When you hammer down on the gas and find yourself unable to breathe, when you listen to the engine’s song; you know you are driving a Ferrari. This is the moment of real passion, the red passion that traverses through the life of all supporters. Ferrari cannot be explained, it must be lived. If you drive a Ferrari, there are no limits to the power, there is always more.
Formula 1 is mounted on the highest pedestal, the final frontier of driving on our planet. The only thing better than this is driving in paradise. Formula 1 is the empire over which Enzo Ferrari reigns, he and the ‘gioie terribili’; his red cars.
Steve McQueen and Jean Shrimpton. By Avedon for Harpers Bazaar, 1965.
Then there are the drivers, for whom driving is living. To quote Steve McQueen, ‘Racing is life. Anything before or after is just waiting.’ In the world of old Formula 1, drivers raced with a heavy foot and no safety car. For them, the value of a turn with maximum speed outweighed the value of their life. For Ayrton Senna there were no curves where he deemed it impossible to overtake.
Ayrton Senna.
God had created the best circuit, and he needed the best driver. Adeus Ayrton.
Nelson Piquet. Getty Images.
The unforgettable years of James Hunt and Nelson Piquet; playboys and great drivers.
James Hunt.
If at the end of the race they were still in one piece, they could be found in the arms of the blonde of the moment. As well as Alain Prost, who left the circuit at Monaco a winner, and was spotted flirting with Princess Caroline.
Carlos Pace at Brands Hatch in 1976.
Girls and engines; the right music.
Romantic Formula 1! We have so much nostalgia for you. When you were simply a class of car racing, and cars could be upturned into tables for the mechanic’s lunch.
Today Formula 1 travels in first class.
Ayrton Senna vs Alain Prost.
Drivers used to enter into duels that lasted the entire race; with no overtaking at the pit stop and without the assistance of aerodynamic alterations.
Incredible historic photo of the Formula 1 grid with Ecclestone, Schumacher, Senna, Mansell ...
They would drive in all weather conditions; with no races stopped for a few drops of rain. In short, it was an epic world, populated by giants such as Ayrton, Michael, Nigel and Gilles.
Gilles, who left us in a day of May where he wanted to show that he was the best. It was useless Gilles, we already knew it.
Today, racing is different, but the little red kite that flits swiftly between the turns still makes our heart pound.
Whilst there is a Ferrari on the start line, we will unroll our flags.
July 08, 2015.
Valerio Palmigiano,
The President of the Club
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