A new decade had dawned upon us, and along with that, a new Formula One season. Ferrari had a new car and engine was made for the new season, the new car being the 312B. The 312B had a new Flat-12 engine – which was going to be used by the Ferrari team for the next ten years.
Jacky Ickx had returned to the Italian team after a spell at Brabham, he won three Grand Prix that season; Austria, Canada and Mexico were the countries in which Ickx was successful. Unfortunately for Ickx, he missed out on the World Championship, finishing second.
Clay Regazzoni made his Ferrari début that season, winning the Italian Grand Prix and finishing third in the overall standings.
Ferrari driver Pedro Rodriguez – brother of deceased Ricardo – was killed in a tragic crash in an Interserie sports car race at Norisring, in Germany, on the eleventh of July 1971. Rodriguez was driving a Ferrari 512M.
The next few seasons were poor for the Ferrari team, in 1973 they failed to attend the Dutch and German Grand Prix, for the first time since they started racing in the Formula One World Championship. In 1974, Ferrari signed Austrian Niki Lauda; in the same year Ferrari decided to pull out of sports car racing, in trade for concentration on Formula One racing.
In 1974, Luca di Montezemolo was appointed as Team Principal. The Italian team won the Spanish, Dutch and German Gran Prix, but Regazzoni lost the championship too , Italian driver, Emerson Fittipaldi in the final race of the season in North America.
In 1975, the new Ferrari 312T was fully developed and designed by Mauro Forhieri – Lauda and Regazzoni assisted in the development of the new car. The new car started winning races immediately. Austrian driver, Niki Lauda, won five races along with the World Championship – Ferrari also took the Constructors’ World Championship.
In 1976, Niki Lauda was fighting with McLaren driver, and ladies’ man, James Hunt – The Briton raced against Lauda in other race series. Lauda was comfortably winning the championship until he suffered a horrible accident at the Nurburgring; his car striking a wall and bursting into flames. Lauda was sent straight into hospital and missed the next Gran Prix.
Carlos Reutemann was hired as a replacement for the injured Lauda. Ferrari fielded three cars in the 1976 Italian Grand Prix, at Monza, as Lauda unexpectedly returned – six weeks after his near-death experience.
Lauda did score points in the races following his horror crash in Nurburg but voluntarily retired from the final race of the season at Fuji. Lauda believed the conditions were too poor, due to heavy rain, leaving rival James Hunt to finish the race. Hunt pushed in the final few laps and made crucial overtakes, leaving him in a position that did award him the 1976 Formula One title – only by a single point.
It was to be the Briton’s only every World Championship.
Lauda made a proper comeback in 1977 following his horrible crash in the previous year, he won the championship for himself, along with the Constructors’ Championship for Ferrari. Lauda out-performed team mate Reutemann, who was fancied to win the title rather than the Austrian.
However, Lauda’s relations with the team started to go downhill. The Austrian famously fell out with Forghieri and left for Brabham at the end of the season.
In 1978, Gilles Villeneuve replaced Lauda, racing alongside Reutemann. Ferrari had a ‘solid’ car and won five races that season. However, the Lotus 79 outclassed the Ferrari during the season.
In 1979, Jody Scheckter took the title, supported by Canadian driver, Gilles Villeneuve. The Ferrari was rivalled by the Williams FW07 but had enough points to take both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ titles.
