View source for Luigi Musso

{{short description|Italian racing driver (1924–1958)}}
{{Infobox person
| name          = Luigi Musso
| image         = Luigi Musso.jpg
| caption       = Musso at the [[1957 Argentine Grand Prix]]
| birth_date    = {{birth date|1924|7|28|df=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Rome]], [[Kingdom of Italy]]
| death_date    = {{death date and age|1958|7|6|1924|7|28|df=y}}
| death_place   = [[Reims]], France
| death_cause   = [[#Death|Injuries sustained at the 1958 French Grand Prix]]
| module        = {{Infobox F1 driver|embed=yes
| nationality   = {{flagicon|ITA}} [[Formula One drivers from Italy|Italian]]
| Years         = {{F1|1953}}–{{F1|1958}}
| Team(s)       = [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]], [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]
| Races         = 25 (24 starts)
| Championships = 0
| Wins          = 1
| Podiums       = 7
| Points        = 44
| Poles         = 0
| Fastest laps  = 1
| First race    = [[1953 Italian Grand Prix]]
| First win     = [[1956 Argentine Grand Prix]]
| Last race     = [[1958 French Grand Prix]]
}}
}}

'''Luigi Musso''' (28 July 1924 – 6 July 1958) was an Italian [[racing driver]], who competed in [[Formula One]] from {{F1|1953}} to {{F1|1958}}. Musso won the [[1956 Argentine Grand Prix]] with [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]].

Born in [[Rome]], Musso started his career in [[sportscar racing]] before progressing to Formula One in {{F1|1953}} with [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] at the {{F1GP|1953|Italian}}. He returned in {{F1|1954}}, finishing second at the {{F1GP|1954|Spanish}} to score his maiden podium finish. Musso raced full-time for Maserati in {{F1|1955}}, repeating his podium feat at the {{F1GP|1955|Dutch}}. After three seasons at Maserati, he joined rivals Ferrari in {{F1|1956}}. On debut for Ferrari, Musso won the {{F1GP|1956|Argentine}} alongside [[Juan Manuel Fangio]],{{efn|From {{F1|1950}} to {{F1|1961}}, multiple drivers could compete under the same entry in Formula One, sharing the race classification and points with their teammates.}} completing 30 of the 98 laps, but his season was curtailed after a sportscar crash at the [[Nürburgring]]. During his time at Ferrari, Musso entered into a fierce rivalry with British drivers [[Mike Hawthorn]] and [[Peter Collins (racing driver)|Peter Collins]]. Multiple podiums followed in {{F1|1957}}, as Musso beat both Hawthorn and Collins to third in the [[World Drivers' Championship]], amongst winning the [[1957 1000 km Buenos Aires|1000km Buenos Aires]] in the [[1957 World Sportscar Championship|World Sportscar Championship]].

During the [[1958 French Grand Prix]] at [[Reims-Gueux|Reims]], [[#Death|Musso died]] whilst chasing Hawthorn, when his [[Ferrari 246 F1|Ferrari 246]] went airborne and critically injured him. He achieved one win, one fastest lap and seven podiums in Formula One, as well as three [[Glossary of motorsport terms#N|non-championship]] race victories.

==Racing career==
Musso was born in [[Rome]] and began his racing career driving [[sports car racing|sports cars]] before making his début on the [[Formula One]] circuit on 17 January 1954, driving a [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]]. In 1954 he won the [[Coppa Acerbo]], a non-championship Formula One race. At [[Zandvoort]], in the [[1955 Dutch Grand Prix]], Musso placed third in a Maserati.<ref>''Fangio Captures Dutch Grand Prix'', Long Beach Independent, June 20, 1955, Page 15.</ref> At the end of the 1955 Formula 1 season he switched to [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]]. He shared victory in the [[1956 Argentine Grand Prix]] with [[Juan Manuel Fangio]], however his season was cut short after a crash in a sports car race at [[Nürburgring]].

