Drivers Becoming Constructors: Enzo Ferrari

Enzo Ferrari's fame as a constructor of special cars has overshadowed his time as a driver, where he was a true champion. Despite coming from a modest background and facing initial difficulties in accessing competitive cars, young Ferrari (his first race was the Parma-Poggio di Berceto hill climb with CMN in 1919) caught the attention of Alfa Romeo and became a driver for the Milanese team, even being considered for Grand Prix events.

However, Ferrari had a fear of death in races and, when given the chance to drive the Alfa Romeo P2 in Grand Prix races, he declined. His true dream was to become a constructor. He continued racing in national events until 1931, focusing on his goal by creating Scuderia Ferrari, which managed Alfa Romeo's cars as a support to the official team.

Enzo Ferrari's first race with a CMN in 1919 was the Parma-Poggio di Berceto hill climb.

The team's results were so impressive that Alfa Romeo decided to almost entirely support Scuderia Ferrari's racing activities in Modena. In the early 1930s, aware that German cars would be difficult to beat, Enzo designed and built the Alfa Romeo Bimotore, adding a second rear engine to the P3, which was extensively modified. This was just the beginning: in 1938, on Ferrari's suggestion, Alfa Romeo decided to stop competing with the government-supported Mercedes and Auto Union to enhance Germany's image, instead building a "voiturette" class car that would become a mechanical masterpiece. The 158, created in Modena (1500cc, 8-cylinder with a supercharger), was so advanced that after the war, in 1950 and 1951, it was renamed the 159 and won the first two Formula 1 World Championships with Nino Farina and Juan Manuel Fangio. But Ferrari wanted to become a constructor himself.

The 1935 Alfa Romeo Bimotore, born from Enzo Ferrari's idea and built almost entirely autonomously in Modena within Scuderia Ferrari.

His first attempt came in 1940, with the creation of two sports cars, not yet named Ferrari due to contractual obligations with Alfa Romeo, but Auto Avio Costruzioni. These cars, one driven by Alberto Ascari (who would become a World Champion in the 1950s), competed in the 1940 Mille Miglia, proving competitive but too fragile.

Alberto Ascari sitting in the cockpit of Enzo Ferrari's first constructor experiment, the 1940 815 Auto Avio Costruzioni.

It wasn't until 1947 that a red car carrying his name, the 125 S, emerged from the factory Ferrari had built in Maranello. From that day on, Ferrari's history has been told in hundreds of books and is known by everyone. That ambitious young provincial driver transferred all his talent, and perhaps even more, from the role of driver to constructor. A story that needs no retelling.

The first red car to bear the Ferrari name was the 125 S in 1947, marking the start of the legendary constructor's history with the Prancing Horse.