Alberto Ascari - The First Double World Champion

By: Pierre Menard, Jacques Vassal . 2nd hand book in very good condition

Fangio Ascari and Moss were the three outstanding Grand Prix drivers of the fifties. Ascari came from Milan and with his thickset physique could well have passed for 'a prop forward' in the words of Maurice Trintignant.

He started his career racing motorbikes in 1936 and graduated to four wheels in the 1940 Mille Miglia. Then in 1948-49 he began to make a name for himself driving Maseratis with his friend Villoresi, just when Tazio Nuvolari retired. In 1949, Ascari signed a contract with Ferrari and won his first Grand Prix in Switzerland in a supercharged 1500cc 125 C.

From 1950 onwards he was one of the main protagonists with Fangio and Farina in the newly created F1 World Championship. His 2 wins in his big Ferrari 375 F1 on the Nurburgring and Monza circuits in 1951 made him the idol of the tifosi. His name really became part of F1 legend in 1952 and 1953 when he became the first double world champion in the history of the sport. He signed with Lancia for the 1954 season, which turned out to be a very frustrating one, as the innovative Lancia D 50 was not raceworthy until the very end of the year.

On 26th May 1955, four days after a spectacular dive into the Monaco harbour when leading the Grand Prix he met his death in a 750 Monza Ferrari on the Monza circuit. His untimely demise had a profound impact on the whole of Italy as well as on many race fans round the world.

This book retraces his story through eyewitness accounts plus a wealth of previously unpublished photos and documents that recapture the ambience of that distant era.

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