Onofre Agustín Marimón (19 December 1923 – 31 July 1954) was an Argentine racing driver, who competed in Formula One at 12 Grands Prix between and .
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 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.
Biography Onofre Agustín Marimón was born on 19 December 1923 in Zárate, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 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.
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.
Marimón's death trimmed the Maserati team to four drivers. His practice times had not been satisfactory enough for him to make the top-five for the 1954 German Grand Prix. His best time was 21.3 seconds behind the record time of 9:50.1 set by Fangio.Marimon, Star Auto Racing Pilot, Killed In Time Trial, New York Times, August 1, 1954, Page S7.
Complete Formula One World Championship results (key) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 WDC Points 1951 Scuderia Milano Maserati 4CLT/50 Milano Straight-4 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP NC 0 1953 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati A6GCM Maserati Straight-6 ARG 500 NED BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA 11th 4 1954 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati Straight-6 ARG 500 BEL FRA GBR GER SUI ITA ESP 13th 4
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 1951 Henri Louveau José Froilán González Talbot-Lago T26 GS S 5.0 128DNF 1953 S.P.A. Alfa Romeo Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM S5.0 22DNFEngine
Non-Championship Formula One results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; Races in italics indicate fastest lap) 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 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 1953 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati A6GCM Maserati Straight-6 SYR PAU LAV AST BOR INT ELÄ NAP ULS WIN FRO COR EIF ALB PRI GRE ESS MID ROU STR CRY AVU USF LAC DRE BRI CHE SAB NEW CAD SAC RED SKA LON MOD MAD BER JOE CUR 1954 Officine Alfieri Maserati Maserati 250F Maserati Straight-6 SYR PAU LAV BOR INT BAR CUR ROM FRO COR BRC CRY ROU CAE AUG COR OUT RED PES JOE CAD BER GOO DAI
Notes
References
External links Profile on OldRacingCars.com Biography of Onofre Marimón (Funo!)