Scuderia Ferrari is the longest-serving team in Formula One, having raced in every championship since 1950.
Scuderia Ferrari, one of the most iconic and successful teams in the history of motorsport, represents a legacy of passion, innovation, and excellence. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, the team has dominated the Formula 1 World Championship and carved out a unique place in the hearts of motorsport fans worldwide. Renowned for its red cars, legendary drivers, and relentless pursuit of victory, Scuderia Ferrari’s journey through the decades has been marked by triumphs, challenges, and a continual drive to stay at the forefront of technological advancement. This article delves into Scuderia Ferrari’s history, achievements, and enduring spirit, a symbol of Italian craftsmanship and racing pedigree.
Table of Contents
About Scuderia Ferrari
Enzo Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari team. In 1947, Ferrari began building its cars and supplying its engines. Ferrari has supplied engines to many F1 teams throughout the years. As of 2022, the Haas F1 Team and Alfa Romeo Racing use Ferrari engines.
The Italian Grand Prix in Monza is regarded as Scuderia Ferrari’s home race. Monza is turned into a sea of red Ferrari fans every year awaiting their team’s victory. Scuderia Ferrari’s drivers have brought home an impressive 15 Drivers’ Championships. Tifosi is the name given to the Scuderia Ferrari Formula 1 supporters. Ferrari is the longest-serving and most successful Formula One team, taking part in over 1000 Grand Prix and holding many world records in F1.
In the past few years, Scuderia Ferrari has struggled to keep up with the big names of F1, such as Mercedes, Red Bull Racing, and McLaren. However, 2022 has seen big improvements, with the team having its most successful year in two years.
Ferrari 2022 F1 Car
Ferrari F1-75 is Ferrari’s Formula One car for the 2022 season and it has performed very well in the season so far. Ferrari’s drivers, Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, have been a potent pairing, winning Grand Prix and making podiums throughout the season. By changing regulations, Ferrari’s newly designed car is named F1-75 to reflect the team’s 75 years in the F1. Team principal Mattia Binotto described the F1-75 as “aggressive” and “brave”. Some changes to the car were removing pylons, adding the front and rear wheels and tyres to 18″, and adding an innovative combustion engine.
Ferrari F1 Drivers’ Champions
With over 70 years in Formula 1, the “The Prancing Horse” team has had many drivers come through its ranks. Drivers Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Michael Schumacher and Kimi Räikkönen had massive success with Ferrari, all winning at least one World Drivers’ Championship Title.
Niki Lauda
Niki Lauda won two Drivers’ Championships with Ferrari in 1975 and 1977. During his time with Scuderia Ferrari, Lauda suffered a terrible crash at Nürburgring in 1976, which nearly left him for dead. Lauda suffered desperate burns after his car burst into flames, and the driver fell into a coma shortly after. Incredibly, Lauda returned to the 1976 F1 Championship six weeks later, only missing two races. Although Lauda lost the Championship title to James Hunt by one point, he won the Drivers and Constructors Championship the following year for his final season with Ferrari.
Juan Manuel Fangio
Juan Manuel Fangio was an Argentine Formula One driver who won the World Drivers’ Championship five times, dominating the first 10 years of Formula One. He is the only driver to win the World Championship with four different Formula One teams: Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz, Maserati and Scuderia Ferrari. Fangio was also the oldest driver in most of the Grand Prix he raced in, not starting his career until he was in his late 30s. Fangio only raced in seven Grand Prix races for Ferrari, winning five during his one season with the Italian team.
Alberto Ascari
Alberto Ascari was Ferrari’s first Formula 1 World Champion. He was an Italian racing driver who not only competed in Formula One but also had a career in motorcycle racing. Ascari won two consecutive World Championship titles in 1952 and 1953 for Scuderia Ferrari. He is the first and last Italian to achieve such success in Ferrari and Formula 1. Ascari was Ferrari’s only back-to-back World Champion until Schumacher broke this record with his F1 Ferrari success from 2000-2003.
Mike Hawthorn
Mike Hawthorn was a British racing driver who joined Scuderia Ferrari in 1953. In his first season with the Italian Formula One team, Hawthorn placed first at the French Grand Prix and finished in fourth place in the Championship at the end of the season. In 1958, Hawthorn finally won his first World Championship in his career. Incredibly, Hawthorn only won one race in 1958, but because of his second-place points and one victory, he gained enough to take home the title for Ferrari. He was the first British driver to win a World Championship in Formula 1 and for Ferrari.
