The Tough Guy, Part 1

Hollywood actors play them—Luigi Fagioli was one. Built like Rocky Marciano with wide shoulders, muscular arms, thick neck and a broad chest, his attitude could be as tough as his appearance and that could lead to violence when his temper took over. Fagioli was an explosive cocktail of hard-nosed single-mindedness, ruthlessness, chauvinism and driving talent that gave no quarter and expected none in return.

The “Abruzzi Robber,” as they called him, was a truly great racing driver. Though considered mercurial by some, he often beat men like Tazio Nuvolari and Rudolf Caracciola. He also won a total of 10 Grands Prix, including Monaco, Avus and Italy for Mercedes-Benz, Monza and Rome for Maserati and France for Alfa Romeo. And for more than 50 years, he has held the record for being the oldest driver ever to win a GP—the French in 1951—when he was 52 years old and racked with rheumatism.

A rebellious individual, the Tough Guy constantly disobeyed the fearsome Alfred Neubauer, once attacked teammate Rudolf Caracciola with a hammer, then a knife, and would abandon a Grand Prix rather than meekly bow to Mercedes team orders so that a slower driver could win. He was so conceited that he automatically assumed he was the number-one driver when he joined the much-vaunted Mercedes-Benz team, something a certain Mr. Alfred Neubauer was none too pleased about. And that meant trouble.