José Froilán González (5 October 1922 – 15 June 2013) was an Argentine racing driver who competed in Formula One between and . Nicknamed "the Pampas Bull" and "el Cabezón", González was runner-up in the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in with Ferrari, and won two Grands Prix across nine seasons. In endurance racing, González won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in , also with Ferrari.
González, who was a close friend of Juan Manuel Fangio and Roberto Mieres, among others, is particularly notable for scoring Ferrari's first win in a Formula One World Championship race at the 1951 British Grand Prix. He made his Formula One debut for Scuderia Achille Varzi in the 1950 Monaco Grand Prix. His last Grand Prix was the 1960 Argentine Grand Prix. González competed in 26 World Championship Formula One Grands Prix over nine seasons (1950–1957 and 1960) and numerous non-Championship events. In the 26 World Championship races, González scored two victories (the 1951 British Grand Prix and the 1954 British Grand Prix), seven second-place finishes, six third-place finishes, three pole positions, six fastest laps, and 72 points. He won the 1951 Coppa Acerbo, the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans with Maurice Trintignant, and the Portuguese Grand Prix for Ferrari.
Sixtieth anniversary tribute
thumb|250px|left|González demonstrating a [[Ferrari 500 in 2000]]
On 10 July 2011, during the British Grand Prix meeting, González was honoured by Ferrari and the FIA on the 60th anniversary of Ferrari's first Formula One World Championship race victory. As part of the celebration, Ferrari driver Fernando Alonso drove González's Ferrari 375 F1 for four laps of the Silverstone track. Later that day, Alonso won the British Grand Prix in his Ferrari 150º Italia.
Death
González died in Buenos Aires from respiratory failure, aged 90, after a downturn in health following a heart attack earlier in 2013.
Racing record
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! WDC
! Pts.
|-
|
! Scuderia Achille Varzi
! Maserati 4CLT/48
! Maserati L4C
| GBR
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MON<br />
| 500
| SUI
| BEL
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FRA<br />
| ITA
|
|
|
! NC
! 0
|-
|rowspan="3"|
! José Froilán González
! Talbot-Lago T26C-GS
! Talbot L6
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SUI<br />
| 500
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|rowspan="3" style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 3rd
|rowspan="3" style="background:#FFDF9F;"| 24<br>(27)
|-
! Enrico Platé
! Maserati 4CLT/48
! Maserati L4
|
|
| BEL<br /><small>DNA</small>
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Scuderia Ferrari
! Ferrari 375
! Ferrari V12
|
|
|
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| FRA<br />
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| GBR<br />
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| GER<br />
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ITA<br />
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ESP<br />
|
|
|-
|
! Officine Alfieri Maserati
! Maserati A6GCM
! Maserati L6
| SUI
| 500
| BEL
| FRA
| GBR
| GER
| NED
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ITA<br /><small>2**</small>
|
|
! 9th
! 6
|-
|
! Officine Alfieri Maserati
! Maserati A6GCM
! Maserati L6
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| ARG<br />
| 500
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| NED<br />
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| BEL<br />
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| FRA<br />
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| GBR<br /><small>4**</small>
| GER
| SUI
| ITA
|
! 6th
! 13 <br>(14 )
|-
|rowspan="2"|
!rowspan="2"| Scuderia Ferrari
! Ferrari 625
! Ferrari L4
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| ARG<br />
| 500
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| BEL<br /><small>4*<sup>†</sup></small>
|
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| GBR<br />
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| GER<br />
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| SUI<br />
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| ITA<br /><small>3*<sup>†</sup></small>
| ESP
|
|rowspan="2" style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 2nd
|rowspan="2" style="background:#DFDFDF;"| 25 <br>(26 )
|-
! Ferrari 553
! Ferrari L4
|
|
|
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| FRA<br />
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|
! Scuderia Ferrari
! Ferrari 625
! Ferrari L4
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ARG<br />
| MON
| 500
| BEL
| NED
| GBR
| ITA
|
|
|
! 17th
! 2
|-
|rowspan="2"|
! Officine Alfieri Maserati
! Maserati 250F
! Maserati L6
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ARG<br />
| MON
| 500
| BEL
| FRA
|
|
|
|
|
!rowspan="2"| NC
!rowspan="2"| 0
|-
! Vandervell Products Ltd.
! Vanwall VW 2
! Vanwall L4
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| GBR<br />
| GER
| ITA
|
|
|-
|
! Scuderia Ferrari
! Lancia-Ferrari D50
! Ferrari V8
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| ARG<br /><small>5*</small>
| MON
| 500
| FRA
| GBR
| GER
| PES
| ITA
|
|
! 21st
! 1
|-
|
! Scuderia Ferrari
! Ferrari Dino 246
! Ferrari V6
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| ARG<br />
| MON
| 500
| NED
| BEL
| FRA
| GBR
| POR
| ITA
| USA
! NC
! 0
|-
!colspan="16"|
|}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> Shared drive.<br>
<nowiki>**</nowiki> Joint fastest lap.<br>
<sup>†</sup> González started the race in a Ferrari 553 Squalo, but took over one of his teammates' 625 during the race.
