Emilio Giuseppe Farina, the Gentlemen of Turin. Born on 30 October 1906, he is the first ever World Champion of F1.

Nino Farina’s 1950 Championship came by the hand of his Alfa Romeo. He won the inaugural F1 race in Great Britain at Silverstone. Out of 6 races, he won 3, got 2 pole positions, and finished atop the table with 30 points.

Farina raced under the great Tazio Nuvolari before his F1 success and won several Italian driver’s titles for Alfa Romeo in the late 1930s. He is recalled for his “straight-arm driving style” and was known to be very temperamental.

The Italian did come at an unlucky time, as he raced teammate Juan Manuel Fangio in ’51, couldn’t win a race for Ferrari in ’52, and was beaten by Alberto Ascari in ’53. In 1954, he suffered a broken arm and burns following a fire racing a sports car in Monza, and eventually, he opted to retire due to pain while racing.

Memorable quote

“He drove as if the devil was behind him and angels ahead”