go by in a flash – the celebrations, the victory dinner, meeting the fans. But at the end I was left with an intense feeling of happiness, which I will never forget.
I was fortunate enough to have Luca di Montezemolo as my team manager when I won that title in 1975. As well as a being colleague, Luca became a friend and when he returned to Ferrari in 1992 as chairman, I became a consultant to help rebuild the fortunes of the team.
Luca is a brilliant strategist and visionary. He recognized the need to employ the right people in the right places, and over the last six years he has done just that. The result is that the Ferrari Formula One team has been able to show in the last two years particularly that it is once again a serious contender for the Formula One World Constructors’ Championship.
That kind of action takes courage and perseverance, particularly in a company like Ferrari, which is quintessentially Italian in its approach and its methods. Politics and intrigue have always played a part in the management, and it isn’t easy to cut through that and prepare the company for the future. To that end Luca has done a brilliant job, as have all the members of the team – especially Team Director Jean Todt and Michael Schumacher, who is the best racing driver of his generation, and the talented and competitive Eddie Irvine.
Above all, one must never forget that Ferrari is a team made up of different nationalities and personalities, and each and every one of them plays an important role. A racing team works under constant pressure, so the most junior mechanic is as important as the most senior manager in that they must all execute their jobs efficiently and quickly.
This book is unique in that it offers the reader a glimpse of what life is really like working for one of the most glamorous and enigmatic teams in Grand Prix motor racing; and, for the very first time, the sweat and toil and the passion and the pain of being part of Ferrari can be observed at close quarters.
Niki Lauda, Vienna, 1998
The sound is unmistakable. A deep throaty roar leading to a high-pitched whine. It’s another day, another country and the millionaire boys are playing with their favourite toys. Round and round they go, darting in and out like multi-coloured insects engaged in some ancient ritualistic dance.
Bearing the names of their sponsors like proud warriors they automatically draw attention from the small groups gathered on the slopes overlooking the circuit. National flags wave in the breeze and the onlookers express their delight as their favourite drivers pass by. The cars in their distinct livery, each driver locked in his own private race to go ever faster, dance over the tarmac – gold, grey, black, white with a tartan strip and light blue.
The circus continues, and then from the distant pits another sound is heard and the crowd stirs in eager anticipation. A guttural battle cry is followed by a roar of power as the V10 engine propels the car down the pit lane and onto the glistening track. A flash of scarlet as the founder member of Formula One motor racing joins the rest. Anticipation changes to raw passion, and the fans erupt at the sight and sound of the bright red car driven by the supreme warrior himself.
Michael Schumacher is in a Ferrari. Individually enticing, together they are an unbeatable combination of power and emotion. The brilliant German driver in the car that stirs the heart. Among a family of beauties the Ferrari stands head and shoulders above the others. And not just in Formula One. From the boardrooms of Manhattan to the deserts of Africa, owning a Ferrari is the embodiment of many people’s hopes and dreams, something that represents escape, beauty and the good life. It has also transcended the role of being a mere form of transport and become a focus for the emotions of the whole Italian nation. When Ferrari does well the nation dances, when Ferrari does badly the nation cries.
But what is it like to carry the hopes of a nation? To be responsible for the intangible feelings that ebb and flow around the stable of the prancing horse?
Fast forward to 1998. Dateline: 13 September. Place: Monza, home ground of the famous and fanatical tifosi. The scarlet cars screech past the chequered flag, first and second. Schumacher stands on the top step of the podium, Irvine on the next step down. The crowd and the team are delirious. The magical result, not seen at Ferrari in recent history on their home ground, has revitalized everyone involved. It is the sum total of the determination, effort and skill of so many people, and now everyone can rejoice that the hard work has paid off: Schumacher is back in the contest for the 1998 World Drivers’ Championship; and Ferrari are challenging once again for the Constructors’ title. Of course, as history was to decree at the climax of the season in Japan, it would be the runners-up spot yet again for Ferrari and their German wünderkind. But for now, the glory of Monza was something to behold.
At the end of three progressive seasons, the Ferrari renaissance is well underway. Plots and counter-plots are long forgotten. The pace and reliability of a small red car is what matters. Ferrari might make Machiavelli seem like an innocent but it is the only company to have perpetrated the myth of desire for 50 years, the only Formula One team that attracts a passionate, committed army of supporters throughout the world.
We stand on the threshold of a new millennium and we are still transfixed by the power and emotion generated by the need to feel we can be a part of Ferrari, maybe even one day drive one of their cars. We need to be a part of the dream even if, for some of us, that dream is as elusive as scaling Mount Everest. If the emotion is strong on the outside, what is it like on the inside? Let’s take a journey into the heart of the stable of the prancing horse and find out.
Jane Nottage, London, 1998
‘Ferrari is motor racing. It is the representation of everything motor racing stands for – speed, glamour, style and excitement.’
Bernie Ecclestone
FOCA President
Once upon a time there lived a man called Enzo Ferrari. He produced beautiful cars, won many World Championships, built a company that became famous throughout the world, resided in a lovely place called Maranello, where the sun always shone and he lived happily ever after. Fairy stories. Wonderful aren’t they? They allow people to dream of a better world and believe that everything is always beautiful. The heroes are always good looking and the future is always full of hope and happiness. Not unlike life at Ferrari, or so most people would have us believe. Over the years the legend has been carefully constructed and perpetuated by the people at the stable of the black prancing horse, to make us believe that Ferrari is the ultimate dream, the legend that delivers your fantasies.
Even the famous emblem is shrouded in mystery. Folklore has it that Enzo Ferrari was enjoying success as an Alfa Romeo driver, when after yet another victorious race a man pushed his way through the crowd that had gathered round the winner, shook Enzo’s hand warmly and invited him back to his house so he could make a presentation. This man was the father of famous World War I flying ace, Francesco Baracca, who had shot down 35 adversaries before his life ended in 1918. As his personal badge, Baracca had used a black prancing horse. After his demise, his family was sent the prancing horse symbol on a piece of aeroplane fabric and it was their wish that this famous emblem should be passed on to Enzo Ferrari in recognition of his courage and talent on the race
