History

A boy from Modena

Enzo Anselmo Ferrari was born in Modena on February 18, 1898. In the birth register, however, the date is February 20—the entry was not made until two days later.

In 1916, he lost both his father and his brother within a short period. After World War I, he looked for work in the fledgling automotive industry and ended up at the small Milan manufacturer CMN (Costruzioni Meccaniche Nazionali). There, he sat behind the wheel of a racing car himself for the first time.

• 1898Birth in Modena (February 18, registered February 20)
• 1916Death of father and brother
• from 1919Work and first races at CMN in Milan

Racing driver at Alfa Romeo

In 1920, Enzo Ferrari moved to Alfa Romeo—as a racing driver and soon also as an organizer behind the scenes. In 1923, he won at the Circuito del Savio near Ravenna. There, he met the parents of the fallen fighter pilot Francesco Baracca, who had carried a prancing horse on his airplane. The mother suggested he put the horse on his cars as a lucky charm: the later "Cavallino Rampante."

In 1924, he won the Coppa Acerbo in Pescara. More important than his own racing successes, however, was his talent for bringing the right people together. On November 16, 1929, he founded his own racing team in Modena: Scuderia Ferrari.

• 1920Joining Alfa Romeo
• 1923Victory at the Circuito del Savio, meeting with the Baracca family
• 1924Victory at the Coppa Acerbo
• 1929Founding of Scuderia Ferrari (November 16)

The Scuderia as Alfa Romeo's racing team

At first, Scuderia Ferrari did not build its own cars, but entered racing cars from Alfa Romeo. In 1932, his son Alfredo, nicknamed "Dino," was born—Enzo subsequently ended his own driving career. That same year, at the 24 Hours of Spa, the prancing horse appeared on the Scuderia's cars for the first time, on a yellow background: yellow being the color of the city of Modena.

In 1933, Alfa Romeo withdrew its factory team, and the Scuderia effectively became the factory racing outfit. In 1935, Tazio Nuvolari achieved a legendary victory at the Nürburgring against the overwhelmingly dominant German Silver Arrows.

In 1938, Alfa Romeo brought the racing operations back in-house under the name "Alfa Corse." In 1939, Enzo Ferrari parted ways with Alfa Romeo—under the condition that he would not enter racing cars under his own name for four years.

• 1932Birth of Dino; the Cavallino appears for the first time at Spa
• 1933The Scuderia becomes Alfa Romeo's factory racing team
• 1935Nuvolari wins at the Nürburgring
• 1938Alfa Corse takes over racing operations
• 1939Split with Alfa Romeo

Auto Avio Costruzioni

Because he was not allowed to use the Ferrari name for the time being, Enzo founded the company Auto Avio Costruzioni in Modena in 1939. In 1940, it built two sports cars with the simple designation 815, which entered the 1940 Mille Miglia—effectively the first "Ferrari," even if it was not allowed to be called that.

In 1943, Ferrari relocated operations from Modena to Maranello. In 1944, the factory was struck during bombing raids. After the end of the war, the way was clear for cars bearing his own name.

• 1939Founding of Auto Avio Costruzioni
• 1940Two AAC 815 enter the Mille Miglia
• 1943Move to Maranello
• 1944Bombing of the factory

The first Ferrari

On March 12, 1947, Enzo Ferrari started the engine of the first car to bear his name: the 125 S with a V12 of just 1.5 liters displacement. On May 11, 1947, the car made its racing debut with Franco Cortese in Piacenza; that same year, Cortese won the Rome Grand Prix—the first victory for a Ferrari.

Then events followed in rapid succession: in 1949, the first victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans; in 1950, the debut in the new Formula 1 World Championship in Monaco; in 1951, the first World Championship victory by José Froilán González at Silverstone. In 1952 and 1953, Alberto Ascari became World Champion.

During this period, road cars served primarily to finance racing. In his personal life, Enzo suffered a heavy blow: in 1956, his son Dino died of muscular dystrophy. In 1957, Alfonso de Portago was fatally injured at the Mille Miglia—bringing an end to the famous road race. In 1958, Mike Hawthorn claimed the next World Championship title.

