Enzo Ferrari had an inordinate love for his cars, his creations that were abused on the circuits, but thanks to their power, reliability and efficiency, they gave his name luster and recognition throughout the world. The brand was the important thing.
Hence, Ferrari, it is true, many times put the accent on their machines rather than on the drivers, in which fostered competitiveness based on the exclusivity of available seats in their admired cars. If he could enter three or four cars, he had perhaps six drivers capable of piloting them, which he used in various competitions, and who competed to be included in the select group of Ferrari Grand Prix drivers.
And in fact, Ferrari had already achieved several brand titles, even before the creation of the constructors’ world championship in 1958. He had won four world brands in sports prototypes. And he would still have to win another two more before he came first in the Grand Prix arena. Enzo Ferrari was very proud of all his brand titles, but when on July 15, 1961 he achieved the one awarded by Formula 1, it was certainly something special.
The Aintree Circuit
It happened in the British Grand Prix held at the Aintree circuit, on the outskirts of Liverpool, in Great Britain. There, in the home of the famous Grand National, one of the most famous horse races in the world, a 3-mile race track had been devised which opened in May 1954, and which as early as 1955 hosted its first Grand Prix. , which also marked the first British triumph in the world championship thanks to Stirling Moss at the controls of the Mercedes W196. It was a very flat track, but it could be built in just three months, thanks to the fact that a large part of the equipment was already available.
There the world championship was conducted, in which it would be the fourth Grand Prix of Great Britain to be run at Aintree, and the penultimate. It was the fifth race of the season, which was being dominated with an iron fist by Ferrari thanks to its magnificent model, the 156, nicknamed ‘shark nose’, or ‘sharknose’, for its characteristic front air intakes. A car that had been tested and evolved since 1960, to move to the rear engine configuration, but also for the change to the 1.5-liter engines – those of the F2, actually – that the FIA had regulated for the upcoming championships.
The 156 had been defeated by Stirling Moss in Monaco, in the opening race of the championship, at the controls of Rob Walker Racing’s Lotus 18, which could give a misleading impression of how the year was going to be. In fact, it was seconded by the three Ferraris, which to an analytical eye it should have given him the clue that this victory was due more to Moss’s enormous talent than to the weakness of the car.. And indeed, the victories began to fall. Double in the Netherlands, an impressive poker in Belgium – the last time in the championship that four cars from the same team have taken the top positions – and then the fabulous victory of Giancarlo Baghetti in France, in his World Cup debut – which did not in F1-, ahead of dan Gurney’s Porsche.
Precisely this last victory should have given Enzo Ferrari great satisfaction, because was the empirical demonstration that what was superior was his car, not the pilot. Baghetti was the driver selected by the Italian Automobile Federation to get into a fourth Ferrari 156, ahead of Lorenzo Bandini, who many considered the best driver. Scuderia Ferrari, in that agreement with the federation to promote Italian drivers, made available the 0008 chassis, the same with which Baghetti had won the non-scoring Grand Prix of Syracuse and Naples. Actually, that 0008 chassis was not even a 156, but the Dino 156P, the F2 with which it had been tested in the late 1960s – for example, Von Trips fifth at the Italian GP in Monza – and which had been rebooted, having the V12 engine at 65 degrees, less powerful – the way to distinguish them was the engine cover: with two domes it was the 120 degree, with one the 65 degree.
With that car, a virtually unknown Baghetti achieved that striking victory in Reims. The car was a marvel in terms of power, but it was not out of step in terms of chassis behavior either. Precisely, the British teams thought that on a circuit like Aintree, which was very twisty, power would be relegated to the background and the high efficiency of its chassis would gain value, giving them an opportunity to stand out. They did not count on the 156 was a car of integrity, and he was going to show it in spades.
The Grand Prix of Great Britain
Because Aintree weekend was predicting rainy. Wolfgang Von Trips and Phil Hill were fighting for the drivers’ title, and had the same 0004 and 0003 chassis respectively, as in previous races. No favoritism towards one or the other. For his part, Richie Ginther also continued to use the 0001 chassis with which he had started the year. Only on Thursday was it possible to see some dry track, which defined the starting grid, with Phil Hill on pole, followed by Ginther and a brilliant Jo Bonnier in the Porsche third, closing the first row. Wolfgang von Trips was fourth, next to Stirling Moss, while Baghetti was only nineteenth.
On Sunday, at 2 p.m., half an hour before the race, the downpour was biblical. The circuit could barely evacuate so much water, but there were no less than thirty cars ready to compete in a Grand Prix, the 99th since the creation of the world drivers’ championship. In recent times the start would have been delayed, but at 2.30 sharp the Union Jack lowered and the drivers sped towards the aptly named Waterway curve. The suspended water cloud prevented more than 100,000 people from seeing what was happening to the occupants of the standsBut soon after the picture was clear: Phil Hill led in front of a magnificent Von Trips and Richie Ginther. Ferrari’s hat-trick in the lead, with Moss and Bonnier trailing behind. Soon the quintet was reduced to a quartet, leaving Bonnier behind, while Moss, taking advantage of the situation on the track, kept up the rhythm of the three Ferraris.
