Juan Manuel Fangio (June 24, 1911 - July 17, 1995), nicknamed "El Chueco" ("knock-kneed") or "El Maestro" ("The Master"), was a race car driver from Argentina, who dominated the first decade of Formula One racing. He won five Formula One World Driver's Championships — a record which stood for 46 years — with four different teams (Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Maserati), a feat that has not been repeated since. For these achievements, and because of the time they were accomplished, he is regarded by many as the "greatest driver of all time". Fangio was born on San Juan's day in 1911 in Balcarce, Argentina to Italian parents from the small central Italian village of Castiglione Messer Marino, near Chieti. He began his racing career in Argentina in 1934, driving a 1929 Ford Model A which he had rebuilt.[2] During his time racing in Argentina, he drove Chevrolet cars and was Argentine National Champion in 1940 and 1941[2]. He first came to Europe to race in 1949, funded by the Argentinian Automobile Club and the Argentinian government