John Surtees
John Surtees was a British Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and F1 driver. After having a successful career in motorcycling, winning seven Grand Prix World Championships in two classes, 500cc and 350cc, Surtees decided to move to Formula 1. In 1963, Sutrees joined Scuderia Ferrari and made quite his name, winning the German Grand Prix in his debut season.
His second season with Ferrari resulted in even more victory, with John Surtees winning the Formula 1 World Championship in 1964. This monumental win made John Surtees the first and only person to have won both two-wheel and four-wheel World Championships. He was also the second and, as of today, the last British Ferrari driver to win the World Championship.
Kimi Räikkönen
Kimi Räikkönen, nicknamed “The Iceman” because of his calm and reserved demeanour, is an F1 driver from Finland. In his debut season with Ferrari, Räikkönen won the F1 World Championship title. To date, this is the last World Championship for Scuderia Ferrari. In the space of 11 years, Räikkönen raced with Scuderia Ferrari for 8 years. Räikkönen signed with Ferrari in 2007 for three seasons and again in 2014, with his Ferrari F1 career lasting another five seasons.
Phil Hill
Phil Hill was an American Formula One driver who joined Scuderia Ferrari in 1959. In his first season with Ferrari, Phil Hill placed fourth in the Drivers’ Championship. Hill was the first and only American-born driver to win the F1 World Drivers’ Championship. Unfortunately, Hill’s victory was surrounded by sadness. During the Grand Prix, Ferrari’s home race at Monza, teammates Phil Hill and Count Wolfgang von Trips battled it out to win the World Champion title. In a terrible accident, von Trips’s car crashed into the crowd, fatally killing himself and spectators, leading Hill to win the Championship by one point.
Jody Scheckter
Jody Scheckter raced for Scuderia Ferrari from 1979-1980. Jody Scheckter’s debut season for Ferrari was very successful, with many podiums and wins leading him to win the Drivers’ Championship. This victory made him the first and, to date, only South African driver to win the Formula One World Championship. Scheckter’s second season wasn’t as smooth sailing, and the Scuderia Ferrari driver failed to defend his title. This was probably a factor in the South African driver’s retirement from motorsport.
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is last on the list but by no means least. Without a doubt, the most successful and famous driver to have raced for Scuderia Ferrari is Michael Schumacher. The German driver brought Ferraris its most victorious racing period in the early 2000s. He won more races with Ferrari than any other driver with 72 wins. He has also had the most pole positions with 58, the most Formula One podiums with 116, and the fastest laps during his time with Ferrari with a total of 53. He won seven Driver’s Championships during his Formula One career, with five consecutive wins with Ferrari.
Schumacher won his first Drivers’ Championship in 1994 with Benetton after a season which involved a two-race ban and collisions with competitor Damon Hill Schumacher, driver for Rothmans Williams Renault. Schumacher defended his title in 1995. He was the youngest F1 driver to win back-to-back driver championships until Sebastian Vettel broke this record.
In 1996, Schumacher joined Scuderia Ferrari and helped them come second in the Constructors Championship. Between 2000 and 2004, Schumacher had a winning streak, winning the Drivers’ Championship and Constructors Championship for Ferrari for five consecutive years. In 2003, Schumacher beat Fangio’s record by winning his sixth Drivers’ Championship.
Michael Schumacher’s son, Mick Schumacher, also made a career in Formula 1, following in his father’s footsteps. Mick Schumacher signed with the Haas Formula One Team in 2021 after winning the 2020 Formula 2 Championship. Below is a trailer clip of the Netflix documentary Schumacher, which gives an excellent account of the F1 driver’s life before his devastating skiing accident in 2013, which put him in a coma and left him with life-changing injuries.
Scuderia Ferrari F1 2022 Drivers
Charles Leclerc
Charles Leclerc, a Monegasque-born driver, has had long connections to the Scuderia Ferrari team, taking part in the Ferrari Driver Academy when he was younger. Leclerc made it into Formula One when he won the Formula 2 season in 2017. Leclerc made his debut with Ferrari in 2019. Leclerc had a very successful first season, winning two races, seven pole positions, and ten podiums. The driver from Monaco finished in fourth place in the World Championship that same year.
