Friday's Ferrari

The Coys International Historic Festival meeting at Silverstone in July 1997 featured a special display of Ferraris in the paddock where I took this photograph.

In the centre is a 1951/2 Ferrari 375 4.5 litre Formula 1 car, chassis 04, which was modified to take part in the 1952 Indianapolis 500 race. Four of the cars were entered for the race but three, driven by Americans Johnny Mauro, Bill Vukovich and Danny Oakes, failed to qualify. The fourth car, driven by Ferrari team driver Alberto Ascari, qualified but did not finish the race due to a failed rear wheel bearing. The Indianapolis 500 race at that time was one of the races which counted towards the Formula 1 world championship, which in 1952 (apart from Indianapolis) was for the smaller-engined Formula 2 cars because all the previous year's Formula 1 teams except for Ferrari had pulled out of racing. Because he was qualifying for the Indianapolis race Ascari missed the Swiss Grand Prix, the opening round of the Championship but was then victorious in the remaining six Grands Prix in his Ferrari 500 and became the 1952 World Champion.

The car to the right is a 4.9 litre 1956 Ferrari 410S, chassis 0598CM, two of which were originally built to take part in the Carrera Panamericana race in Mexico. That race, however, was cancelled and the only time the cars raced for the official factory team was in the Buenos Aires 1000 km race, but both the cars retired with transaxle failure after which they were sold to private teams.

On the left is a Ferrari 335S, chassis 0700, which was one of the cars used by Ferrari in the 1957 World Sports Car Championship series. It was whilst driving one of these cars that Alfonso de Portago suffered the fatal accident which effectively ended the Mille Miglia.