There have been many cars in the history of Ferrari that turned it into a racing legend, even if Ford reared up and beat Enzo at his own game in the ‘60s. But let’s talk about the greatest Ferrari F1 there is. For many, this would be the F2002, or even the F2004, named after the years they raced in. These cars do boast 15 wins each, and clearly, they have continued to build the legend of the Ferrari F1 cars to even higher atolls.
But the one car that made Ferrari what it is today, in more ways than one, was the Ferrari “Tipo” 500, which raced Formula 2 for 1952, and won every race it participated in. And it established such a racing record that it could only be broken in 2013, years and decades later. Undoubtedly, one of the best Formula 1 cars ever.
It was one of the simplest cars to exist, and hardly one that came with a powerful engine because it was designed for the lower-powered Formula 2 races. Even for 1951, the 4.5-liter V12-powered Ferrari 212 F1 did well but it was when the Ferrari 500 came out a year later that Ferrari’s racing prowess truly begin to shine.
Here’s the story of the nearly unbeatable Ferrari 500…
The Emergence Of Ferrari Tipo 500
By the end of 1951, Alfa Romeo pulled out of Formula racing, leaving the F1 rather bereft. Soon enough, the change was announced, the Formula 1 was only going to sanction Formula 2 Grand Prix for this year, because for 1954, F1 was going to be bigger and better with a new 2.5-liter unblown/750cc supercharged engine specs.
So as a stopgap, 1952 was focused on Formula 2.
And Ferrari’s chief designer, Aurelio Lampredi already had an ace up his sleeve, in the simple but superb Tipo 500, as in, Type 500. The engine was a very simple inline-four twin-cam one that had two spark plugs per cylinder, eight in all, for a total of 185 horses. This sounds low, but remember, it was F2 and not F1, and also this was 1952.
The car started with that familiar cigar-rolled shape and was built so easy, the facade varied from round to the wide, yet another first from Ferrari. The nose could be opened or closed, and the opening would also vary as per track and conditions. The idea was to let the top of the chassis get pushed down toward the ground, lowering the center of gravity of the nose. Since the nose was also wide, this led the car corner way more steadily than the others.
The engine was also placed behind the front axle, making this car more mid-engined for better handling.
More Details & The Winning Driver
The car rode on a welded tubular ladder-frame for lightness and stability, and the smooth contours aided aerodynamics. The rear suspension bore an axle with a transverse semi-oval leaf spring while the front bore a wishbone suspension with a transversely mounted leaf spring. Two trailing arms kept the rear axle in place, and there were large drum brakes for stopping power.
The Ferrari 500 bore enough power and came so light and steady on its feet that it was the perfect instrument in the hands of a master, which is why Alberto Ascari won his first world championship in it. In fact, for 1952, he won all eight races he drove Ferrari 500 in, and in the single race that someone else drove it, well, Ferrari won that too.
In 1953, Ascari won the second world championship as well and he achieved seven consecutive World Championship race wins in the Ferrari 500, a record that was later broken by Sebastian Vettel way later in 2013. In total, Ascari won nine races in the Ferrari 500 F2.
The Second Most Successful Car In Formula One
At the time, the Ferrari 500 became the most successful Formula One car of all time and it was only later, in 1988 that it got pushed into second place by the McLaren MP4/4 in 1988.
The Ferrari 500 is the car that basically let the world know that Ferrari had arrived, and was the reason behind the brand’s dominance in the Formula One world.
By 1954, the Formula F1 cars were back and now, the bore and stroke could be increased. The Tipo 500 was then upgraded to 2.5-liters capacity and was now called the Tipo 625. While this model was not as wildly successful as the Ferrari 500, it did win the first Monte Carlo GP for Ferrari for the first time in 1955, carrying the legacy just a bit forward.
Today, this car can be found in museums having rightfully earned its place in automobile history and collectability. There have been plenty of even more successful Ferrari F1 cars to have come down the years, but the Ferrari 500 is the tribe’s elder, the pride’s leader that enabled Scuderia Ferrari to take many world titles as if they were already rightfully theirs.
Sources: GrandPrixHistory, 360CarMuseum