Enzo Ferrari - The man who built a team synonymous with F1 success

Enzo Ferrari has become a figure of almost mythical proportions in recent years. On his death anniversary, we look at the man behind the legend.

Enzo Ferrari in a file photo. (Image: Twitter)
By Shayne Dias | Aug 12, 2021 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Enzo Ferrari has become a figure of almost mythical proportions in recent years. The man whose name bred first race cars then sports cars of the same name is renowned around the world. But while the man was indeed a revolutionary figure, his life itself was extraordinary. And it was his hard work and passion that led to his team being the only one to compete in every official Formula 1 season as constructors.

On his death anniversary, let us look back at a man who would go on to shape the history of modern motorsport as we know it.

Early life

Ferrari was born in the town of Modena, Italy although there remains a dispute over his date of birth. Officially it is February 20, 1898 but there’s some confusion over that. He was said to have been born two days earlier.

However, the legend goes that his parents were unable to register his birth due to a snow storm. Interestingly, the registration of his birth took place on February 24!

Nevertheless, he led a fairly nondescript life initially. Born into a working class house, he received almost no formal education in his youth.

At age of 10 he witnessed Felice Nazzaro’s win at the 1908 Circuito di Bologna. This would be the event that piqued his interest in racing as a whole.

However, in his youth he would serve in the Italian army during World War I. His time in the Army ended when he was diagnosed with the Spanish flu, for the war itself was in the midst of the pandemic.

But it was after the War when he was discharged that he began his other career – in motorsports.

Enzo Ferrari – racer and “Il Commendatore”

He began racing in 1919 but his big break came in 1920 at Alfa Romeo. He joined the car brand as a Grand Prix driver and would eventually win his first race in 1923. More success followed in 1924, where he won three races.

However, he was affected by the deaths of of Ugo Sivocci in 1923 and Antonio Ascari in 1925. After that, he did carry on racing but his heart wasn’t really in it.

Yet the racing bug had bitten him and he was developing an interest in running a team of his own. At the end of his racing career, he began working on making Alfa Romeo race cars.

Eventually he built a team of his own in 1929 and it was dubbed Scuderia Ferrari. Eventually he would begin using the prancing horse logo now associated with Ferrari.

The logo was created and sported by Italian fighter plane pilot Francesco Baracca. During WWI, Baracca gave Ferarri a chain with the logo on it. After Baracca’s death in 1918, Ferrari used the symbol as a tribute.

But their real history-defining moment came in 1950, when the World Driver’s Championship was first contested. Ferrari registered for the newly-formed tournament, which was the predecessor to what is now known as Formula 1.

This makes Ferrari the only team to have raced in every single edition of F1. And it all started from a man who wanted to simply develop race cars.