Musso triumphed in a [[Ferrari 290 MM]] in the City of [[Buenos Aires]] sports car race on 20 January 1957. He was the third driver of the car. [[Stirling Moss]] finished second in a 'light powered' [[Maserati 300S]]. Moss made a last-ditch effort for his team at the end but came up short. A second Ferrari 290 MM, driven by [[Eugenio Castellotti]], came in third. The Ferrari team gained eight points toward the 1957 World Sports Car Championship in the event.<ref>''Ferraris Nip Maserati'', [[Lima, Ohio]] News, January 21, 1957, Page 19.</ref> The same year he won the [[Grand Prix de la Marne]]. Although the Marne was also not part of the Drivers' Championship, Musso nevertheless finished third in the overall standings for the season.  With [[Olivier Gendebien]] he won the 1958 [[Targa Florio]] driving a [[Ferrari]] Testa Rossa.  Later in the year he shared a 4-litre modified Formula One [[Ferrari 412 MI]] with Phil Hill and Mike Hawthorn in the 2nd [[Race of Two Worlds]] on the Monza banked oval.  They finished 3rd overall in a car that gave way to the purpose-built American oval-track racing cars.

==Rivalry with Hawthorn and Collins==
Many years after Musso's death, Fiamma Breschi, Musso's girlfriend at the time of his death, revealed the nature of Musso's rivalry with fellow team Ferrari drivers [[Mike Hawthorn]] and [[Peter Collins (racing driver)|Peter Collins]] in a television documentary, ''The Secret Life of Enzo Ferrari''. Breschi recalled that the antagonism between them encouraged all three to take more risks. She said: "The Englishmen (Hawthorn and Collins) had an agreement. Whichever of them won, they would share the winnings equally. It was the two of them against Luigi, who was not part of the agreement. Strength comes in numbers, and they were united against him. This antagonism was actually favourable rather than damaging to Ferrari. The faster the drivers went, the more likely it was that a Ferrari would win."  Breschi related that at the time of his death, Musso was in debt, and thus winning the French Grand Prix (traditionally the largest monetary prize of the season) was all-important to him.<ref name=Breschi/>

Within a year, Collins and Hawthorn were also dead, and Breschi could not suppress a feeling of release. She said: "I had hated them both, first because I was aware of certain facts that were not right, and also because when I came out of the hospital and went back to the hotel, I found them in the square outside the hotel, laughing and playing a game of football with an empty beer-can. So when they died, too, it was liberating for me. Otherwise I would have had unpleasant feelings towards them for ever. This way I could find a sense of peace."<ref name=Breschi>Williams, Richard, ''Richard Williams Talks to Fiamma Breschi, the Woman Behind Enzo Ferrari'', The Guardian, 22 January 2004</ref>

==Death==
Musso was fatally injured during the [[1958 French Grand Prix]] at [[Reims-Gueux|Reims]] when his Ferrari hurtled off the course on the 10th lap of the 50 lap race.<ref>''Luigi Musso Is Killed In Race Crash'', [[Fresno Bee]] Republican, July 7, 1958, Page19</ref> Running wide at the tricky ''Gueux Curve'' while chasing the leader, fellow Ferrari driver Mike Hawthorn, Musso's Ferrari struck a ditch and somersaulted.<ref>''Hawthorn in Race Victory'', [[Los Angeles Times]], July 7, 1958, Page C4</ref>  Musso was airlifted to hospital with critical head injuries and died later that day. Hawthorn went on to win the race.

