- Season Points Av. 30.6
- Best Championship Finishes. 1st (x5), 2nd (x2)
- Average Constructor Placing over Career. 1.4
- 24 wins from 29 poles
For the second half of the Twentieth Century Fangio was the unparalleled most successful driver in Formula One with his five driver's title win. In the first year of the championship he lost out to Farina, but with both on the Alfa Romeo next he won. The 1952 was sat out injured, and 1953 was an uncompetitive year with three 2nd place finishes, whilst Ascari wrapped up his 2nd title with 5 wins from 6 poles. In 1954 Fangio won 6 races and won the title clearly. In 1955 Fangio had maybe his greatest achievement as he was paired with the super-fast Stirling Moss. Fangio achieved 3 poles and 4 wins, two of them one-twos over his talented team-mate. 1956 saw him move to the quick Ferrari and finish ahead of Moss and the pacy Peter Collins, with 3 wins. 1957 saw his final full season, and another dominant one with Maserati. He won 4 races and finished 2nd in two winning by a clear margin. 1957 also saw one of f1's great victories. After a pit stop from a comfortable lead, Fangio came out 50 seconds behind Hawthorn and Collin's Ferrari's . He chased them down and passed them with a lap left. His fastest lap being over 10 seconds quicker than the nearest rival.
Fangio's tactic to jump from best car to best car does detract from his lustre, though shows great politicking for drives. Equally, he must be placed higher than most other drivers because when given the equipment he won with it, including when paired with Moss, who Henry placed as the best driver of all time, difficult when considering that he was outdriven by Fangio when in the same car. Also many of his achievements were conducted in his forties. Ultimately a legendary driver and deserving of his high placing, though I'd accept not as high as many would expect.
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