• 1947First Ferrari (125 S), first race, first victory
• 1949First victory at Le Mans
• 1950Formula 1 debut in Monaco
• 1951First Formula 1 victory (González, Silverstone)
• 1952/53Alberto Ascari World Champion
• 1956Death of Dino Ferrari
• 1958Mike Hawthorn World Champion

GTO, Le Mans, and Fiat's entry

In 1960, the company became the joint-stock company SEFAC. In 1961, Phil Hill won the World Championship—yet at the end of the year, several leading engineers, including Carlo Chiti and Giotto Bizzarrini, left the company amid a dispute. Nevertheless, 1962 saw the creation of one of the most famous cars of all time: the 250 GTO.

In 1963, Ford negotiated a takeover, but the talks fell through. Ford subsequently built the GT40 to beat Ferrari at Le Mans. In 1964, John Surtees became World Champion; in 1965, Ferrari won at Le Mans once again—it would remain the last overall victory until 2023.

Racing on all fronts was expensive. In 1969, Fiat therefore acquired a 50 percent stake in Ferrari.

• 1960Conversion into the joint-stock company SEFAC
• 1961Phil Hill World Champion; departure of leading engineers
• 1962250 GTO
• 1963Takeover talks with Ford fail
• 1964John Surtees World Champion
• 1965Last overall Le Mans victory until 2023
• 1969Fiat acquires 50 percent

The Commendatore's final years

In Formula 1, a successful era began with Niki Lauda: World Champion in 1975 and 1977, followed by the title for Jody Scheckter in 1979. In 1982 and 1983, Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship, but lost Gilles Villeneuve to a fatal accident in 1982.

On the road, the Testarossa and the 288 GTO (both 1984) defined the decade. In 1987, the F40 appeared—the last road car created under Enzo Ferrari's personal oversight.

On August 14, 1988, Enzo Ferrari died at the age of 90. Fiat subsequently increased its stake to 90 percent, with the remaining 10 percent held by his son Piero Ferrari.

• 1975Niki Lauda World Champion
• 1977Second title for Lauda
• 1979Jody Scheckter World Champion
• 1984Testarossa and 288 GTO
• 1987F40
• 1988Death of Enzo Ferrari (August 14)

Montezemolo, Todt, and Schumacher

In 1991, Luca di Montezemolo became president, in 1993 Jean Todt joined as team principal, and in 1996 Michael Schumacher arrived as driver. The rebuilding paid off: from 2000 to 2004, Schumacher became World Champion five times in a row.

In 2007, Kimi Räikkönen clinched the Drivers' Championship, and in 2008 Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship. In total, the sources record 15 Drivers' and 16 Constructors' titles—more than any other team.

Among the road cars, the Enzo (2002) and the LaFerrari (2013), the brand's first hybrid, set the benchmarks. In 2014, Montezemolo left the company and Sergio Marchionne took over.

• 1991Luca di Montezemolo becomes president
• 1993Jean Todt becomes team principal
• 1996Michael Schumacher joins Ferrari
• 2000–2004Five consecutive Drivers' titles
• 2007Kimi Räikkönen World Champion
• 2008Constructors' title
• 2013LaFerrari, the first hybrid
• 2014Sergio Marchionne takes over

IPO, hybrid, and electric

In October 2015, Ferrari went public in New York; at the beginning of 2016, the company was spun off from the Fiat Chrysler Group and has been independent ever since. In 2018, John Elkann took over as chairman and Louis Camilleri as CEO; in 2021, Benedetto Vigna succeeded at the helm.

Technically, a new chapter began: the SF90 Stradale (2019) was the first production plug-in hybrid, the Purosangue the first four-door, and in 2026 the first all-electric Ferrari will arrive with the Luce.

In motorsport, Ferrari returned to the top class at Le Mans in 2023 and won right away with the 499P—the first overall victory since 1965. Two more victories followed in 2024 and 2025. In Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton has been driving alongside Charles Leclerc since 2025.

• 2015IPO in New York
• 2016Spin-off from Fiat Chrysler
• 2019SF90 Stradale, first plug-in hybrid
• 2021Benedetto Vigna becomes CEO
• 2023Le Mans victory with the 499P
• 2025Lewis Hamilton drives for Ferrari
• 2026Luce, the first electric Ferrari