==Racing record==

===Complete World Drivers' Championship results===
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 2|key]]) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Yr
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! WDC
! [[List of Formula One World Championship points scoring systems|Points]]
|-
| [[1953 Formula One season|1953]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Officine Alfieri Maserati]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[Maserati A6|A6GCM]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[Straight-6]]
| [[1953 Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]
| [[1953 Indianapolis 500|500]]
| [[1953 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]
| [[1953 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[1953 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[1953 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[1953 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[1953 Swiss Grand Prix|SUI]]
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1953 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br />{{small|7*}}
| 
| 
! NC
! 0
|-
|rowspan=2| [[1954 Formula One season|1954]]
!rowspan=2| [[Maserati in motorsport|Officine Alfieri Maserati]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]]<br>[[Maserati A6|A6GCM/250F]]
!rowspan=2| [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[Straight-6]]
|style="background:#FFFFFF;"| [[1954 Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]] <br />{{small|DNS}}
| [[1954 Indianapolis 500|500]]
| [[1954 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[1954 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[1954 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[1954 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[1954 Swiss Grand Prix|SUI]]
|
|
| 
|
!rowspan=2| 8th
!rowspan=2| 6
|-
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[Maserati 250F|250F]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1954 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1954 Spanish Grand Prix|ESP]]<br />{{small|2}}
| 
|
|-
| [[1955 Formula One season|1955]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Officine Alfieri Maserati]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[Maserati 250F|250F]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[Straight-6]]
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1955 Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]<br /><small>7†</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"|  [[1955 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
| [[1955 Indianapolis 500|500]]
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1955 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br />{{small|7}}
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| [[1955 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]<br />{{small|3}}
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1955 British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br />{{small|5}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1955 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|
|
|
|
! 10th
! 6
|-
| [[1956 Formula One season|1956]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari]]
! [[Lancia in Formula One|Lancia]] [[Lancia D50|D50]]
! [[Lancia]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| [[1956 Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]<br /><small>1‡</small>
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1956 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
| [[1956 Indianapolis 500|500]]
| [[1956 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]
| [[1956 French Grand Prix|FRA]]
| [[1956 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1956 German Grand Prix|GER]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1956 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|
|
|
! 11th
! 4
|-
|rowspan=2| [[1957 Formula One season|1957]]
!rowspan=2| [[Scuderia Ferrari]]
! [[Lancia in Formula One|Lancia]] [[Lancia D50|D50A]]
!rowspan=2| [[Lancia]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1957 Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
| [[1957 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]
| [[1957 Indianapolis 500|500]]
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| rowspan="2" style="background:#FFDF9F;"|'''3rd'''
| rowspan="2" style="background:#FFDF9F;"|'''16'''
|-
! [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[Ferrari 801 F1|801]]
|
|
|
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ''[[1957 French Grand Prix|FRA]]''<br />{{small|2}}
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1957 British Grand Prix|GBR]]<br />{{small|2}}
|style="background:#DFFFDF;"| [[1957 German Grand Prix|GER]]<br />{{small|4}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1957 Pescara Grand Prix|PES]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1957 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]<br />{{small|8}}
|
|
|
|-
| [[1958 Formula One season|1958]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[Ferrari 246 F1|Dino 246]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[V6]]
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1958 Argentine Grand Prix|ARG]]<br />{{small|2}}
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1958 Monaco Grand Prix|MON]]<br />{{small|2}}
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1958 Dutch Grand Prix|NED]]<br />{{small|7}}
| [[1958 Indianapolis 500|500]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1958 Belgian Grand Prix|BEL]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1958 French Grand Prix|FRA]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
| [[1958 British Grand Prix|GBR]]
| [[1958 German Grand Prix|GER]]
| [[1958 Portuguese Grand Prix|POR]]
| [[1958 Italian Grand Prix|ITA]]
| [[1958 Moroccan Grand Prix|MOR]]
! 8th
! 12
|-
!colspan="18"|{{center|{{small|Source:<ref name=Small2000>{{cite book|last=Small|first=Steve|title=Grand Prix Who's Who|url=https://archive.org/details/grandprixwhoswho0000smal|pages=398–399|year=2000|edition=Third|publisher=Travel Publishing|isbn=978-1-902007-46-5|url-access=registration}}</ref>}}}}
|}