That year, Charles Leclerc also became the second-youngest driver to qualify for pole position in F1 at the Bahrain Grand Prix, and he also won his first Grand Prix in Belgium that same year. Charles Leclerc also became the youngest driver to win the Pole Trophy for most poles in his first season with Scuderia Ferrari. The 24-year-old was offered a four-year season contract with Ferrari, a huge achievement considering the majority of contracts in Formula One are two years. In 2022, Charles Leclerc has already beaten his 2019 success with an impressive three victories and eight pole positions, and the season is still not over. Charles Leclerc placed second in the Drivers Championship 2022.
Carlos Sainz Jr.
Carlos Sainz Jr. has made quite the name since he joined Formula One in 2015, racing for Toro Rosso. The Spanish driver is the son of World Rally Champion Carlos Sainz. The pressure of his father’s legacy has not taken its toll on Sainz Jr., who is quite the ‘smooth operator’ on the track. However, Carlos’ F1 career with Toro Rosso didn’t begin smoothly.
The Spaniard finished in 15th and 12th position in the Drivers’ Championship for his first two years. During his third season with Toro Rosso, Carlos moved to Renault where he finished in seventh position in 2017. Carlos Sainz Jr. was signed by McLaren, whom he raced for in 2019 and 2020. Sainz Jrs. performance with McLaren caught the attention of Scuderia Ferrari for the 2021 season. In his first year with Ferrari, Sainz Jr claimed four podiums and placed fifth in the Drivers’ Championship, two positions ahead of his teammate Leclerc. In 2022, Carlos got his first win with Ferrari at the British Grand Prix.
Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. are signed on to Ferrari until the end of the 2024 season. The duo performed very well in 2022, with pole positions, 1-2 finishes, and many podiums. It will be exciting to see what else they can achieve in the coming seasons.
Scuderia Ferrari: Timeline of Victories
1951
In 1951, Jose Froilan Gonzalez won the British Grand Prix at Silverstone, marking Ferrari’s first-ever victory in Formula 1.
1952-1953
Italian driver Alberto Ascari won Ferrari’s first-ever Drivers’ Championship in 1952 and his second in 1953. This made Alberto Ascari the only Italian driver to have won two back-to-back Formula One Drivers’ Championship Titles.
1956
In 1956, Juan Manuel Fangio won Ferrari’s third Driver’s championship and his fourth in his career. Juan Manuel Fangio won five Drivers’ Championship Titles during his F1 career, winning four consecutive times from 1955 to 1958. This record remained unbroken until 2003 Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher won his sixth title.
1958
British driver Mike Hawthorn won Ferrari’s fourth Drivers Championship and was Ferrari’s third driver to take home the title. Mike Hawthorn was the first English driver to win the Drivers’ Championship.
1961
Phil Hill won Ferrari’s Fifth Drivers’ Championship and their first-ever Constructors’ Championship. This was the first time Ferrari had won the Constructors since it was introduced in 1958, making it Ferrari’s first double. Phil Hill also went down in history as the first American to win the Drivers’ Championship.
1964
John Surtees took home the Drivers’ title in 1964 and Ferrari’s second Constructors’ title. Surtees was a former motorcycle road racer and today remains the only man to win World Championships on both two wheels and four. He was also the second and to date, last Englishman to win the Drivers’ title for Ferrari.
1975-1977
In 1975, Niki Lauda took home his first Ferrari driver’s championship and won the team’s seventh driver’s title. In 1976, Lauda suffered from severe burns and went into a coma after his horrific crash in the 1976 German Grand Prix. Lauda recovered and narrowly missed out on the Drivers’ Championship that same year. In 1977, Lauda won his second Driver’s title for Ferrari. Ferrari won their third, fourth and fifth Constructors championships during these years.
1979
South African driver Jody Scheckter won the Drivers’ Championship in 1979, claiming Ferrari’s ninth Drivers’ Championship title and sixth Constructors Championship
1983
Although Ferrari drivers René Arnoux and Patrick Tambay failed to take the Drivers Championship, the duo won Ferrari their eighth Constructors’ Championship title. The previous year in 1982, Ferrari claimed their seventh Constructors’ Championship with drivers Didier Pironi and Mario Andretti.
