Scuderia Ferrari

From Classic Car Life

Scuderia Ferrari is the racing division of the Italian sports car manufacturer, Ferrari.

Originally formed by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, Scuderia Ferrari sponsored drivers and built race cars before Ferrari started production of road cars.

Motorsport

Scuderia Ferrari has participated in a number of classes of motorsport, though it is currently only involved in Formula One. It is the only team to have competed in the Formula One World Championship continuously since its inception in 1950.

José Froilán González gave the team its first F1 victory at the 1951 British Grand Prix. A year later, Alberto Ascari gave Ferrari its first Drivers Championship. Ferrari is the oldest team in the championship, and the most successful. The team holds nearly every Formula One record. As of 2008, the team's records include...

• 15 World Drivers Championship titles (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2007)

• 16 World Constructors Championship titles (1961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007 and 2008)

• 209 Grand Prix victories

• 4925.27 points

• 622 podium finishes

• 203 pole positions and

• 218 fastest laps in

• 776 Grands Prix contested.

Notable Ferrari Drivers

Some notable drivers in Ferrari's illustrious history...

• José Froilán González
• Tazio Nuvolari
• Juan Manuel Fangio
• Luigi Chinetti
• Alberto Ascari
• Wolfgang von Trips
• Phil Hill
• Olivier Gendebien
• Mike Hawthorn
• Peter Collins
• Giancarlo Baghetti
• John Surtees
• Lorenzo Bandini
• Ludovico Scarfiotti
• Jacky Ickx
• Mario Andretti
• Clay Regazzoni
• Niki Lauda
• Carlos Reutemann
• Jody Scheckter
• Gilles Villeneuve
• Didier Pironi
• Patrick Tambay
• René Arnoux
• Michele Alboreto
• Gerhard Berger
• Nigel Mansell
• Alain Prost
• Jean Alesi
• Eddie Irvine
• Rubens Barrichello
• Michael Schumacher
• Kimi Räikkönen
• Felipe Massa
• Fernando Alonso

Sponsorship

At the end of the 2006 season, the team courted controversy by continuing to allow Marlboro to sponsor them after they, along with the other F1 teams, made a promise to end sponsorship deals with tobacco manufacturers. A five year deal was agreed and although this is not due to end until 2011, in April 2008 Marlboro dropped their on-car branding on Ferrari.

In addition to Formula One, Ferrari also entered cars in sportscar racing, the two programs existing in parallel for many years. In 1949, Luigi Chinetti drove a 166M to Ferrari's first win in motorsports, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Ferrari went on to dominate the early years of the World Sportscar Championship which was created in 1953, winning the title seven out of its first nine years.

When the championship format changed in 1962, [[Ferrari] earned titles in at least one class each year through to 1965 and then again in 1967. Ferrari would win one final title, the 1972 World Championship of Makes before Enzo decided to leave sports car racing after 1973 and allow Scuderia Ferrari to concentrate solely on Formula One.

During Ferrari's seasons of the World Sportscar Championship, they also gained more wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with the factory team earning their first in 1954. Another win would come in 1958, followed by five consecutive wins from 1960 to 1964. Luigi Chinetti's North American Racing Team (NART) would take Ferrari's final victory at Le Mans in 1965.

Although Scuderia Ferrari no longer participated in sports cars after 1973, they have occasionally built various successful sports cars for privateers. These include the BB512LM in the 1970s, the 333SP which won the IMSA GT Championship in the 1990s, and currently the F430 GT2 and F430 GT3 which are currently winning championships in their respective classes.

Race cars for other teams

Throughout its history, Ferrari has supplied racing cars to other entrants, aside from its own works Scuderia Ferrari team.

In the 1950s and 60s, Ferrari supplied Formula One cars to a number of private entrants and other teams. One famous example was Tony Vandervell's team, which raced the Thinwall Special modified Ferraris before building their own Vanwall cars. The North American Racing Team's entries in the final three rounds of the 1969 season were the last occasions on which a team other than Scuderia Ferrari entered a World Championship Grand Prix with a Ferrari car.

Ferrari supplied cars complete with V8 engines for the A1 Grand Prix series, from the 2008-09 season. The car was designed by Rory Byrne and is styled to resemble the 2004 Ferrari Formula One car.

The 599GTB Fiorano and F430 GT are used in GT racing series. The Ferrari Challenge is a one make racing series for the Ferrari F430.

Ferrari's latest supercar, the 2006 FXX is not road legal, and is therefore only used for track events.