Inside Ferrari’s F1 Dominance

Ferrari has a lot going for it regarding its F1 dominance. This car brand has spent more money and effort developing its racing team than any other.

In addition to the money spent to be a dominant force in the Formula 1 world, Ferrari is one of the longest-running names in racing history. This name has been present on F1 tracks since the 1950s. Many other brand names have come, gone, and come again during that time, but Ferrari continues to be a force to be reckoned with.

Of course, money and presence aren’t all that make Ferrari an F1 success; they also have had some of the best racing drivers in history. Here are a few of those drivers.

Juan Manuel Fangio

This amazing Argentinian driver raced for Ferrari for only one year, but it was a successful year for him and the team. The 1955 season wasn’t a good one for the Ferrari drivers, but with Juan Manuel Fangio behind the wheel in 1956, things turned around in a hurry. During this single year, Fangio was behind the wheel for seven races in Ferrari vehicles, won three of them, and helped the brand win the title for the year.

Gilles Villeneuve

The romance of Ferrari F1 racing goes hand-in-hand with Gilles Villeneuve. He was behind the wheel of Ferrari race cars from 1977 to 1982, enjoying some longevity and success. Villeneuve began 66 races for the brand and won six times, which is a pretty good percentage. Villeneuve is a French-Canadian driver who was considered the fastest of his generation, but some of the cars he raced for Ferrari are considered to be some of their worst. Still, he took the checkered flag six times during his tenure with the Ferrari team.

Fernanado Alonso

A more recent driver for the Ferrari team is Fernando Alonso who raced for the brand from 2010 to 2014. He narrowly missed winning the championship in 2010 by five points and by four points in 2012, which would have made him a double champion. Still, Alonso raced for the prancing horse brand 96 times and won 11 races during the five seasons he was behind the wheel. This was quite an impressive partnership that worked for both driver and car brand.

John Surtees

John Surtees is a name many people know because of his legendary departure from Ferrari in the 1960s when the Ferrari team was challenging Ford at Le Mans. Before that time, Surtees was one of the fastest drivers of his time, racing for the Ferrari F1 team from 1963 to 1966, winning four races and the 1964 title during that time. He took his first world championship at the Nürburgring in 1963 in the GP class. Surtees was a legendary Ferrari racer for the short time he was part of the team.

Alberto Ascari

Alberto Ascari was only part of the Ferrari team for four years, from 1950 to 1953, with a one-off race in 1954. During that time, he won two titles, in 1952 and 1953. He started for the Ferrari F1 team 27 times and won 13 races, which made him legendary in the Formula 1 world. Ascari first proved himself with the Maserati team in 1948, and he and his crew chief joined Ferrari the next year.

Niki Lauda

Niki Lauda was the first Austrian to race for Ferrari, giving the brand a Germanic force it hadn’t had in the past. Lauda raced for the brand from 1974 to 1977 and won two titles, in 1975 and 1977, during that time. He started 57 races for Ferrari and won 15 times, posting impressive numbers for the team. Lauda showed a lot of strength and courage when he missed only two races after a horrific crash at Nürburgring.

Michael Schumacher

Michael Schumacher is easily the most successful Ferrari F1 racer of all time. He raced for the brand from 1996 to 2006, starting 179 races during this decade-long run. During this time, he won 72 races and was a dominant force, winning five consecutive championships from 2000 to 2004. Schumacher became the top name to ever get inside a Formula One racing car because of the dominance of his team on many tracks. He was already a double world champion when he joined Ferrari, which meant he came with expectations and an incredible resume.

These seven drivers are part of the incredible success of the Ferrari F1 team since the 1950s. This brand is one of the few that has been present in F1 racing for the past seven decades, which is a big part of its success and dominance at the track.