Monday Milestone: Kidnapped
"If what the rebels did was in a good cause, then I, as an Argentine, accept it"
– Racing hero Juan Manuel Fangio on his kidnappers
This Week in History:
1958, February 23
F1 driver Juan Manuel Fangio is bizarrely kidnapped from the Cuban Grand Prix as part of Fidel Castro's revolutionary movement.
Now I’ve come across some bizarre stories through the years. But few as bizarre as this one:
Walk with me.
The Milestone parks the Delorean this week, in Northern America during the late 1950s. The Cold War in full swing, the Red Scare gripping kitchens and boardrooms across America, and clean-cut American youths are baby-booming.
Ninety miles off the Florida Keys in Cuba however, a political revolution was brewing. Fulgencio Batista, the Cuban president in 1958 was in constant defence against rebel attacks from the mountains. These guerrilla forces, camped in the Sierra Maestra grew more antagonistic by the day, as Batista did his best to maintain calm in Havana.
Meanwhile, during the 1950s, Juan Manuel Fangio was the greatest racing driver on the planet. A colossus of the sport, many of his driving records stood until Michael Schumacher. With five world championships between 1951 and 1957, Fangio was the yardstick in every championship race as well as many other Formula 1 races across the world including the newly-established Cuban Grand Prix.
The idea of bringing the Grand Prix to Cuba was an attempt to bring glitz and glamour to Havana, The first event had been won in 1957 by Fangio, but it was when he returned in 1958 that things got a little weird.
Fidel Castro had wanted his movement on the world stage, so with all racing eyes on Cuba, why not abduct the world’s greatest driver? That ought to get people talking. So the night before the event, Fangio was accosted in his hotel lobby by a young man wielding a pistol. He was then spirited away, on behalf of Castro’s revolution. The world was outraged when the news broke. Where was Fangio? Imagine today if this happened today to Lewis Hamilton? Or Mark Webber?
But that’s not all. How is this – by reports Fangio was fine: held in a well-furnished apartment, eating steak and getting a great night sleep. Castro’s second in command, apologized to Fangio personally and he was even offered him a radio to listen to the race. Aren’t kidnappers supposed to at least lock you in a cage or a basement or something?
Best kidnapping ever.
Straight after the race, Fangio was released to the Argentine embassy with a ‘no hard feelings’ sentiment. Hard feelings!? He slept well and ate steak. I’d have no hard feelings either.
The race he missed however was a tragedy, stopped after only six laps when Cuban driver Armando Garcia Cifuentes hit an oil slick and his Ferrari crashed head-on into spectators, killing seven and injuring over forty.
And by the following year the political melting pot of Cuba had exploded into a Fidel Castro revolution, instilling the communism that continues today, leaving the idea of a Grand Prix in Havana superfluous.
But it’s been fifty years, perhaps we should bring it back? Cuba’s a great country. I’d like another good old-fashioned kidnapping like this one. And maybe that’s also how we finally stop Sebastian Vettel?
Milestone Five – Random Countries to host a Grand Prix
5. South Africa –
The East London circuit hosted the 1962, 1963, and 1965 South African Grand Prix. Obviously before world bans due to Apartheid kicked in.
4. Morocco –
Casablanca was not just the scene of a Bogart movie. It also hosted the 1958 Moroccan Grand Prix, in a one-off race.
3. Mexico –
Mexico City hosted the Grand Prix for several years, first from 1963-70 then the second stint from 1986-92.
2. India –
India hosted their first Grand Prix in 2011. Greater Noida is also set to host another one this year, spreading motor racing globally.
1. Cuba –
The Cuban Grand Prix hosted a kidnapping, a huge death toll, and shortly after, a revolution. Unsurprisingly, they haven’t been invited to host another one since.
