Alberto Ascari leading the 1953 Italian Grand Prix at Monza in his Ferrari 500 F2. He was denied victory when his car was T-boned by Onofre Marimon’s Maserati within sight of the checkered flag. The eventual winner was Juan Manuel Fangio. Photo: Pirelli
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The Ascari Mystery

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Photo: Pirelli
Photo: Pirelli

Eugenio Castellotti was deeply concerned about his best friend and mentor. Four days earlier, Alberto Ascari plunged his Lancia D50 ­headlong into Monte Carlo harbor at more than 120 mph, while he was leading the 1955 Monaco Grand Prix. The 1952-53 Formula One World Champion was plucked from his submerged car by a frogman and hauled unceremoniously onto the deck of a small ­rescue boat, shaken and gasping for breath but glad to be alive. Before being taken to the hospital, the ­bedraggled Italian still had the presence of mind to insist that the frogman dive down to the sunken D50 again and bring up his bright blue “pudding bowl” crash helmet – a fanatically superstitious man, Ascari always refused point blank to drive a racing car ­without his indispensable head gear. So central was that particular helmet to his peace of mind that, if a mechanic in the pits even so much as moved it from the top of a tool box during testing, the Milanese ­driver would refuse to continue with the test session.

Prelude to Disaster

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