Alberto Ascari was described as one of Italy’s most important Formula 1 drivers and Ferrari’s first Italian world champion. He won the 1952 and 1953 titles, taking six of the eight Grands Prix held in 1952, and also won the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort in 1953. In 1954 he moved from Ferrari to Scuderia Lancia, but the team’s new car was not ready in time and the season was difficult.

In 1955, Ascari survived a crash in the Monaco Grand Prix after his Lancia went into the Mediterranean, suffering a broken nose and bruising. A few days later, he crashed fatally at Monza in a fast left-hand turn that was later named Variante Ascari. He was 36. An estimated one million people attended his funeral procession in Milan. Kimi Antonelli was presented as a possible third Italian Formula 1 world champion, after Nino Farina and Ascari.