He signed for Alfa Romeo in 1950, making his Formula One debut at the series-opening British Grand Prix, which he won ahead of Luigi Fagioli.

Amidst a title charge by teammate Juan Manuel Fangio, Farina took further wins at the Swiss and Italian Grands Prix, becoming the first World Drivers' Champion.

He cut short a career as a cavalry officer with the Italian army to fulfil a different ambition: motor racing.

[3][4][5][1][6] While still at university Farina purchased his first car, a second-hand Alfa Romeo, and ran it in the 1925 Aosta-Gran San Bernardo Hillclimb.

While trying to beat his father, he crashed, breaking his shoulder and receiving facial cuts, establishing a trend that continued throughout his crash-prone career.

for his driving style and intelligence, he had a petulant streak and disregard for his fellow competitors whilst on the race track.

Lehoux was thrown out, suffered a fractured skull and died in hospital, while Farina escaped with minor injuries.

Two seasons later, during the 1938 Gran Premio di Tripoli, László Hartmann's Maserati 4CM cut a corner in front of Farina.

[12] Three days after their high society wedding, Farina flew to Argentina where he drove his Maserati 8CL to victory in the Gran Premio Internacional del General San Martín.

Farina won, with teammates Luigi Fagioli and Reg Parnell, completing an Alfa Romeo 1–2–3 finish.

At Monaco eight days later, a multiple pile-up on the first lap saw Farina spin out of a race that Juan Manuel Fangio went on to win.

The next race, at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, saw Fangio beat Fagioli, with Farina finishing in fourth with transmission problems.

For Alfa, Monza was home territory and so they fielded an additional car for Piero Taruffi and Consalvo Sanesi.

Farina finished the season in fourth place, with his only world championship victory coming in the 1951 Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

[20] He also drove Tony Vandervell's Thinwall Special – a modified Ferrari 375 F1 car to second place in the end-of-season Woodcote Cup at Goodwood.

Farina was forced to take evasive action and swerved into the spectators standing on the exit of the corner, killing seven and injuring many others.

This year saw the introduction of the World Sportscar Championship, and as part of the Scuderia Ferrari squad of drivers, Farina made a number of appearances, winning twice.

The first came in the 24 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps, when he and Hawthorn had a winning margin of 18 laps, which amounted to about an advantage of close to 90 minutes.

After early season results including victories in the 1000 km Buenos Aires sports car race, co-driven by the young Italian Umberto Maglioli, and the Syracuse Grand Prix, he crashed heavily in the Mille Miglia whilst leading in his Ferrari 375 Plus.

[3][6][33][34][35] Later in the season he was badly injured in the Supercortemaggiore Grand Prix, a sports car race at Monza, as a consequence of which he spent 20 days in hospital.

[citation needed] He returned for the 1955 Italian Grand Prix, but his Scuderia Ferrari-entered Lancia D50 suffered a tyre failure at 170 mph during a practice session, whilst on the Monza's new banking.

[9] Following abortive entries in 1950 and 1952 where he was set to drive modified grand prix-style cars,[9] Farina entered the 1956 Indianapolis 500 with the "Bardahl-Ferrari" - a Kurtis Kraft chassis with a six-cylinder Ferrari engine installed.

The second weekend of the month saw heavy rain, cancelling the third day of qualifications, and leaving a limited amount of time for drivers to contest the remaining spaces on the grid.

Andrews crashed on the front stretch, backing the car into the inside wall and getting crushed to death between the cowl and fuel tank.

[3][4] On his way to the 1966 French Grand Prix, Farina lost control of his Lotus Cortina in the Savoy Alps, near Aiguebelle, hit a telegraph pole and was killed instantly.