Enzo Ferrari: Speed, Passion, and Rivalry

**Enzo Ferrari: Speed, Passion and Rivalry**
By Arnaldo Teodorani

**Intro**
If you put all your toy cars in a bag, close your eyes, and choose one at random, you are likely to find a car maker with whom this individual had some sort of rivalry or grudge. Today’s protagonist was born with an unquenchable thirst for speed, an unbridled passion for winning, and the resolve to design and build the most powerful engines the world had ever seen. To achieve his dreams, it was only natural that he would create a few enemies along the way. His motto was, “Think and act as a winner. That’s how you will achieve your objective.” His favorite car was, “The one I haven’t designed yet!” His name was Enzo Ferrari, a name that needs no further introduction.

**Ferrari vs. The Flu**
Enzo Anselmo Ferrari was born in Modena, northern Italy, on February 18, 1898. Due to a heavy snowfall, his parents had to wait for two days before the birth could be recorded. His mother, Adalgisa, came from a wealthy family of landowners, while his father, Alfredo, had set up a mechanic workshop, employing 30 workers and providing metal parts to national railways. Enzo was the youngest of two sons. With his older brother Alfredo Jr., nicknamed ‘Dino’, he shared several passions. The earliest one was for sports journalism: at the tender age of nine, Enzo had one of his articles published by the largest national sports paper in Italy: “Inter Milan defeats Modena 7 – 1.”

Next, Enzo wanted to become an opera singer. Every Saturday night, his father would take Enzo and Dino to the theatre. As Enzo fell in love with every girl who could hit a high note, he figured the best chance for him to impress the ladies of the stage was to become a tenor. Enzo’s third and most enduring passion was speed. Since a very young age, the Ferrari brothers could be seen whizzing around Modena on their roller skates and bicycles, but it was clear this was not enough. In 1908, Alfredo took the two boys to a motor race in nearby Bologna. It was a revelation, a new obsession that slowly started replacing all other interests. Enzo and Dino spent the following years building confidence on rickety motorcycles and practicing their autographs, already thinking about their successes.

But then, calendars turned to May 1915, when Italy joined the Entente in WWI. Dino was drafted into the Army and sent to fight the Austro-Hungarians. He was exposed to many dangers, but the one that proved most lethal did not carry rifles nor bayonets. In 1916, an outbreak of flu claimed the boy’s life. If that wasn’t enough, the same epidemic may have been the cause of Alfredo Sr.’s death during the same year. In the span of just a few months, Enzo had lost both his beloved big brother and father. Moreover, the family business had collapsed, and the young Ferrari had to provide for his mother and himself. Enzo dropped out of school and found a job as an instructor in a school for metal workers. But the experience didn’t last long. He was soon over the age of 18, and it was time for him to be conscripted, too. Enzo was assigned to the 3rd Regiment of Alpine artillery. Thanks to his skill as a mechanic and metal worker, he was assigned the delicate task of maintaining and repairing the sophisticated machinery used by Alpine troops to carry artillery pieces up mountain tops and glaciers.

Now, remember that flu that had claimed Alfredo Sr. and Dino? Some believe it was an early round of what later became known as the ‘Spanish flu’. During the winter of 1918, Enzo was unlucky enough to fall sick early on during the pandemic. However, it may have been a blessing in disguise, as he was sent to a hospital far away from the front: there, he fully recovered and was later honorably discharged before the war ended in November. Around the same period, Enzo moved to Turin, seeking employment as a test driver and mechanic with FIAT. Enzo did not land the job but was hired instead by a much smaller company, CMN (Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali). By early 1919, he was still a test driver, but later that year, he was promoted to race driver and made his much-coveted debut in the world of professional car racing.

