Onofre Marimón

Onofre Marimón
Marimón in 1952, pictured on the cover of El Gráfico
Born	Onofre Agustín Marimón (1923-12-19)19 December 1923 Zárate, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died	31 July 1954(1954-07-31) (aged 30) Nürburg, West Germany
Cause of death	Injuries sustained at the 1954 German Grand Prix
Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Argentine
Active years	1951, 1953–1954
Teams	Milano, Maserati
Entries	12 (11 starts)
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	2
Career points	8 1⁄7
Pole positions	0
Fastest laps	1
First entry	1951 French Grand Prix
Last entry	1954 German Grand Prix

Onofre Agustín Marimón (19 December 1923 – 31 July 1954) was an Argentine racing driver, who competed in Formula One at 12 Grands Prix between 1951 and 1954.^[a]

Marimón participated in 12 Formula One Grands Prix, achieving two podiums at the 1953 Belgian and 1954 British Grands Prix, and scoring a total of 8 1⁄7 championship points with Maserati. He also won the non-championship 1954 Rome Grand Prix, driving the Maserati 250F.

During practice for the 1954 German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, Marimón died after losing control of his Maserati 250F, impacting a ditch and causing a rollover. He was the first fatality at a Formula One Grand Prix.^[b]

Onofre Agustín Marimón was born on 19 December 1923 in Zárate, Buenos Aires, Argentina.^[1][2][3] Marimón was the son of racing driver and undertaker Domingo Marimón, the winner of the 1948 South American Grand Prix for Turismo Carretera. Marimón Sr. and Juan Manuel Fangio were team-mates for Chevrolet and friends, leading to Fangio becoming a mentor for Marimón Jr. when the young Zárateño moved to Europe.^[4]

Marimón was killed on 31 July 1954 during practice for the 1954 German Grand Prix, becoming the first driver to be fatally injured at a World Championship Grand Prix other than the Indianapolis 500. His Maserati left the Nürburgring race course at the Breidscheid curve near the Adenauer Bridge after he lost control attempting to improve his qualifying time. He died at the bottom of a steep and treacherous incline. He was going fast on a downgrade but failed to negotiate a sharp turn at the bottom. Marimón impacted a ditch, his Maserati shearing off a tree and rolling over a number of times. He was pinned underneath the car as it came to rest on its top with the wheels spinning in the air. Marimón was given the last rites by a Catholic priest before dying a few minutes after rescue workers freed him. It was thought that his braking unit failed.^{[citation needed]}

Marimón's death trimmed the Maserati team to four drivers. His practice times had not been satisfactory enough for him to make the top 5 for the 1954 German Grand Prix. His best time was 21.3 seconds behind the record time of 9:50.1 set by Fangio.^[5]

(key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
1951	Henri Louveau	José Froilán González	Talbot-Lago T26 GS	S 5.0	128	DNF
1953	S.P.A. Alfa Romeo	Juan Manuel Fangio	Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM	S5.0	22	DNF Engine

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

• Profile on OldRacingCars.com
• (in Spanish) Biography of Onofre Marimón (Funo!)