Although he did not have a good start, Fangio pressed on until on the 68th lap he was in second place, behind the Marquis of Portago.  A few laps later he was heading the race and kept leading it to the end, bettering such experienced drivers such as Eugenio Castellotti, Harry Schell, Phill Hill and Stirling Moss.

Half a century after that memorable race, the Havana Historical Core pays homage at the Depot of the Automobile, an institution that treasures vehicles of museum value.  At  Jústiz Alley, engineer Eduardo Mesejo transformed one of the car props used in the film Operation Fangio into the dummy of the Masserati 300S, complete in its striking blue color and with the original insignia, a true replica of the one that took Fangio across the finishing line.

But 1957 was not the date of Fangio’s only visit to Havana.  A year later, on Sunday, February 24, a few hours before the start of the 2nd Grand Prix of Havana, Fangio was kidnapped by the 26th of July Movement that opposed Dictator Fulgencio Batista.  The world champion was held for 26 hours until delivered to the Argentinean Embassy in Havana.  Operation Fangio, directed by Argentinean filmmaker Alberto Lecchi, is based on those hours that Fangio spent kidnapped in the Cuban capital.