Juan Manuel Fangio was born on 24 June 1911 in the city of Balcarce, Argentina. Son of an Italian immigrant family of modest means, he worked originally as a mechanic. Besides the cars, his other passion was playing soccer and it earned him the nickname which stuck throughout his life: "El Chueco" (bandy-legs).

In 1934 he began racing himself, and the very fact that he survived marked him as an eventual champion. Pre-War Argentine circuits were killing grounds, dangerous and archaic tracks. But Fangio emerged as the gladiator to beat, and a two-time Argentine National Champion (1940-41). He had high hopes of going to Europe to achieve even greater things, but World War II put those dreams on hold.

Finally sent to Europe to race in 1947 with the monetary backing of Juan Peron's government, Fangio quickly proved his ability. But he was a puzzling figure - very unlike the kind of prima donna driver that Europeans had come to expect - bashful, even timid and with a small, reedy voice.

None of this conformed with what happened when he was behind the wheel, where Fangio possessed some of the greatest innate driving abilities that his or any other age had seen. Fangio was dedicated to motor racing both as a science that had to be mastered by long study and as a fine art that had to be caressed as such - he likened it to painting.

By 1950 and the start of the modern Grand Prix era with the debut of Formula One, Fangio was driving for Alfa Romeo, finishing second but winning his own World Championship in 1951. After a severe accident at Monza that broke his neck and kept him out of a car for nearly two seasons, in 1954 he had made a mid-season switch from Maserati to Mercedes, a move which helped him clinch his second world title - the first of four straight - by capturing every pole position and winning six of eight championship races. He repeated for Mercedes the next year, winning his third World Championship and making an amazing duo with Englishman Sterling Moss, his team mate. The young Sterling idolized his elder mentor and used to call him affectuously "Maestro".

But then came Le Mans. Fangio was only indirectly involved in the accident that led to the death of 81 spectators in the 1955 24 Heurs du Mans, yet it marked a turning point in his career nonetheless. Mercedes withdrew from auto racing, and there was a real danger of European governments shutting down F1 in the wake of the tragedy.

Moving on to Ferrari, Fangio restored F1 to its glory by posting six poles in seven races, and winning three of them (with four 2nds) to claim his 4th - and many feel greatest - World Championship.

In 1957 he bolted Ferrari to rejoin Maserati, winning a 5th title with such sublime performances as the German GP at the 187-turn Nürburgring where Fangio lost 56 seconds and the lead in a pit stop, but returned to win by overtaking two official Ferraris, causing the astonishment of the audience and his rivals. Afterwars, due to this fact, the French Sports Academy awarded him as the author of the most spectacular sports effort of the world.

After a few races in 1958 he abruptly retired, having nothing more to prove to anyone, saying only "It is finished." He returned to his garage - having saved F1 following Le Mans and setting a standard for excellence and domination that will never be matched - and died peacefully on 17 July 1995 at age 84. Of all those that have followed him, the legendary Fangio said that only Jim Clark and Ayrton Senna came close to matching his driving skills.