On the sixth lap, the Englishman got rid of Moss to the clamor of the spectators, and began his attack on Von Trips, but the German had other plans: on the next lap, Phil Hill was with the first doubles, and hesitated for an instant. The German did not, he overtook Phil Hill and began to put land in between, leaving Hill and Moss behind. But the Englishman did not want the victory to escape him either, so on lap ten he got rid of the American and began the hunt for the German. Stirling Moss was the only driver – he was for the entire year – capable of putting the Ferraris at risk, which actually enchanted Enzo Ferrari, who greatly admired the Englishman. Not in vain, that same year they were reaching an agreement so that in 1962 he would race with a 156 painted blue, immersed in Rob Walker’s teamAlthough it did not materialize because of the accident at Goodwood that ended Moss’s career.
Wolfgang Von Trips was not far behind in class at the wheel of Stirling Moss. Calm and esthete, the German was not in a fright, never out of line on the muddy track at Aintree. In his mirrors, Moss’s blue stain, unalterable during turns like a hunter who does not stop in pursuit of his prey. But none rushed, none had a weak point, as they left all the rivals behind, turning the race into a vibrant heads-up. Suddenly, on lap 24, Stirling Moss lost behind the LotusWith one swift movement, he crossed his arms in the opposite direction and controlled the skid, but then the Lotus scrambled with a whip in the opposite direction. Control of the car, on the way to the last corner, was lost, completely crossed, but Moss was patient. He let the car follow its inertia, slow down, complete the spin, and then get back on the wheel, smash the gas and, wonderfully, regain control of the car to trace the Tatts curve. It was still second, and he had lost about ten seconds.
They were enough for Von Trips, and to disappoint viewers. However, there was an ironic moment on lap 28, when the speakers of the circuit emitted the shout of the announcer: «Baghetti has finally been beaten!‘Because the Italian, who had won all three F1 races in which he had competed, had run off the track at the first corner and destroyed his Ferrari. Soon after, the rain stopped, and the track began to dry out. That gave some hope, but the reality is that even that benefited Italian cars. Richie Ginther reactivated, passed Hill and went after Moss, whom he passed on lap 40. Moss could not follow the Ferrari, and shortly after he ran out of brakes in his Lotus: he went to the pits and retired, yes Well shortly after he got behind the wheel of the Ferguson P99 -which had been disqualified-, a single-seater with all-wheel drive and front engine that debuted precisely in this Grand Prix.
In reality, nothing could stop the Ferraris anymore. Neither could Moss, nor could the rain, nor the dry conditions in which the track would soon change. The only change was that Richie Ginther let Phil Hill pass again, perhaps out of solidarity among compatriots in the latter’s fight for the world title, which led to the race being won by Von Trips -his last victory-, followed by Hill. and Ginther. But the German had managed a 46-second lead, and doubled all but the top six. The show of superiority was remarkable. But in Maranello, a man received by telephone the news he was waiting for. Victory. Insured Constructors’ World Championship. The first in F1, with three races still to go. A short time later, the brand title would also come in the world of sport-prototypes. Ferrari, as a brand, dominated the world of motorsports.
The disappearance of the ‘sharknose’
Then, later on, would come Monza and the greatest tragedy in the history of F1, and again intensifying the criticism of the constructor of Maranello, just in the year in which he had been acquitted of another similar tragedy, that of the Mille Miglia of 1957. And shortly after that, despite rounding off a fantastic year, the internal crisis, the revolt among its technicians that ended up dismembering a team that had created a superlative car. 156 was ostracized, and during 1962 it was a shadow of what had been. And then a decision came that has surrounded this car with an aura of mysticism and legend.
There is no original 156 ‘sharknose’ left. All that can be seen today are replicas. Some have original parts, such as an engine that was saved, the change, but little else. Why? Because at the end of the 1962 season, Enzo Ferrari gave the imminent order to destroy all the specimens. The reason is unknown, although there are several: the revolt, the associated deaths, the drop in competitiveness, the start of a new project with Forghieri – new types of chassis and engines. The 156 was useless material, so like a Saturn devouring its children, Ferrari ordered its destruction.
Perhaps it is the most graphic example of Enzo Ferrari’s mantra that we must look to the future, despite the fact that some want to see someone clinging to conservatism. Not even one copy was preserved, even if it was to commemorate the title of builders. The six disappeared, and they say that in part their scrapped material was used to lay the foundations of a new factory building that was being built, and that today it is not far from the brand’s classics department – not long ago, there was even attempts to discover some pieces, without success. From that base, physical and sporting, that of the first constructor’s title, the legend of the brand would continue to grow. Above all, the brand.