1955 Argentine Grand Prix

Italy Nino Farina France Maurice Trintignant France Maurice Trintignant Italy Umberto Maglioli The 1955 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Buenos Aires on 16 January 1955. It was race 1 of 7 in the 1955 World Championship of Drivers and the third running of the Argentine Grand Prix. It was also the first of three international races within two weeks, with the 1955 1000 km Buenos Aires opening the sports cars WC season, and the 1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix Formula Libre race at the end of January seeing another win for Fangio and Mercedes, this time powered by the enlarged 3.0 sports car version of the F1 engine.

The race was won from third on the grid by Juan Manuel Fangio for Mercedes. Ferrari drivers Nino Farina and Maurice Trintignant finished both second and third in two three-way shared drives with José Froilán González and Umberto Maglioli respectively. The high temperatures of the Argentinian summer proved to be very taxing for both drivers and cars. Fangio and Roberto Mieres were the only two drivers able to complete the race without handing their car to another driver, either due to exhaustion, or due to team orders.

According to former Ferrari and Maserati chief mechanic Giulio Borsari, Fangio acclimatized himself by moving to Argentina one month prior to the race and reducing his water consumption to one liter a day to cope with the extreme heat. Fangio also suffered severe burns to his leg which, for the entire duration of the 3 hour race, was rubbing against the chassis frame which was being heated by the exhaust. It left a permanent scar on his leg later in life. Apart from winning the Formula Libre race two weeks later, run in two heats of 30 laps, it took Fangio 3 months to recover. He finished second in the 1955 Mille Miglia, and his next F1 race in Monaco was not until late May.