**Ferrari vs. Oxen**
The occasion was the uphill race from Parma to Poggio di Berceto, and Ferrari was at the wheel of a CMN model 15/20, running a 4-cylinder, 2.3-litre engine. Enzo arrived in a solid 4th position, not bad for a beginner, but he knew he could do better. On November 23, the CMN team got him to race at the ‘Targa Florio’, one of the most prestigious motoring competitions in Italy. That was a disaster. The fuel tank developed a serious problem, which lost Enzo more than 40 minutes. After a brief stint with Isotta Fraschini, Enzo was hired by the heavyweights of the time, Alfa Romeo. At the next Targa Florio, in November 1920, Enzo was driving an Alfa 40/60, with a roaring 6-litre engine, that got him to second position at the finishing line.

This marked the beginning of a long and fruitful collaboration between the present and future masters of the race tracks. In 1921, Enzo scored another silver medal with Alfa Romeo but also experienced his first accident. This happened at the Grand Prix of Brescia, where a herd of oxen had decided to take a walk across the track during the race! Enzo steered away on time, but his 40/60 skidded off the road and crashed to a halt. Aside from the oxen, Ferrari met few obstacles in his growth as a solidly famous – albeit not stellar – professional driver. In 1923, Enzo married his fiancée Laura Garello. He had been attracted to her by her sense of humour, and she had initially been attracted to him thanks to his glamorous occupation as a jockey on wheels. But she soon started to resent Enzo’s absolute dedication to motor racing. Laura was also concerned about Enzo’s own safety and tried to steer him toward more ‘stable’ careers. But Enzo was too stubborn. He later joked that if Laura had had her way, he would have switched from driving cars to driving trams.

Still in 1923, Enzo scored another important victory in the city of Ravenna, not far from his hometown. On that occasion, he got to meet two of his VIP fans, Count Baracca and his wife Paolina. The Baraccas had lost a son during WWI, as many more had, including the Ferraris. Their son, Captain Francesco Baracca, was a certified flying ace, having downed 34 enemy planes during the conflict. Legend has it that after defeating in a dogfight a German hailing from Stuttgart, he had adopted as an emblem for his fighter plane the heraldic animal of that city. After that victory in Ravenna, Countess Paolina wanted to make a gift to Enzo: why didn’t he adopt the same animal, a symbol of speed and power, as a lucky charm? Enzo agreed: since that day, all his cars would be painted with the emblem, which later became almost synonymous with his name.

And this is how the rearing black horse first became the symbol of a flying ace, then made it to the logos of not one, but two legendary sports car manufacturers, on both sides of the Alps: Ferrari and the Stuttgart-based Porsche. The rearing horse must have worked its charm, because in 1924, Enzo won yet another cup, the ‘Coppa Acerbo’, which brought him to the attention of Italy’s Prime Minister, Benito Mussolini, who awarded Ferrari with a Knighthood. During the same year, Enzo got to meet the Big Man himself. The Duce was visiting a Senator in Modena, and Ferrari was given the honour to lead the motorcade of the Prime Minister. After the first stop, Ferrari was accosted by Mussolini’s chauffeur with a request. Could he drive slower for the next leg of the trip? Apparently, Mussolini had insisted on driving himself in his official limo, so that he might prove he could keep up with the famous racer. He had kept up with Ferrari, but had almost caused accidents in the process!

In July of 1925, Ferrari experienced for the first time the death of a friend at the wheel. This was Antonio Ascari, the star pilot of the Alfa Romeo team, who crashed his Alfa P2 while in the lead at the French Grand Prix. Ascari had been more than a friend – he was a role model who would later inspire many of Ferrari’s business decisions. But the show had to go on, and the team needed a new driver. Enzo put forward the perfect candidate: Tazio Nuvolari, a promising motorcycle racer. The real experts among you will recognize the name of this legendary driver, whom Ferdinand Porsche described as “the greatest driver of the past, present and future.” Tazio was Enzo’s polar opposite: physically diminutive but absolutely reckless, he did not have any qualms about completely wrecking his cars in order to get a victory. Thanks to his talent, the Alfa team continued accumulating trophies, and so did Enzo.

