Ferrari Could Have Looked Outside the Box as F1 Crumbled

The true Ferrari road cars started with the 166 which were developed from the 125 range of race-oriented cars. The 125 S debuted at the Circuito di Piacenza; although it was a failure at its maiden grand prix, the 125 S won six of its fourteen races in 1947. 

In 2007, the company was celebrating its sixtieth anniversary, having enjoyed a history of successes, failures, tragedies and triumphs in an eventful Six decades after the debut of the F1 racer, as well as the company’s first road going car.

Two years later, two constructor championships later Ferrari’s Board of Directors, chaired by Luca di Montezemolo, confirmed that the Italian company won’t be competing in Formula 1 in 2010. 

The announcement did not come as much of a surprise and neither did their Ferrari’s announcement that the team were considering competing in other Motor-sport series. 

The decision to reconsider the team’s involvement in Formula 1 has been the direct result of the FIA’s announcement to introduce a budget cap for 2010 and consider a two-tier Formula style championship.  The decision by the FIA, and actions of the FOTA in the matter resulted in the threat of a civil war between the two parties.

Since that fateful day the two sides in this conflict have reached an understanding and the 2010 F1 season is set to begin next March.  Certainly the rules are not in place, however there is now progress, and fans have something to look forward to.

Yet what would have happened, had the FIA not backed down, and had the FOTA members not shared Ferrari’s point of view?  What if Ferrari did leave the sport it has been part of since its very beginning?  Would F1 survive as a successful sport, or would it fall apart? 

There are those out there that clearly support the idea that without the presence of Ferrari in the sport the sport is not really F1.  There are those that consider the presence of Ferrari in Formula One as necessary for the sport; Ferrari is seen as a marker to measure one’s true success and superiority against. 

Throughout history Ferrari has been synonymous with F1, sports car racing, endurance racing, before being considered a luxury automobile maker. The very reason that Ferrari road cars were built was to bankroll the company’s competition wing. 

The team has been involved in various Motor-sport series throughout the decades, taking championships and winning Grand Prix along the way.  The history of involvement in such classics as Mille Millia, Le Mans, Monte Carlo Rally, Group B Series, and many more demonstrates that Ferrari, despite its logo, is not a one horse team.

Thus, had Ferrari made good on the threat, the team would be successfully competing in another series. 

The question remains, however, where would Ferrari go? 

The 288 GTO Evoluzione was the car with which, in the 1980s, Ferrari intended to take on and beat Porsche’s high-tech 959 Group-B racer.  The 1982 established series, Group B, folded after the death of Henri Toivonen and his co-driver in the 1986 Tour de Corse.

As a result of the disestablishment of the series Ferrari in 2010 could not compete in Group B; the team would also not venture into the newly re-formed Indy/Cart racing series. 

The team had proven successful at Indy in the 1950s, and in 1986 went as far as designing a car for the Indy series, however in leaving F1 for Indy/Cart the team would not be making much of a change. 

Indy has specific rules and regulations; technologies are limited as is the development, and the cars are far more standard in their development than the F1 cars are.

While any F1 team seeks to clinch two championships, the drivers’ and the constructors’, each year to the Scuderia Ferrari the ultimate prize is the constructors’ championship because it is the championship that identifies Ferrari as the designer of the ultimate car.

When the cars become more and more identical the idea of a constructors’ championship becomes useless; if all cars are identical the sport is still a team sport, but no longer a constructors’ sport.  Hence Ferrari would never enter another series where each car on the grid is not different than the other.

Again, this begs a question, where would Ferrari go?

One of the directions that Ferrari could possibly consider is Rally racing.  Ferrari is not identified with Rally Racing; however the two have a history.  In 1971 The Lancia Stratos was launched; while it was a Lancia car the project had links to the Scuderia. 

The car was originally powered by a Lancia engine; however the engine of the Lancia was switched to the mid-mounted 190 bhp (140 kW) 2418 cc Dino Ferrari V6. 

