When Enzo Ferrari threatened to leave Formula 1

“The Ferrari leaves Formula 1.” This news could have been on all Italian newspapers almost four decades ago, and it could have been decided by Enzo Ferrari himself.

As absurd as it may sound, the Michael Schumacher era in Red would never have existed, and the Maranello team would not have the credit of being the most successful in history.

1986: The Year of Discord?
We are in 1986. Formula 1 is in the midst of the turbo era but is experiencing a period of high tension between FISA (now FIA) and FOCA, the Formula One Constructors’ Association created by Bernie Ecclestone. Thanks to the Concorde Agreement signed in 1981, FISA was responsible for technical and sporting regulations, while FOCA ensured higher financial compensation for teams and managed the commercial side of the sport.

For the 1987 Formula 1 season, FISA announces a drastic decision: the abolition of the use of turbo engines. According to some, it is precisely this choice that marks the beginning of the first discontent between Enzo Ferrari and the Federation.

Risk of Split, Ferrari Protects Itself
There was a concrete risk that FISA and FOCA would split to administer two different championships, creating an “alternative Formula 1,” and it would have been a real disaster, even for Ferrari.

For this reason, the Scuderia starts developing the Ferrari 637, a car that would be ready to compete (and win) in CART, the top American series of that time.

According to other sources, Enzo Ferrari would have issued an ultimatum to F1 in 1983: “If the championship splits, Ferrari goes to race in America.” Consequently, the development of the 637 car would have started in the same year, precisely to make the institutions understand that the Ferrari team was serious.

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Blackmail? Certainly a move as daring as a demonstration of the brand’s immense political power, which had immeasurable value for the sport.

Enzo Ferrari’s Bluff
But the real question is: Was Enzo Ferrari bluffing, or did he actually intend to go racing in America?

The answer is quite simple. Sports director Marco Piccinini was sent “on a mission” to the United States with the sole objective of planning the future for the Rosse across the Atlantic.

Ferrari had realized that, to be successful from the beginning, it was necessary to rely on an existing team. This is why they reached an agreement with the True Sports team, for which the winner of the 1986 Indianapolis 500, Bobby Rahal, raced. In September of the same year, the 637 is ready to be tested on the track. Only when the tests are assigned to Michele Alboreto does FISA understand that Enzo Ferrari was not bluffing.

Suddenly, the Federation realizes that it is about to lose the most iconic and representative brand in the history of F1. A meeting is organized with Enzo Ferrari in Maranello; at the end of which, the parties sign a second Concorde Agreement. The conditions of the agreement, dictated by the founder of the Scuderia, were as follows: turbo engines abolished only from 1989, to be strictly replaced by naturally aspirated 12-cylinder engines, no longer 8.

This is the story of how one man managed to change the technical regulations and, in a sense, save Formula 1 from the possible split between FISA and FOCA, which would have led to two different championships. Without this brilliant move by Enzo Ferrari, the Red would probably no longer be racing in F1 today, but the latter would not be the sport that we all know.

The Background
Finally, Piero Ferrari revealed that the famous tests of Michele Alboreto on the Ferrari 637 were never actually conducted.

“There was the engine startup in the Fiorano square, to testify that the car was running, but it never went on the track,” said the son of the founder of the Scuderia. These words make Enzo Ferrari’s plan even more brilliant. A plan that, as mentioned earlier, saved Formula 1 and Ferrari as we know them today.