Over the following years, Ferrari won two more Grand Prix, this time on an Alfa Romeo 6C-1500SS. The biggest professional achievement of this period was the 1929 foundation of the “Scuderia Ferrari,” or the “Ferrari motor stable”: this would be the new official denomination of Alfa Romeo’s racing team, managed, both on and off the track, by Enzo. Under his direction, the ‘Scuderia’ participated in 22 races, winning 8 of them. Enzo’s wife Laura may have disapproved of racing as a dangerous occupation, but took a keen interest in the managerial aspect of leading a ‘motor stable’. She was frequently seen at the garages and training tracks, sometimes providing valuable support to Enzo, sometimes overstepping the mark with her meddling – we’ll see later how this would become a recurrent problem.

1929 also marked Enzo’s first significant meeting with the lady who became his long-term mistress: Lina Lardi. A daughter of an acquaintance, Enzo had briefly met Lina when she was 14. Now, Enzo was 31, and Lina was 19. He greeted the girl with the pick-up line, “How did you get so beautiful in so little time?” Which is kind of cringey, but it did work!

**Ferrari vs. Maserati**
On August 9, 1931, Tazio Nuvolari, the new star of the Ferrari team, won the Three Provinces rally, a coveted cup. Ferrari finished a very close second. This event is significant not only because it could have been another trophy in Enzo’s cabinet, and not only because it marked the rise of Nuvolari, but because this was the last race ever for the racer from Modena. The tipping point was Laura’s pregnancy: he wasn’t going to risk his life and leave his unborn child fatherless. Enzo’s first child was born on January 19, 1932. His name was Alfredo, aka ‘Dino’, in honour of Enzo’s beloved brother. Just like the other Dino, Enzo’s son would face an unlucky destiny. The little boy was born with a congenital disease, muscular dystrophy, which leads to a progressive weakening of the muscles and severe disability. Enzo would remain extremely close to his son, doing anything possible to find a cure for muscular dystrophy, or at least alleviate his suffering. Biographers have speculated that Enzo’s constant worry about Dino’s condition may have had a negative impact on his personality, making him a more somber and short-tempered person than he used to be.

During the 1930s, though, Enzo’s headaches were still mainly of a professional nature. A rival shop had just opened in town: the Maserati car shop and racing team. The Maserati brothers had first set up their workshop in Bologna, but in the early 1930s, they had moved operations to Modena, just a short distance from Scuderia Ferrari HQ. The Maseratis were basically doing what Ferrari had been dreaming of doing but hadn’t realized yet: building their cars and racing the same cars under their own name. After moving to Modena, the Maseratis seemed set on humiliating Enzo, so they poached his star driver, Nuvolari. During most of 1934, Maserati dominated Scuderia Ferrari thanks to Nuvolari’s victories on a 6C 34.

Nuvolari piled it on by having several bales of hay delivered to Ferrari – the joke being that Alfa Romeos ran on donkey power, rather than the considerable horsepower of the Maseratis. Someone like Enzo Ferrari would not tolerate that level of trolling, especially from someone who looked like a gnome. Ferrari and his team of engineers set their minds on designing a new car that would put Nuvolari and Maserati in their place, and that was another legendary piece of engineering: the Alfa Romeo 158, or “Alfetta.” It wasn’t long before the 158 bagged a first position at the ‘Ciano Cup’, a first and second position at the Grand Prix of Milan, and a first, second, and third position at the Grand Prix of Tripoli. All this happened during the 1937-1938 period, years in which Alfa Romeo had decided to formally absorb Scuderia Ferrari within their ranks.