1999
After a few years of no victories, Ferrari won their 9th Constructors Championship in 1999 but failed to win the Drivers’ Championship.
2000 – 2002
2000, 2001 and 2002 saw Ferrari completely dominate the Formula One track. German driver Michael Schumacher won the Drivers’ Championship three years in a row, and together with teammate Rubens Barrichello, the pair won Ferrari’s 10th,11th and 12th Constructors Championship titles. Schumacher’s win in 2000 ended Ferrari’s 21-year drought of Drivers’ Championship titles.
2003
Ferrari remained unbeaten, with their 13th Constructors Championship win coming in 2003 and Michael Schumacher’s sixth Drivers’ title, making him the first Formula One driver to achieve such an achievement.
2004
2004 was an extraordinary racing season for Ferrari and Michael Schumacher. Ferrari took the Constructors’ crown for the sixth year in a row, making it their 14th title. Schumacher won 13 races, which led him to win his seventh Drivers’ Championship and fifth consecutive win.
2007
2007 was an intense season with rivals McLaren; however, Kimi Räikkönen came out on top, winning the 15th Drivers’ Championship for Ferrari. After McLaren was disqualified for misconduct, Ferrari took home their 15th Constructors Championship.
2008
In 2008, Ferrari won its 16th Constructors’ Championship by 21 points, with eight wins from its drivers, Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa. Massa was unlucky, as he missed out by one point on the Drivers’ Championship, which McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton won.
Scuderia Ferrari Achievements
Most Constructors Titles
Ferrari has 16 Formula One Constructors’ World Championship titles, winning them in 1961, 1964, 1975-77, 1979, 1982-83, 1999-2004, and 2007-2008. The Constructors’ Champion only began in 1958. If it had started in 1950, Ferrari’s record would likely be higher.
Most Grand Prix wins
Ferrari has the most Grand Prix wins, with 243 wins since they began racing in 1950.
Most Grand Prix Appearances
Since its formation, Ferrari has participated in every Formula 1 season, and the Italian team has raced in 1047 Grand Prix. In September 2020, Ferrari celebrated its 1000th Grand Prix at the Tuscan Grand Prix.
Most 1-2 Finishes
Scuderia Ferrari have 85 1-2 wins since they began racing in Formula 1 in 1950.
Most Constructors Points
Having won the most Constructors titles, it is no surprise that Ferrari also holds the title of most Constructors points with a total of 9,118 points to the team’s name,
Most Fastest Laps
Ferrari is ahead of the rest when it comes to setting the fastest lap around the track, with 259 fastest laps set.
Most Podiums Finishes
Ferrari has the most podium finishes, with 792. Its total surpasses McLaren’s, which is in second place with 494.
Lead number of laps
Ferrari has led more laps than any other Formula One team, with 15,576 laps.
Most Pole Positions
Ferrari has by far the most pole positions in Formula 1 with a total of 240, just under 100 more than runner-up McLaren.
2nd Podium
With 282 second-position podiums, Ferrari again takes the lead, beating close rivals McLaren.
3rd Podium
Not only does Ferrari dominate pole and second position, but they also have the title for most third-place podiums, comprising 268.
Most Consecutive Podiums
Between 1981 and 2022, Ferrari had 82 consecutive podiums, which no team has come close to beating.
Most Grand Prix Grand Slams
A grand slam is when a team gains pole position, the fastest lap, the win, and the lead from start to finish. Ferrari has 42 Grand Slams, a record closely followed by Mercedes, who have 34.
Most Grand Prix Hat Tricks
A Grand Prix hat trick is getting pole position, fastest lap and win. Ferrari takes this title with 89 Grand Prix Hat Tricks.
Conclusion
Scuderia Ferrari’s legacy in motorsport is unparalleled achievement, innovation, and dedication. From its humble beginnings to becoming a dominant force in Formula 1, Ferrari’s commitment to excellence has set the standard for the racing world. With a rich history of legendary drivers, groundbreaking technology, and an enduring passion for competition, the team continues to inspire fans and fuel the relentless pursuit of victory. As Ferrari evolves and faces new challenges, its unwavering determination to remain at the pinnacle of motorsport ensures that the Scuderia name will remain synonymous with success, passion, and the pursuit of perfection for generations to come.