Hermann Lang driving a Mercedes-Benz W154 at a typically well-attended Buenos Aires GP in 1951 – he’d finish second
Mercedes-Benz AG
This month we visit a lost circuit in Argentina, this vast country having always had a passionate and faithful love of motor sports since the great Juan Manuel Fangio won the first of his five world championships in the 1950s.
It was little surprise then that no sooner had Franco Colapinto made it to the top step of what Jackie Stewart calls the ’staircase of talent’ his loyal fans travelled thousands of miles to support him. He came, remember, from a country that has given us José Froilán González, Carlos Reutemann and Ricardo Zunino, the latter famously replacing Niki Lauda at Brabham when the Austrian abruptly left to start his airline.
Despite this huge fanbase, the Circuito Costanera Norte street track in Buenos Aires was another victim of the ever-increasing demands for better safety measures. This led to more permanent circuits rather than the temporary tracks such as Costanera, which used service roads next to the Jorge Newbery Airport and the Costanera highway, where dual carriageway lanes were simply separated by straw bales.
Stirling Moss famously remarked that the circuit was “bumpy, poorly marked and extremely dangerous”. His misgivings, however, didn’t affect some typical Moss victories there. His words did, though, lead to a chicane being hastily inserted behind the pits. Its first grand prix, the Buenos Aires GP, was a Formula Libre race held in 1951 and was won by local hero González in his Ferrari 166 FL.
Blazing sunshine over a mesmerising, daunting circuit with Murray Walker calling the action. Has there ever been a more glorious start to the F1 season?
By the late ’50s the Costanera circuit had been extended from the short Sur layout in the streets to the 6.3 miles of the Norte version using a loop though parkland north of the airport. The track is arguably best known for the Buenos Aires 1000Kms WSC race, the traditional opening round of the series through the 1950s and into the early 1970s by which time the race had moved to the Oscar Alfredo Gálvez circuit. The last race held at Costanera was the 1000Kms of 1957 which was won by Masten Gregory, Luigi Musso and Eugenio Castellotti in their Ferrari 290 MM Spider Scaglietti.
The problems that beset Costanera were not due to lack of interest. Far from it. The ever-eager fans from the city ensured that the place attracted big crowds, just as any future grand prix in Argentina will surely see if the rumours of Formula 1 returning to Buenos Aires are true. Witness also Colapinto’s recent celebrations with his Alpine in the streets of Buenos Aires underlining the nation’s love of motor racing.
Today the original roads of the Costanera where Moss and Fangio raced are used for city traffic and access roads for the airport, which has been extended to cover some of the old circuit. Argentina used to be the exotic, hot and glamorous start to an F1 season. Many of us hope it will soon return.
BUENOS AIRES-LA COSTANERA NORTE
In Use 1951-1957
Fastest Race Lap 3min 36sec, Stirling Moss, Maserati 300S, WSC, 1957
Fastest Qualifying Lap 3min 36.1 sec, Juan Manuel Fangio, Maserati 450S, WSC, 1957
Select a year
Type
Temporary street circuit
Length
6.35 (Miles)
Change
Street circuit using both sides of a highway near the airport
Fastest Race Lap
Stirling Moss (Maserati 300S), 3m36.0, 105.833 mph, Sports Cars, 1957
Fastest Qualifying Lap
Juan Manuel Fangio (Maserati 450S), 3m36.1, 105.784 mph, Sports Cars, 1957
