Scuderia Ferrari F1 Team

A name as synonymous to Formula One as Formula One is to Ferrari, the Maranello squad founded by namesake Enzo Ferrari has been in the sport from the very beginning. Almost every big name F1 has seen has driven for or been linked to Ferrari over the years – with nine drivers winning 15 Driver’s Championships for the team. Famous names such as Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda, Kimi Raikkonen, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Fernando Alonso, Sebastian Vettel and Gilles Villeneuve have all won races for the team – just to name a few. Ferrari’s first title success came at the hands of Alberto Ascari in 1952, the Italian winning six races in a row to their first championship win. Further success came in 1956 and 58 at the hands of Juan Manuel Fangio and Mike Hawthorn, before American Phil Hill helped deliver Ferrari’s first driver/constructor double in 1961. History was made in 1964 by John Surtees, becoming the first and thus far only man to win a championship driving both two and four wheels. Championship success eluded Ferrari for over a decade before the late, great Niki Lauda won two titles between 1975-77 – only missing out at the final race in 1976, a year in which he survived a horror fiery crash at the Nürburgring. South African Jody Scheckter took the title for Ferrari in 1979 – their last driver’s title for 21 years. Gilles Villeneuve starred for the team in his short stint in F1 prior to his tragic death in 1982, a season both he and teammate Didier Pironi were in a title fight with Alain Prost, Nelson Piquet and Keke Rosberg. Despite the lack of driver’s championships, Ferrari were able to win the Constructor’s in 1983 and had close calls in the 1990s with Alain Prost and Eddie Irvine. The 1996 season saw Ferrari take steps toward total Formula One dominance, employing the “Dream Team” of Ross Brawn, Jean Todt, Rory Byrne and Michael Schumacher. While success eluded them with close calls in 1997-99 – the breakthrough happened in 2000 with Schumacher winning the first of five consecutive driver/constructor’s titles for the team. During the 2000-04 period, winning 57 of a possible 85 races with the pairing of Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello. Ferrari dropped back in 2005 but Schumacher pushed eventual victor Alonso all the way in 2006, in which was his final year with the team. Kimi Raikkonen came on board with 2007 following Schumacher’s first retirement from the sport, winning the title by a single point at his first attempt. To date, this has been Ferrari’s last Driver’s Championship despite many close calls. Felipe Massa was champion for a brief moment crossing the line in 2008, before Lewis Hamilton made a final corner pass to take the title in dramatic fashion. Two-time champion Fernando Alonso joined the team from 2010-14, also narrowly missing two title victories at the final race of the season in both 2010 and 2012. Vettel replaced Alonso from 2015, pushing Hamilton in 2017/18 despite not winning the championship. Raikkonen rejoined the team during this time also, taking a single victory at the 2018 US Grand Prix. Charles Leclerc replaced Raikkonen for 2019, winning two races and has been paired with Carlos Sainz Jr since the 2021 season following Vettel’s departure for Aston Martin. 2022 saw Ferrari become title contenders again, a real threat for the first half of the season before falling away to the dominant Red Bull/Max Verstappen combination. Leclerc and Sainz continue with Ferrari for 2023.