Page 6 - Ferrari in F1

TON WATSON FINE BOO
Enzo Ferrari (wearing sunglasses) during a
test at Monza in the mid-1960s. He almost
never attended Formula 1 races, preferring to
watch them at home in Maranello.
In 1938, Alfa Romeo first encouraged Enzo to close his ecurie,
and then, instead, offered him the company’s racing car division.
The following year, war broke out, bringing the racing world to
a standstill, and Enzo left Alfa Romeo for good. At the time of
his resignation, he signed a non-compete clause forbidding him
to use his own name in competition for four years. In his heart
of hearts, Enzo dreamed of beating the Alfa Romeo team he had
spent almost twenty years creating. Two cars built and maintained
by Enzo and his staff had already been entered in the Mille Miglia
road race in April 1940, under the official name of Auto Avio
Costruzioni.
DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS
This company, founded by Enzo shortly after he left Alfa
Romeo, mainly manufactured parts for aircraft engines. During
the war, Enzo bought several plots of land in Maranello, near
Modena, where he built his own factory. It was completed in 1943,
at a time when Modena, with its many industries, became a target
for Allied bombing raids. Ferrari did not escape the bombs. The
brand-new factory, which produced parts for Italy’s national air
force and Piaggio scooters, was targeted in 1944, but the buildings
were immediately rebuilt.
The design and production of the first real Ferrari began at
the end of the war in 1945, when the non-compete clause with
Alfa Romeo had expired. Enzo decided that his first vehicle would
feature a 12-cylinder engine. “I’ve always admired 12-cylinder engines,
and I still remember my fascination while studying photographs of the
example used by Packard at Indianapolis in 1914. Their harmonious
sound has always been pleasing to me. The fact that I was almost the only
one to build these engines puzzles me,” he would later recount.
The car, designated 125S, was presented to the press in
December 1946. On March 2, 1947, Enzo himself proudly drove
the first vehicle from the Maranello factory. The debut of this
first competition model took place a few months later in Piacenza,
with veteran driver Franco Cortese at the wheel. He was forced to
abandon the race due to technical problems, but a fortnight later,
on the Caracalla circuit in Rome, he took first place to celebrate
© DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS
Ferrari’s first official victory. As a result of this rapid success,
wealthy enthusiasts lined up at Maranello to buy Ferraris, and
Enzo immediately invested the money he earned in new racing
cars. The 125, Ferrari’s first Formula 1 model, was ready in 1948,
and entered the scene when the Fédération Internationale de
l’Automobile in 1950 launched the World Championship reserved
for cars of this type. ■
© DALTON WATSON FINE BOOKS
DALTON WATSON