1975: Niki Lauda’s first world title

The story of a season that changed Formula 1 forever

 

Fifty years on, issue 268 of Cavallino Magazine retraces in detail the monumental 1975 season, the one in which Niki Lauda, making perfect use of the innovative technical excellence of the 312 T, brought the World Title back to Maranello. It is an important account that also highlights aspects the general public never knew. Among these, the determination with which Enzo Ferrari had his trusted and highly respected engineer Mauro Forghieri design and develop the car in a garage on the Fiorano track, deliberately excluding the Gestione Sportiva, which at that time was heavily overseen by Ferrari’s new owner, Fiat. Added to this climate of tension were the difficulties of a period in which the meager rewards of racing were compounded by the strains of the oil crisis, which was severely impacting car markets.

 

But in Maranello, as Cavallino illustrates, two true aces were at work: on one side, engineer Forghieri, who completely revised the weight distribution of the innovative single-seater by mounting the gearbox transversely (the “T” comes from this), and who grasped the opportunities offered by designing a wide, compact car to improve ground effect, taking advantage of a new, modern vision of aerodynamics. On the other side, the talent of an Austrian driver—cool, detached, and making no effort to be liked—who had not yet fully revealed his extraordinary gift for extracting the car’s potential and his ability to act as a team player, rich with suggestions and ideas for development. Niki Lauda was, and will remain, one of the greatest figures in the history of motor racing.

The story told in Cavallino dives deep into many details, while also recounting the fate of a car that would go on to become a multiple World Champion, and of a driver who, thanks also to his courage, restored Ferrari to the very top. A story that demands to be read more than once.