Any discussion about Formula 1 must include Ferrari. The Ferrari brand evokes the glamour and passion of grand prix racing and its exploits have made it the most recognizable team on the track. Ferrari also holds the distinction of being the oldest team in F1 having competed in the first season of the championship.
The Birth of the Ferrari Empire
The Ferrari team was established in 1929 by Enzo Ferrari. A former racer, he convinced his bosses at Alfa Romeo to allow him to manage their racing team but run it under his own name. ‘Scuderia Ferrari’ enjoyed success for many years before Enzo made the bold decision to build and race his own cars.
1950 saw the creation of a modern Grand Prix World Championship: Formula 1, the pinnacle of motor racing. Ferrari missed the very first race of the new series, held at Silverstone, England, but the team qualified three cars for the next race at Monaco with Alberto Ascari finishing a respectable second. The team has been a fixture in F1 ever since.
The early years of Formula 1 were very much an Italian affair with Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Ferrari dominating. Within a decade though, Ferrari started to come under increasing pressure from small British teams like Lotus, BRM and Cooper, whom Ferrari disdainfully referred to as ‘garagistas’ or garage teams.
Ferrari was a traditionalist who believed that powerful engines were all one needed for success but the British were proving him wrong. Their nimble rear-engine cars carried more than enough speed through the corners to compensate for their slowness on the straights. The British teams excelled at adapting new technology to their cars to make them faster. Ferrari however, stubbornly held to his outdated ideas and the team endured many winless seasons.
Political Power Beats Horsepower
Engineering however was not the only tool in Ferrari’s workshop. He often manipulated drivers and rule makers alike to achieve his goals. He was most famous for pitting his own drivers against one another to get the maximum performance from them and with few exceptions considered them merely employees paid to bring glory to the Ferrari legend.
Likewise Ferrari shrewdly aligned himself with the FISA rule makers when it served him. During the FISA/FOCA war over control of the technical regulations, Ferrari supported and encouraged FISA who were proposing rule changes that would specifically neutralize several technological advantages held by the British (FOCA) teams. When the crisis was resolved, engines were once again the key to success in Formula 1 and Ferrari was in the proverbial driver’s seat.
New Ferrari: New Success
Though his legend was larger than life, Enzo Ferrari died in 1988 and the ownership of the race team fell to FIAT. Chaos reigned as team mangers came and went in the years directly after but in 1992, FIAT director Luca D’ Montezemelo, a protégé of Enzo, hired Frenchman Jean Todt to lead the team back to its former glory.
A frustrating five years followed before Todt had all the key people he wanted in place including then two-times world champion Michael Schumacher. With the team’s self-respect restored and winning a regular occurrence, the world championship was again within reach.
After heartbreaking loses to Williams and McLaren, Ferrari started the new millennium by breaking their 21 year drought. The team won an unprecedented five straight World Championships for Schumacher and six consecutive Constructor’s championships for the team.
Ferrari, the sports most successful team, remains the benchmark for other competitors and a political powerhouse in the sport. For Formula 1, they represent a bridge to the sports colorful past and an integral part of its future.
References
Williams, Richard. Enzo Ferrari: A Life. London, Yellow Jersey Press, 2002.
Henry, Alan. The Powerbrokers: The Battle for F1's Billions. St. Paul, Motorbooks International, 2003
 |
 |
