He started by driving a 6-cylinder Maserati in Tripoli and at the Targa Florio race. In 1940, he ran the Mille Miglia behind the wheel of the “815” Auto Avio Costruzioni. He raced in Piero Dusio’s team with Cisitalia in 1947. In the same year, he won his first major race in Modena with a Maserati. He moved on to Ferrari with his mentor and loyal friend, Gigi Villoresi.

Ascari won the world championship both in 1952 and in 1953, with a 4-cylinder Ferrari type “500”, designed by Aurelio Lampredi. AT the end of 1953, Ascari and his friend Villoresi moved to Lancia and, in 1954, he won the Mille Miglia. In Monza, on 26th May 1955, he asked Castellotti to try the Ferrari, he had already phoned home to get his pasta on. He was very superstitious and he never used accessories which weren’t his, he left with Castellotti’s helmet, goggles and gloves. On the third lap, at the fast bend which bears his name, the rumble of the Ferrari went silent.

“A most peculiar man and driver. He had a strong will, he knew what he wanted, and he was meticulous: one of the few, for example, to athletically prepare himself for the car race… The driver Alberto Ascari had a precise and determined style, but he was the man who needed to start in the first position. Ascari, when in the first position, was rarely overtaken: I would dare to say that it was impossible to overtake him… Alberto felt confident when he was running like a hare; in those moments, his style became superb, and his car was uncatchable. He died in Monza, in 1955, and I would say that his accident could be indicated as the typical motorsport accident: that is, the event where the truth remains obscure, as the harmony man-car is brusquely modified from a sudden and imponderable element of disorder…” Enzo Ferrari from “Piloti, che gente…“