THE NEED Ferrari: From Inside And Outside FOR SPEED

The life story of Italian sports car entrepreneur Enzo Ferrari and his auto empire hits theatres later this month. To celebrate, we look at the high-speed world of the car manufacturer, who practically spawned the concept of Formula One racing, through the eyes of Enzo's favourite photographers ERCOLE COLOMBO and RAINER SCHLEGELMILCH...

- JAMES ALLEN

PIERO FERRARI
Vice Chairman, Ferrari S.p.A.

“Ferrari has been in Formula One since the first World Championship and has won many races. But what is important is that Ferrari has always been there and so has experienced both the bad moments and the exciting ones. All my life there was never a discussion of, ‘Do we race next year or not?’ The mission of Ferrari is to produce beautiful cars and to be on the racing track. It has always been so, and I hope it will continue like that forever.

For my father, racing was his life. He spent most of his time involved in motor racing, but he was also a very precise administrator. He knew how to manage the money, how to invest the money in the company. He always said, ‘I started producing GT cars to have money to finance my racing activities’. So, for him, the priority was motor racing. My father never attended Formula One races. In the days before TV, he would sit in his office waiting for a phone call, and then, when the TV arrived, he would follow it closely on the screen. He was always connected with the team principal, the team manager or the sporting director of any period.

He always demanded to immediately have all the information – the best information. He checked the performance of the engines, he had all the technical data on his desk and he wanted to be informed of everything that was happening on the track. In a way, this was very professional and was also motivation for the people he worked with. On the other hand, it put a lot of pressure on the team.