In the mid-1970s, the Ferrari team resumed mastery of Formula 1competitions. This was the first time a team in the top category won the builders' cup in three consecutive years, from 1975 to 1977. This was the kind of success that the creator of the myth, Enzo Ferrari, so longed for.
Enzo Ferrari himself decided in 1972 to abandon any sports program that did not give important points for valid championships that earned him more prestige. Another measure was to reinstate Mauro Forghieri as chief engineer. Forghieri, a talented Italian engineer, had full support and was above any other member of the Ferrari team. He was responsible for design, execution and supervision.
Another key designation was Luca de Montezemolo as team leader. And all efforts and additions quickly led Ferrari to success. The results came in 1974, when Niki Lauda and Clay Regazzoni won three championship races with the 312B3 model.
There was still great potential in the 12-cylinder boxer engine (with 2 cylinders facing 180 degrees). This 2.992 cm3 engine was upgraded for the 1975 season. The power reached 485 hp, approximately 20 horses more than rival Cosworth DFV, despite being the somewhat heavier Ferrari driver.
As always happened in the Ferrari designations, the “3” meant 3 liters of cylinder capacity and “12” the number of cylinders. In 1975 the car received the name 312T, the letter being the initial “trasversale”, since the transmission was located transversely with respect to the engine.
The engine was well down and well advanced in the chassis to keep the center of gravity low and with its mass well centered. This arrangement made the 312T a very agile and stable car.
The single-hull chassis showed a clear aerodynamic advance and safety criteria. The side pontoons were quite innovative, giving rise to the water radiators. The huge air intake for the engine was integrated into the design of the monocoque.
The 1975 season was dominated by Austrian Niki Lauda, who won 5 races and won the title of drivers. The other pilot also made his contribution. With Clay Regazzoni's win at the Italian Grand Prix and other good results, Ferrari also won the Constructors' Cup by a wide margin of points.
1976 began with three consecutive victories, two from Lauda and one from Regazzoni. Later that same year, the 312T2 premiered, with which Lauda would win two more races. It was more powerful than the previous one, reaching 500 hp. But at the German Grand Prix a tragedy reached Ferrari: Niki Lauda crashed in Nurburgring and suffered severe burns.
Lauda returned but with difficulties. He lost the driver's championship although they got the Builders' Cup for Ferrari. The fortune would return by the following year.
In 1977 Lauda and Ferrari conquered the F1 Championship, beating Lotus by a wide margin. Lauda won three Grand Prix, while Argentine Carlos Reutemann won one (in Brazil). Later that year Gilles Villeneuve drove his first races for Ferrari.
Villeneuve triumphed in Montreal in 1978 and scored his first Formula One victory. Reutemann won three races but it was not enough for Ferrari. That year the Lotus 79 won the Championship and the Constructors' Cup. Ferrari had no choice but to incorporate the revolutionary floor effect, giving the 312T3 skirts to try to be competitive.
The ground effect was already part of the 312T4 and T5 of 1979 and 1980, although problems were now encountered in the engine cylinder heads. In 1979 Ferrari achieved six victories with his drivers Jody Seckter and Gilles Villeneuve, first and second respectively in the points table of the drivers' championship. Ferrari regained the position of champion team.
1980 was the farewell year of 312. It was one of the biggest failures in the history of Ferrari, who would spend the next 20 years without getting a Drivers Championship.
© Adrián Blanco 2006 — Prohibited the total or partial reproduction of text and/or images without explicit written consent of the author. —
Lotus 79 Formula 1
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