:<nowiki>*</nowiki> ''Shared drive with [[Sergio Mantovani]].''<ref name=Small2000/>
:<nowiki>†</nowiki> ''Shared drive with Sergio Mantovani and [[Harry Schell]].''<ref name=Small2000/>
:<nowiki>‡</nowiki> ''Shared drive with [[Juan Manuel Fangio]].''<ref name=Small2000/>

===Non-Championship results===
([[:Template:F1 driver results legend 3|key]]) (Races in '''bold''' indicate pole position)
(Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%"
! Year
! Entrant
! Chassis
! Engine
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
! 5
! 6
! 7
! 8
! 9
! 10
! 11
! 12
! 13
! 14
! 15
! 16
! 17
! 18
! 19
! 20
! 21
! 22
! 23
! 24
|-
| [[1954 Formula One season|1954]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Officine Alfieri Maserati]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[Maserati 250F|250F]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[Straight-6]]
| [[1954 Syracuse Grand Prix|SYR]]
| [[1954 Pau Grand Prix|PAU]]
| [[1954 Lavant Cup|LAV]]
| [[1954 Bordeaux Grand Prix|BOR]]
| [[1954 BRDC International Trophy|INT]]
| [[1954 Bari Grand Prix|BAR]]
| [[1954 Curtis Trophy|CUR]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1954 Rome Grand Prix|ROM]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
| [[1954 Grand Prix des Frontières|FRO]]
| [[1954 I Cornwall MRC Formula 1 Race|COR]]
| [[1954 BARC Formula 1 Race|BRC]]
| [[1954 Crystal Palace Trophy|CRY]]
| [[1954 Rouen Grand Prix|ROU]]
| [[1954 Caen Grand Prix|CAE]]
| [[1954 August Cup|AUG]]
| [[1954 II Cornwall MRC Formula 1 Race|COR]]
| [[1954 International Gold Cup|OUL]]
| [[1954 RedeX Trophy|RED]]
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| [[1954 Pescara Grand Prix|PES]]<br />{{small|1}}
| [[1954 Joe Fry Memorial Trophy|JOE]]
| [[1954 Circuit de Cadours|CAD]]
| [[1954 Berlin Grand Prix|BER]]
| [[1954 Goodwood Trophy|GOO]]
| [[1954 Daily Telegraph Trophy|DAI]]
|-
| [[1955 Formula One season|1955]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Officine Alfieri Maserati]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[Maserati 250F|250F]]
! [[Maserati in motorsport|Maserati]] [[Straight-6]]
| [[1955 New Zealand Grand Prix|NZL]]
| [[1955 Buenos Aires Grand Prix|BUE]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1955 Valentino Grand Prix|VAL]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1955 Pau Grand Prix|PAU]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
| [[1955 Glover Trophy|GLO]]
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1955 Bordeaux Grand Prix|BOR]]<br />{{small|2}}
| [[1955 BRDC International Trophy|INT]]
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1955 Naples Grand Prix|NAP]]<br />{{small|2}}
| [[1955 Albi Grand Prix|ALB]]
| [[1955 Curtis Trophy|CUR]]
| [[1955 Cornwall MRC Formula 1 Race|COR]]
| [[1955 London Trophy|LON]]
| [[1955 Daily Record Trophy|DAR]]
| [[1955 RedeX Trophy|RED]]<br /><small>DNA</small>
| [[1955 Daily Telegraph Trophy|DAT]]<br />{{small|DNS}}
|style="background:#CFCFFF;"| [[1955 International Gold Cup|OUT]]<br />{{small|8}}
| [[1955 Avon Trophy|AVO]]
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ''[[1955 Syracuse Grand Prix|SYR]]'''<br />{{small|2}}
|-
| [[1956 Formula One season|1956]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari]]
! [[Lancia in Formula One|Lancia]] [[Lancia D50|D50]]
