Lewis Hamilton is not the only star driver to arrive on Ferrari’s shores after title-winning or title-contending success. Here’s the story of F1’s elite and their time dressed in red
JAKE BOXALL-LEGGE
Juan Manuel Fangio
Ferrari wins 3 Ferrari titles 1
Before Mercedes disrupted the pecking order in its short-lived foray into Formula 1 in the mid-1950s, Ferrari had been the class of the field. Once the Stuttgart firm had absconded after winning the drivers’ titles in 1954 and 1955 with Fangio, he considered retiring from racing, but circumstances at home in Argentina kept him behind the wheel. President Juan Peron had been ousted and exiled, and asset-freezes for some of Argentina’s most renowned figures had been implemented, Fangio included. So he kept racing, and linked up with Ferrari to drive its Lancia-designed D50.
Fangio faced stern competition in team-mate Peter Collins and Maserati pair Stirling Moss and Jean Behra, but victory in Buenos Aires got the ball rolling for 1956, albeit in a shared drive with Luigi Musso after his own car was hamstrung by an ailing fuel pump. Despite some reliability issues, Fangio reeled off two further wins at Silverstone and the Nurburgring to sit eight points clear of Collins in the standings at the Monza finale, needing just one point to sew up the title. Disaster struck when Fangio’s steering arm broke, but Collins took sportsmanship to new heights by giving up his car to help Fangio secure a fourth world title. Together, they shared the points for second place, while Moss won to claim the championship runner-up position.
Although the Ferrari-Fangio relationship had borne fruit in its first year, it was never an easy relationship, and Fangio returned to Maserati in 1957 to secure his fifth and final title.
John Surtees
Ferrari wins 4 Ferrari titles 1
This winner of seven world motorcycle grand prix titles across 350cc and 500cc categories between 1956 and 1960 dovetailed his final year on two wheels with a handful of outings for Lotus in F1. He raced for Reg Parnell’s squad in 1961 and 1962, his fourth place in the latter championship driving a Lola bringing him to Ferrari’s attention.
Surtees was hired by Enzo Ferrari to lead the team in 1963, which yielded a win at the Nurburgring, but his title success was achieved the following year amid a star-studded scrap for supremacy. Reigning champion and Lotus star Jim Clark led the way at the midpoint of the season, but un