On September 6, 1939, Enzo Ferrari quit Alfa Romeo for good, with a special clause in his severance package: he would refrain from using ‘Ferrari’ in any mechanical, car manufacturing, or racing enterprise. And so he did, naming his newly founded company ‘A.A.C.’ (Auto Avio Costruzioni). In 1940, AAC debuted with the model 815, which looked like something out of a superhero comic. The 815 participated in the ‘Mille Miglia’, a thousand-mile long road race with legendary status, but the results were not impressive. Very soon, Ferrari would need to face challenges of another kind, as Italy broke its non-belligerent status and fully entered WWII.

**Ferrari vs. The Partisans/The Fascists/The Allies**
In 1943, Ferrari moved his plant from Modena to the smaller town of Maranello. Meanwhile, in Rome, the Grand Council of the Fascist Party had voted Mussolini out of power on July 25. This was followed by the surprise declaration of an armistice on September 8; as a consequence, Northern Italy would be occupied by German and Fascist forces, locked in a civil war with Resistance fighters of many denominations: monarchists, Catholics, and communist partisans. The latter were known for exacting a sort of protection money on rich landowners and factory tycoons. Ferrari was no exception, and he regularly paid his dues. The left-wing resistance brigades did not consider him in a good light, as he had gained a reputation as a supporter of the Fascist regime. He had accepted that AAC would be converted into a plant to manufacture tank components and other spare parts for the war effort, and he was good friends with one Edoardo Weber, a staunch supporter of the Fascist Republic now installed in the North.

The communist brigades had tolerated Ferrari for several months, but in October 1944, a special tribunal had issued a death sentence for him. Before they could carry out the penalty, though, they needed a final judgment from their man who knew him best: one Giuseppe Zanarini, the partisan who collected protection money from Ferrari. When Zanarini went to meet Ferrari, he found him pale, tired, and solemn. He had just heard the news that Weber, his carburettor friend, had been executed by the partisans in Bologna. Enzo had a hunch that he would be next. In his later memoirs, Zanarini reported how Ferrari did not appear scared, only sad, that he would not live long enough to fully realize the dream he had been pursuing for years: to build and develop his own cars.

After a long and tense conversation, Zanarini settled on a compromise: if Ferrari could ‘donate’ to the resistance 500,000 Liras (about 600,000 USD in today’s money), they would let him live. Enzo asked for 12 days to find the money, and Zanarini agreed. Later, the partisan reported back to his superiors that Ferrari could be more useful to their cause if he stayed alive. And indeed he would be useful. After paying his ticket for survival, Ferrari proceeded to actively collaborate with the resistance, using his factory to hide stashes of weapons and ammo, which would then be forwarded to the partisans. He was even given custody of the underground Communist Party’s secret archives, which he hid at his home. On at least one occasion, he even performed a delicate mission: he used his car to smuggle out of Modena the Fascist Mayor, a double-agent for the resistance, to secret meetings with partisan leaders. The Mayor was under suspicion from the Fascist secret police, and Enzo was risking arrest, too, by facilitating these meetings.

On top of all this, Ferrari had to look after the day-to-day running of his company. He had to adapt its production to the demands of the Ministry of War, meaning that by the end of 1944, most of AAC’s output consisted of hydraulic honing machines. The Allies must have had a better idea, because they bombed Ferrari’s plant twice, in November 1944 and February 1945.

**A New Beginning**
After the bloody conclusion of World War II, Ferrari had two more reasons to celebrate: first, the birth of his second son Piero, born from his relationship with Lina Lardi. Then, he officially changed his company’s name to ‘Ferrari’ and released the first vehicle under his name, the Ferrari 125 S. The 125 S was the first of many Ferraris to carry a V12 engine, which has two banks of six cylinders each, arranged in a ‘V’ shape, at a 60° angle. The following ten years were a decade of success. Ferrari scooped a third position at the 1948 Grand Prix of Italy and then went on to win the ‘Thousand Miles’ road race. In October, at Lake Garda, Enzo scored his first victory against his old employers, Alfa Romeo. In 1949, the Ferrari team participated in 49 competitions, winning 30.

When the first Formula 1 World Championship took place in Silverstone on May 13, 1950