The car won the 1974, 1975, and 1976 championship titles in the hands of Sandro Munari and Björn Waldegård, and might have gone on to win more had not internal politics within the Fiat group placed rallying responsibility on the Fiat 131 Abarths. 

While only the engine may have been a Ferrari component, and the car a Lancia, beginning in 1978 a Ferrari 308GTB competed in some of Europe’s most gruelling Rally events.  Chassis 20951, first introduced to the press in March 1978, started its career competing in several Italian rallies.

The project was “endorsed” by Enzo Ferrari, and two years after first appearing on the rally circuit was being entered into the Targa Fiorio, and he Hunsruck Rally in Germany.  Chassis 20951, a 308GTB, modified by Michelotto from Padua was replaced by the lighter and more powerful chassis 26713.

The car went on to compete and win on the Quattro Regione in Italy, the Belgium 12 Hours of Ypres, and the Cevennes Rally.   While the project had been “endorsed” by Enzo Ferrari it was not really a true Ferrari project and could not really compete against the might of the factory backed Renault Five Turbos and Audi Quattros. 

Currently Kimi Raikkonen contests several rallies each season, and should Ferrari decided to enter the sport they would have a driver ready for the challenge. A second car could be run by the team with the already experienced Valentino Rossi as driver. 

Should Ferrari decide to enter Rally Racing, would the spectators see Kimi and Valentino behind a heavily Ferrarified version of a FIAT Abarth, or would a car be specifically designed for the series?

In the past the one race that was synonymous with Ferrari, however, aside from F1, was Le Mans.  Beating Ferrari has been important to many manufacturers competing in the 24 hour endurance race.  Porsche, Ford, Jaguar, and many others have all desired to beat Ferrari.

The level of the competition or rivalry between Ferrari and its Le Mans arch rival Porsche has been captured in the 1971 movie “Le Mans.”  The rivalry between Ferrari and Ford was intensified by Enzo Ferrari’s last moment decision to not sell Ferrari to Ford; Ford reacted to the decision by developing the GT40 and dominating the race, but more importantly beating Ferrari.

Ferrari cars have been successfully racing at Le Mans; however not since 1973 has Ferrari competed in Sports Car Racing as a factory team.  The last Ferrari Prototype to dominate sports car racing was the 312PB, and while in 1992 Ferrari 333 SP was built it was not built to be raced by Scuderia Ferrari. 

Like with the 308GTB, Michelotto yet again was the builder of the Ferrari.  Unlike the 996 built by Porsche for endurance racing, however, the Ferrari’s machine wasn’t competitive for long.

As the 333 SP became outdated in chassis, engine and aerodynamics, it gradually disappeared from international sports car racing. In 2001, no Ferrari prototype raced in the ALMS.

When Ferrari retired from the sport in 1973 it was a sad day.  Le Mans did survive, because the name of Ferrari was replaced by Porsche, Audi, Peugeot, Bentley, and many others.

Ferrari, however, could fit in quite well. The engine of the F1 Ferraris has been very reliable, and reliability is key to winning Le Mans.  The team also have a truck load of options on which to base their Prototype sports car; the 599 FXX, the Enzo FXX, the F430, and as Maserati and Ferrari fall under the same FIAT umbrella there is also the Maserati C12.

Le Mans, Rally Racing, even the Dakar Rally, could all present an interesting and tempting challenge for Scuderia Ferrari.  The three series would test the machinery, as well as present technological advances and superiority of the Italian marquee.

Participation in each of the series would also promote the company and bring Ferrari greater exposure in newer markets; increasing the company sales would be the result of the venture in each of the series, and an increase in revenue would benefit the team.

F1 is an exciting sport and it would be hurt with the departure of Ferrari.  Their departure from the grid would also mean that F1 racing cathedrals such as Monza would disappear due to the lack of fans.  Yet this is a reality that the FIA does not have to worry about yet.

While the 2010 rules and regulations are being discussed and Ferrari’s involvement in F1 remains, the Scuderia should not be foreign to the idea of involvement in other series.  As a wise man once said think outside the box, or in Ferrari’s case, the box stall.