1960 was hardly an improved season for Scuderia Ferrari following their poor 1959 campaign. The Italian team did retain drivers Allison, Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips, along with adding Willy Mairesse – to drive their dated, front-engined 246s – and Richie Ginther, who drove Ferrari’s first rear-engined vehicle. Unfortunately for Allison, he was seriously injured in testing and the team didn’t win any races.
The 1961 season saw Ferrari keep Hill, Ginther and von Trips along with a new car designed by Chiti – the Ferrari 156. The new racing car was based on the Formula 2 car of 1960, which dominated the tournament throughout the season. Drivers Hill and von Trips challenged for the championship, also, during mid-season Giancarlo Baghetti joined and became the first driver to win on their début race – which was the 1961 French Grand Prix. At the 1961 Italian Grand Prix, Wolfgang von Trips crashed and was killed along with over a dozen innocent spectators – leaving Hill to win the championship. At the end of the tragic 1961 Formula One season, car designer and team manager (Carlo Chiti and Romolo Tavoni respectively) left Ferrari to set up their own teams, ATS. This was known as ‘the walk-out’. Mauro Forghieri was promoted to racing director whilst Eugenio Dragoni was promoted to team manager.
Hill and Baghetti stayed with Ferrari for the 1962 season, rookies Ricardo Rodriguez and Lorenzo Bandini had also been awarded a seat. Ferrari used the same cars as the previous season again, whilst Forghieri went to work on a new design for next season – Ferrari failed to claim victory.
In the 1963 season, Ferrari used a lighter 156 car for drivers John Surtees, Bandini, Willy Mairesse and Ludovico Scarfiotti. John Surtees won the German Grand Prix that season, during the same race Mairesse suffered a huge crash and was left unable to drive again. Towards the end of the season, the new 158 model was ready and was altered slightly so it was race worthy for the 1964 campaign. The car had an eight-cylinder engine which was designed by Angelo Bellei.
John Surtees and Bandini were both joined by a young Mexican named Pedro Rodriguez. Rodriguez was the brother of Ricardo Rodriguez, who was killed at the end of 1962. Surtees went on to win two races versus Bandini’s one. The Ferrari was slower than the Lotus – for which Jim Clark drove for – but the Ferrari was more reliable, assisting Surtees to the championship win; team-mate Bandini finished fourth in the standings. North America hosted the final two races of the season in which the Ferrari’s were entered by a private team called NART. The cars were painted in US colours (blue and white) as Enzo Ferrari was unhappy with the Italian sporting authority.
1965 turned out to be the last year of the 1.5 litre formula, leaving Ferrari to use the same V8 engine again along with a new flat-12 – which made its début at the end of the 1964 season. Ferrari won no races as the reliable Lotus of Jim Clark dominated the championship. Bandini and John Surtees stayed on as drivers for Ferrari – Vaccarella, Bob Bondurant and Rodriguez made occasional appearances.
New rules were introduced for the 1966 Formula One World Championship. The Ferrari 312 that Surtees drove consisted of a 3.0-litre version of the 3.3 litre V12 which had been used in previous Ferrari P sports races. The new engine was put in the back of a heavy F1 chassis. Bandini drove a Tasman Series 2.4 litre V6 in the early stages of the season. Surtees won the Belgian Grand Prix but soon departed after an argument with his manager, Eugenio Dragoni; he was soon replaced by Mike Parkes. Thanks to a 36-valve engine, Scarfiotti won the Italian Grand Prix.
Dragoni was fired in 1967, only to be replaced by Franco Lini. Chris Amon drove aside Bandini to drive an improved version of Ferrari’s 1966 car. Bandini suffered heavy injuries after getting trapped under his burning car at the Monaco Grand Prix. Bandini died days later due to his injuries. Ferrari decided to keep Mike Parkes and Scarfiotti but Parkes crashed at the Belgian Grand Prix, suffering career-ending injuries – Scarfiotti would temporarily retire from racing after witnessing his crash.
In 1968, Jacky Ickx won the French Grand Prix and finished in numerous good positions. He had a shot at the championship before suffering a practice crash at Canada. Team-mate Amon also led several races but failed to win one. Manager Franco Lini quit and Ickx left for the Brabham team.
The 1968 Formula One season was better; Jacky Ickx drove with one win in France and several good positions, which gave him a chance at the World Championship until a practise crash in Canada, and Amon led several races but won none. At the end of the season, manager Franco Lini quit and Ickx went to the Brabham team.
Enzo Ferrari went about spending his wealth on his struggling F1 team. Their 1969 season was poor as the team was being restructured. Amon carried on using an old model and Pedro Rodriguez replaced Ickx, Amon left the team at the end of the year.