Complete Formula One non-championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! 19
! 20
! 21
! 22
! 23
! 24
! 25
! 26
! 27
! 28
! 29
! 30
! 31
! 32
! 33
! 34
! 35
|-
|
! Scuderia Achille Varzi
! Maserati 4CLT/48
! Maserati 1.5 s/c straight-4
| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PAU<br />
| RIC
| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SRM<br />
| PAR
| EMP
| BAR
| JER
| style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ALB<br />
| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| NED<br />
| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| NAT<br />
| NOT
| ULS
| PES
| STT
| INT
| GOO
| PEN
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
| rowspan=3|
! José Froilán González
! Talbot-Lago T26C-GS
! Talbot-Lago 4.5 L6
| SYR
| PAU
| RIC
| SRM
| BOR
| INT
| style="background:#DFDFDF;"| PAR<br />
| ULS
| SCO
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Enrico Platé
! Maserati 4CLT/48
! Maserati 4CLT 1.5 s/c L4
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| NED DNA
| ALB
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Scuderia Ferrari
! Ferrari 375
! Ferrari 4.5 V12
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| PES<br />
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| BAR<br />
| GOO
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan=3|
! Scuderia Ferrari
! Ferrari 375
! Ferrari 4.5 V12
| SYR
| VAL
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| RIC<br />
| LAV
| PAU
| IBS
| MAR
| AST
| INT
| ELÄ
| NAP
| EIF
| PAR
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! British Racing Motors
! BRM Type 15
! BRM P15 1.5 s/c V16
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ALB<br />
| FRO
| ULS
|
|
|
|
|
|
| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| DMT<br />
| COM
| NAT
| BAU
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Officine Alfieri Maserati
! Maserati A6GCM
! Maserati 2.0 L6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| MNZ<br />
| LAC
| ESS
| MAR
| SAB
| CAE
|
|
|
|
| style="background:#DFDFDF;"| MOD<br />
| CAD
| SKA
| MAD
| AVU
| JOE
| NEW
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|
! Officine Alfieri Maserati
! Maserati A6GCM
! Maserati 2.0 L6
| SYR
| PAU
| LAV
| AST
| BOR
| INT
| ELÄ
| style="background:#FFDF9F;"| NAP <br />
| ULS
| WIN
| FRO
| COR
| SNE
| EIF
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! British Racing Motors
! BRM Type 15
! BRM P15 1.5 s/c V16
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ALB <br/>
| PRI
| ESS
| MID
| ROU
| CRY
| AVU
| USF
| LAC
| BRI
| CHE
| SAB
| NEW
| CAD
| RED
| SKA
| LON
| MOD
| MAD
| JOE
| CUR
|-
| rowspan=2|
! rowspan=2| Scuderia Ferrari
! Ferrari 553
! Ferrari 2.0 L4
| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| SYR<br />
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ROU<br />
| CAE
| AUG
| COR
| OUL
| RED
| PES
| JOE
| CAD
| BER
| GOO
| DTT
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! Ferrari 625
! Ferrari 2.5 L4
|
| style="background:#EFCFFF;"| PAU<br />
| LAV
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| BOR<br />
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| INT<br />
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| BAR<br />
| CUR
| ROM DNA
| FRO
| COR
| BRC
| CRY
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
|
! José Froilán González
! Ferrari 625
! Ferrari 2.5 L4
| style="background:#CFCFFF;"| BUE<br />
| SYR
| GLV
| NAP
| RMS
| CAE
| INT
| MOD
| MOR
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|-
!colspan="39"|
|}
<sup>1</sup>Gonzalez drove the 553 in the heat and the 625 in the final of the 1954 BRDC International Trophy.
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
thumb|right|1950 Simca Gordini T15s, as raced, and retired, at the [[1950 24 Hours of Le Mans by José Froilán González and Juan Manuel Fangio]]
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
|-
! Year
! Team
! Co-Drivers
! Car
! Class
! Laps
!
!
|-
!
|align="left"| Automobiles Gordini
|align="left"| Juan Manuel Fangio
|align="left"| Simca-Gordini T15S Compresseur
| S 3.0
| 95
|colspan=2|DNF<br>(Engine)
|-
!
|align="left"| Henri Louveau
|align="left"| Onofre Marimón
|align="left"| Talbot-Lago T26 GS
| S 5.0
| 128
|colspan=2|DNF<br>(Radiator)
|-
!
|align="left"| Scuderia Lancia
|align="left"| Clemente Biondetti
|align="left"| Lancia D20 Compressor
| S 8.0
| 213
|colspan=2|DNF<br>(Engine)
|-
!
|align="left"| Scuderia Ferrari
|align="left"| Maurice Trintignant
|align="left"| Ferrari 375 Plus
| S 5.0
| 302
|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| 1st
|bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| 1st
|-
!colspan="8"|
|}
Other race results
- Grand Prix of Interlagos: 3rd, (1952), Formula Libre
- Grand Prix of Rio de Janeiro 1st, (1952), Formula Libre
- Grand Prix of Buenos Aires 1st, (1951), Formula Libre
- Glover Trophy: 1st, (1952), Formula Libre
- Supercortemaggiore: 2nd, (1954)
- Monsanto Park Circuit: 1st, (1954)
- 1000 miles of Buenos Aires: 3rd, (1956), 1st (1960)
- 500 miles of Rafaela: 1st, (1958), 1st (1959)
Notes
References
External links
- Video: Tribute to Froilán González by Fernando Alonso