echelon of motor racing sound deceptively straightforward: "Fangio came to Europe in 1949, and the next year I followed, driving for a team from the Automobile Club of Argentina. We raced Maseratis, in national colours, but they weren't very competitive or reliable."

Occasionally Gonzales drove a Ferrari for the same team, and back in South America the car was supercharged for use in the Formule Libre Temporada: early in 1951 a couple of races were run in Buenos Aires, and they proved crucial.

It was here Mercedes made a brief return to racing, running the W163s that had dominated 1939, one of them for Fangio. In his Ferrari, Gonzales flayed them in both races, and that registered in Maranello.

"When back in Europe, I went to see the Commendatore, and told him that if he needed me, I would be happy to drive for him," said Gonzales.

"When Serafini broke his leg in the Mille Miglia, Ferrari asked me to drive at Reims."

Gonzales adapted readily to the 4.5-litre 375, qualifying sixth, then in the race handing over to Alberto Ascari, whose car had retired: "When I came in to refuel, the team director said, 'Ascari has to get in the car', so there wasn't much I could do - I didn't have a contract then! Alberto finished second, and the points were split."

After Reims, Ferrari called Gonzales. "He said, 'If you want to race Serafini's car all season, you can'.

"Then we made a contract - to be honest, I didn't even know what it said! I simply asked him, 'Are your drivers insured?' He said yes, so I said, 'OK, I'll sign!' I got a wage, and he also gave me some money for expenses."

Next on the agenda was Silverstone, a track new to Gonzales, and there he stunned everyone by taking pole - by a clear second.

"Ah, Silverstone '51... there were four cars on the front row - Fangio, Farina, Ascari and myself," he recalled.

"At the drivers' meeting they said anyone jumping the start would get a one-minute penalty, and we were all so nervous none of us moved - the three cars on the second row went straight past us! At the first corner 
I was fifth, but on the second lap I passed Bonetto for the lead, and Fangio got into second place. It was a fight all the way."

Photographs of Gonzales that day, always apparently on opposite lock, chime with me like those of Fangio's Maserati 250F
 at Rouen in 1957. "Of course there were no barriers in those days, so it was easy for spectators to see the drivers..."

At the end of 1951 Alfa Romeo withdrew, and Fangio signed for Maserati, persuading Gonzales to join him. "I didn't want to leave Ferrari, but Maserati paid better, and a bit more money was important in those days."

The next two seasons were desultory if you were not a Ferrari driver, but Gonzales supplemented his income by also driving the BRM V16 in selected races.

"BRM gave Fangio and myself £1000 to do the testing for one year, and we divided it between us. There were many problems with that car - when you started to brake, and wanted to turn in... you went in another direction!

"At Albi in '53 I finished second, but the big problem was always tyres. We could pass the Ferraris on the straight as if they were standing still, but we had to be very careful because the tyres kept coming off the rims. I remember a huge piece of tread hitting the side of my helmet. Oh, there were many stories with that car..."

For 1954, Gonzales returned to Ferrari, winning at Silverstone (in both the British GP and International Trophy), and also taking a magnificent victory, with Maurice Trintignant, at Le Mans.

"Probably that was my most spectacular race - it rained for 17 of the 24 hours, and I drove something like 4000kms on my own. It was a fight with the Jaguars. In the wet the Jaguar was better than the Ferrari, but we had more power, and were ahead towards the end when there was a storm. With half an hour left, we made our last stop, for a bit of fuel - and the engine wouldn't restart because the ignition was soaked! Finally, after seven minutes, they got it going, and we were able to win - by less than four kilometres..."

A few weeks later, though, came the tragedy that was to end Gonzales's racing career in Europe.

In practice for the German Grand Prix his close friend, and fellow countryman, Onofre Marimon crashed his Maserati, and was killed.

"We never thought about safety then. Today, if a driver dies, it's a big tragedy, but in those days you had about a 50% chance of surviving. At circuits like the Nurburgring there was no safety whatsoever.

"Onofre went off, hit the trees, and that was it. His parents were there, and mine, too. It was a nightmare..."

A grief-stricken Gonzales drove in the race, leading for a while before handing over to Mike Hawthorn.

"I finished the season, but because of Marimon's accident I started to have problems with my wife, and my parents also put pressure on me to stop," he explained. "After leaving Europe, I carried on in South America, with a Ferrari, and won two championships.

"The car was given to me by the Commendatore - I mean, I bought it from him, but it was cheap. A friend of mine had a Ferrari, and broke the engine, so I gave him the one from mine, but kept the car, and put a Chevrolet engine in it! In those days we used whatever was available, and actually it went pretty well."

After one final F1 appearance, for Ferrari in the 1960 Argentine GP, Gonzales called time on his racing career, and a long and happy retirement awaited. He died in Buenos Aires in 2013, his 91st birthday beckoning.