A streak of red and the loud guttural roar of a massive V12 engine signals the coming of a Ferrari (or more likely its passing you by). There is something very special about this Formula One team. They have been continuous racing since 1950 and were there since the birth of Formula one proper. Their iconic red livery and Prancing pony emblem made them stand out from the beginning. An uncompromising colour scheme (it has never greatly changed, unlike others, to the whims of sponsors) for and uncompromising and very successful team. These cars are incredible in their design and would have been shaped originally by hand before Tapping Machines such as those from Cotswold Machinery became available.
The team was started by Enzo Ferrari in 1929 and still bears his name today. Initially the team was set up to race Alfa Romeo cars, but the brand decided to enter with their own works team in 1938 and so Enzo decided to branch out with his own team. The Second World War put a stop to any immediate plans, but this worked out well for Enzo as he was not allowed to race under the Ferrari name for 4 years after leaving Alfa Romeo. Being no fool, Enzo set about recruiting some of his old Alfa colleagues who readily agreed to come over. The 1.5 Litre 12-cylinder Ferrari 125 F1 was the result It competed in the ad hoc world of Grand Prix at the time, but it was there for the inaugural race and start of the Formula one series proper in 1950. There has been a Ferrari in every season since then making then the oldest team by far.
In that first year the Grand Prix was dominated by their great rivals at Alfa but this streak was to be short lived as it was Ferrari that broke the dominance with a first win at the British Grand Prix of 1951. The Alfa team withdrew from the 1952 season allowing the Ferraris to rule the roost for that year but at the end of the year the great Juan Manuel Fangio won in a Maserati and it was the start of their dominance until the end of 1954. The rest of the 50’s featured the sad loss of Drivers, the return and departure of Fangio and the creation of a Ferrari team of drivers so at odds with each other the team manager got punched.
The teams style and competitiveness may have waxed and waned, it was nowhere in the late eighties and early nineties but dominated, with the help of Michael Schumacher to totally control the noughties winning 4 titles on the bounce. Their fans, the Tifosi, have never been happier.
