F1 HISTORY By Graham Duxbury @ TheRealDux
FROM ALFA ROMEO APPRENTICE TO F1 IMMORTALITY
While Alfa Romeo no longer occupies a place on the modern Formula One grid, the remarkable reality is that without this legendary Italian manufacturer and the opportunity it gave a young, 22-year-old employee more than a century ago, F1 might never have witnessed the famous red cars now driven by Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Graham Duxbury is a former professional racing driver, celebrated SA champion and acclaimed motorsport administrator and commentator. A South African Hall of Fame Inductee, he made history in 1984 by winning the famous Daytona 24-hour sports car race in the USA in an all-South African team. Today, he heads Duxbury Networking, a leading IT company.
Hot on the heels of Hamilton’ s breakthrough victory for Ferrari in 2026, it is perhaps appropriate to revisit the origins of F1’ s most celebrated team and the pivotal role played by Alfa Romeo in shaping the career of the man who would become synonymous with Italian motorsport— Enzo Ferrari.
Born in Modena in 1898, Ferrari had little formal education and no obvious pathway to greatness. Following service during World War I, he sought employment in the automotive industry and eventually joined Alfa Romeo in 1920.
It proved to be one of the most consequential appointments in motorsport history.
Ferrari initially raced for Alfa Romeo, achieving successes behind the wheel. However, it quickly became apparent that his greatest talents lay not as a driver, but as an organiser.
Rising through the corporate ranks, he became deeply involved in Alfa Romeo’ s racing operations and helped guide the company’ s competition efforts during an era when motorsport was becoming a powerful symbol of national pride.
In 1929, Ferrari founded Scuderia Ferrari, initially operating as Alfa Romeo’ s semi-official racing arm. Ferrari managed and developed Alfa Romeo race cars while assembling what was arguably the strongest driver line-up of the era, which included the legendary Tazio Nuvolari, often regarded as the greatest racing driver of his generation.
Ferrari parted ways with Alfa Romeo in 1937, but contractual restrictions prevented him from immediately establishing a rival racing team. The outbreak of WWII further delayed his ambitions.
It was a ten-year wait until 1947 before Ferrari unveiled the first car to bear his own name. A year later, he entered Grand Prix events as an independent constructor.
When the F1 World Drivers’ Championship was inaugurated in 1950, Ferrari joined the new series. The team’ s first victory came at the British GP in 1951.
And in 1952, Ferrari secured the team’ s first drivers’ title with Alberto Ascari behind the wheel. He repeated the feat in 1953, establishing Ferrari as a genuine force and creating an enduring winning tradition. The next Ferrari champion was Mike Hawthorn, whose dramatic 1958 title made him the first British F1 world champion.
Photocredit: evo. co. uk
Phil Hill won the title for Ferrari in 1961, and shortly afterwards, a remarkable figure stepped to the fore in John Surtees, who achieved something no one else has managed by winning world titles on both two wheels and four. His 1964 F1 championship with Ferrari remains a unique achievement.
Ferrari’ s next drivers’ championship triumph came courtesy of South Africa’ s Jody Scheckter, who delivered another landmark moment in 1979. Michael Schumacher transformed Ferrari’ s fortunes with his highly anticipated arrival, winning for the first time in red in 1996 and then going on to secure five consecutive titles between 2000 and 2004.
The last Ferrari champion was Kimi Räikkönen, who claimed his world title in dramatic fashion in 2007. Entering the final race in third place, the Finn produced a stunning drive to secure what remains Ferrari’ s most recent drivers’ title.
Ferrari’ s successes in the World Constructors’ Championship( inaugurated in 1958) have been more frequent with 16 titles won, the last being in 2008.
For decades, drivers from around the world have regarded a Ferrari contract as one of the most prized in motorsport. It’ s a legacy carried forward by Charles Leclerc and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton. Leclerc, a product of Ferrari’ s driver academy, represents the team’ s future and has recently signed a multi-year contract extension. Hamilton’ s arrival for the 2025 season was one of the biggest stories in F1 history, and his 2026 win in Barcelona has had global reverberations. Whether he or Leclerc can add another drivers’ championship to Ferrari’ s record remains to be seen.
What is certain is that none of it might have happened had a young Enzo Ferrari not walked through the doors of Alfa Romeo more than 100 years ago. The lessons he learned there laid the foundations for a racing empire that remains the most famous in F1.
WORDS IN ACTION 36 JUNE 2026