Born in Turin, Farina was the son of Giovanni Carlo Farina, founder of the Stabilimenti Farina coachbuilder. He began driving a two-cylinder Temperino at the age of nine and progressed to hillclimbing at the 1925 Aosta–Gran San Bernardo event, crashing on his first attempt and breaking his shoulder. He went on to earn a doctorate in political science and excelled in skiing, football, and athletics before committing fully to motorsport.
Racing Maseratis and Alfa Romeos from 1933, Farina came under the mentorship of Tazio Nuvolari and caught the attention of Enzo Ferrari, who recruited him to Scuderia Ferrari in 1935. Driving an Alfa Romeo 8C, he finished second at the Mille Miglia and became a Grand Prix winner with victory at the 1937 Grand Prix of Naples. Farina won three consecutive Italian Championships between 1937 and 1939 — the latter two driving for Alfa Corse — and added the Tripoli Grand Prix in 1939 as his final pre-war victory.
His career carried a darker element: he was involved in two fatal accidents. At the 1936 Grand Prix de Deauville, a collision with Marcel Lehoux's ERA caused Lehoux to be thrown from his car and die from a fractured skull. In 1938 at the Gran Premio di Tripoli, László Hartmann's Maserati cut across Farina's car; the cars overturned and Hartmann died the following day.
After World War II, Farina returned to Alfa Corse and won the 1946 Grand Prix des Nations. A dispute over team leadership led him to miss the entire 1947 season. Returning in 1948 with a privately entered Maserati and a works Ferrari, he won the Grand Prix des Nations, the Monaco Grand Prix, and the Gran Premio Internacional del General San Martín in Argentina. He also won the Lausanne Grand Prix before being re-signed by Alfa Corse.
The 1950 FIA World Championship of Drivers opened at Silverstone in front of 150,000 spectators. Farina won the race ahead of teammates Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell, completing an Alfa Romeo 1–2–3 and becoming one of only three drivers to win on their World Drivers' Championship debut. He went on to win the Swiss and Italian Grands Prix amid a season-long title battle with Fangio. By the final race at Monza, Farina trailed his teammate by two points. Fangio's gearbox failed and his car was taken over by Piero Taruffi, only to retire, leaving Farina to win the race and claim the championship.
Farina remained with Alfa Romeo in 1951 but finished fourth in the championship, with his only win of the season coming at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. When Grand Prix racing switched to Formula 2 specification in 1952, Farina joined Ferrari alongside Alberto Ascari, but was unable to challenge Ascari's total dominance over the next two seasons.
In 1953, Farina was involved in one of Formula One's most tragic incidents at the Argentine Grand Prix: President Perón had allowed free spectator access, and a young boy ran across the track at the Curva Nor Este while Farina was committed to a fast corner, forcing him to swerve into the crowd, killing seven people and injuring many others. That same year he took his final Formula One victory at the German Grand Prix and won twice in the inaugural World Sportscar Championship — the 24 Hours of Spa with Mike Hawthorn, and the 1000 km of Nürburgring partnering Ascari.
In 1954 Farina crashed heavily at the Mille Miglia and, still recovering, raced the Belgian Grand Prix with his right arm in plaster. A second serious injury came at the Supercortemaggiore sports car race at Monza, leaving him hospitalised for twenty days. He returned in 1955 but retired mid-season after further physical decline, and did not start his final Grand Prix at Monza following a tyre failure during practice.
Farina attempted to qualify for the 1956 Indianapolis 500 — then part of the World Drivers' Championship — in a Kurtis Kraft chassis fitted with a Ferrari engine, but failed to make the grid across four qualifying sessions. His planned 1957 entry ended following the death of teammate Keith Andrews during a test run at the circuit.
After retiring from racing, Farina became involved in Alfa Romeo and Jaguar distributorships and assisted at the Pininfarina factory. On 30 June 1966, driving through the Savoy Alps near Aiguebelle on his way to watch the French Grand Prix — and to serve as driving double for actor Yves Montand in the film Grand Prix — Farina lost control of his Lotus Cortina, struck a telegraph pole, and was killed instantly. He was 59 years old.
Farina's 1950 championship is historically unique: he is the first driver ever to hold the title of Formula One World Drivers' Champion. His elegant driving style, characterised by outstretched arms and a reclined seating position, influenced generations of drivers. Across his career he also won the Nürburgring 1000 km, the 24 Hours of Spa, and the 12 Hours of Casablanca, all in 1953.
Gallery · 2 related images
