11.22.2008

Jose Gonzalez and his helmet...

Jose Froilan Gonzalez and Juan Fangio came from the same country, Argentina. I took many pictures of Fangio but few of Gonzalez. I came across this black and white shot of Mr G. at Reims in the mid 1950s as he waited in the Reims pits to take his Ferrari out onto the track.
Years later I found myself at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in the late 1990s and here he was again in my camera viewfinder. The same man with the same helmet but only a bit more battered. He is in the BRM Grand Prix car that was one of his favorite steeds.

1 comment:

Igor said...

Dear Mr. Alexander
What a marvelous photos of 'El Cabezon' Froilan Gonzalez. Thank you so much for publishing it. I hope that you wouldn't mind the fact that I downloaded it and sent to Mr. Gonzalez to have it autographed. I've received it along with some other photos last week. It is absolutely gorgeous. I am fascinated by era of 50s in Formula 1 - drivers' characters and personalities, level of their bravery to pilot pretty dangerous cars in often vary dangerous conditions with pretty much non-existent safety measures.
And I have a deep admiration of Formula 1 photography. This is truly unique form of photo art, capturing the spirit and essence of Formula 1. I collect autographed photos of Ferrari Formula 1 drivers, for me this is like an art collection, finding great photo and having it autographed by driver or several drivers creates a special connection and makes it unique.
you can see galleries of my collection online: http://picasaweb.google.ca/Igor.Entin2
Best Regards
Igor