! [[Lancia in Formula One|Lancia]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| [[1956 Buenos Aires Grand Prix|BUE]]<br />{{small|Ret}}
| [[1956 Glover Trophy|GLV]]
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1956 Syracuse Grand Prix|SYR]]<br />{{small|2}}
| [[1956 BARC Aintree 200|AIN]]
| [[1956 BRDC International Trophy|INT]]
|style="background:#EFCFFF;"| ''[[1956 Naples Grand Prix|NAP]]''<br />{{small|Ret}}
| [[1956 Aintree 100|100]]
| [[1956 Vanwall Trophy|VNW]]
| [[1956 Caen Grand Prix|CAE]]
| [[1956 BRSCC Formula 1 Race|BRH]]
|-
|rowspan=2| [[1957 Formula One season|1957]]
!rowspan=2| [[Scuderia Ferrari]]
! [[Lancia in Formula One|Lancia]] [[Lancia D50|D50]]
! [[Lancia in Formula One|Lancia]] [[V8 engine|V8]]
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| [[1957 Buenos Aires Grand Prix|BUE]]<br />{{small|3}}
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| [[1957 Syracuse Grand Prix|SYR]]<br />{{small|2}}
| [[1957 Pau Grand Prix|PAU]]
| [[1957 Glover Trophy|GLV]]
| 
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| [[1957 Reims Grand Prix|RMS]]<br />{{small|1}}
| [[1957 Caen Grand Prix|CAE]]
| [[1957 BRDC International Trophy|INT]]
|
|
|-
! [[Dino (automobile)#Dino 156 F2|Dino 156 F2]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[V6]]
| 
|
|
|
|style="background:#FFDF9F;"| [[1957 Naples Grand Prix|NAP]]<br />{{small|3}}
|
|
|
|style="background:#DFDFDF;"| ''[[1957 Modena Grand Prix|MOD]]''<br />{{small|2}}
| [[1957 Moroccan Grand Prix|MOR]]
|-
| [[1958 Formula One season|1958]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[Ferrari 246 F1|Dino 246]]
! [[Scuderia Ferrari|Ferrari]] [[V6]]
| [[1958 Buenos Aires Grand Prix|BUE]]
| [[1958 Glover Trophy|GLV]]
|style="background:#FFFFBF;"| '''''[[1958 Syracuse Grand Prix|SYR]]'''''<br />{{small|1}}
| [[1958 BARC Aintree 200|AIN]]
| [[1958 BRDC International Trophy|INT]]
| [[1958 Caen Grand Prix|CAE]]
|-
!colspan="29"|{{center|{{small|Sources:<ref>{{cite web|title=All championship race entries, by Luigi Musso|url=https://chicanef1.com/query.pl?action=Submit&exact=on&driver=Luigi%20Musso&nc=nc|publisher=ChicaneF1|access-date=5 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Luigi Musso – Involvement Non World Championship|url=https://www.statsf1.com/en/luigi-musso/engagementhc.aspx|publisher=StatsF1|access-date=5 May 2022}}</ref>}}}}
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==See also==
* [[Formula One drivers from Italy]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{succession box|title=[[List of Formula One fatal accidents|Formula One fatal accidents]] |before=[[Pat O'Connor (racing driver)|Pat O'Connor]]|after=[[Peter Collins (racing driver)|Peter Collins]]|years=6 July 1958}}
{{s-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Scuderia Ferrari}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Musso, Luigi}}
[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:1958 deaths]]
[[Category:Italian Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:Maserati Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:Ferrari Formula One drivers]]
[[Category:Formula One race winners]]
[[Category:Italian racing drivers]]
[[Category:Racing drivers who died while racing]]
[[Category:Racing drivers from Rome]]
[[Category:Sport deaths in France]]
[[Category:24 Hours of Le Mans drivers]]
[[Category:World Sportscar Championship drivers]]