Enzo Ferrari, A Life - Richard Williams - book review

With the dawn of the new Formula 1 season, I have been prompted to revisit some of the racing books gathering dust on my shelves. One of those was Richard Williams' biography of Enzo Ferrari, first published in 2001.

This is a biography of Ferrari the man, so those searching for exhaustive lists of chassis numbers, or intricate technical analysis, should perhaps look elsewhere. There is some good scene-setting stuff, exploring Ferrari's early life and his background.  Indeed, these stimulating passages left me yearning for more information concerning those formative years. The chapters dealing with Enzo's own racing exploits are equally evocative, for example the 1919 Targa Florio.

With limited space, it is understandable that this book does not go into great detail about how Ferrari reacted to, and fitted into, the febrile social and political climate which prevailed in Italy when he was launching his career in motor sport and business. The author does not ignore the issue, though, and one is left with an impression of the realities and choices faced by many prominent Italians at that time.

It is striking how convoluted, constantly shifting, and sometimes strained, Enzo Ferrari's relationship with Alfa Romeo was, much more so than is popularly imagined. I was gratified to find that this stage of his life is covered in some depth, as are the "heroic" and "golden" ages of motor racing, between the world wars. These sections are gripping, and one is left with a vivid impression of a perilous but momentous era. From the emergence of the likes of Nuvolari, Varzi and Moll, and Ferrari's relationship with these figures, to the sea-change brought about by the advent of the Auto Union and Mercedes teams. The legendary races such as the Mille Miglia and the Targa Florio are also afforded due attention.

At various junctures in this biography we are informed how some of the mythology and legend which surrounds (or surrounded?) Ferrari accumulated. It is worth stressing, however, that Williams does not go overboard on this dimension of the tale. Indeed, some myths and/or tall stories are dispelled or debunked. It is tempting to view every episode surrounding Ferrari in "conspiratorial" terms. Thankfully, a more measured and dispassionate approach is adopted here.

The parts of the book which address the tumultuous 1950s are also quite absorbing. The tragedies, the controversies, the playing off of drivers against each other, the brief Ferrari tenure of Juan Manuel Fangio and the turbulent 1958 season all feature heavily. Throughout there are also fascinating and often revealing anecdotes about Ferrari's dealings with drivers, celebrities, notables and the families of drivers. I feel that the portrayal of the man is balanced, showing his flaws but also highlighting his human qualities, which are often overlooked or obscured by the aforementioned mythology.

The outbursts of political trouble in the racing team are naturally detailed, including the problems with Italian drivers, the strains which led to the departure of John Surtees, and the Niki Lauda epoch. A recurring theme in the later chapters is the incidence of infighting, and the extent to which this was compounded by Ferrari's remoteness and consequent tendency to delegate. The complex nature of his relations with several drivers, including Surtees and Lauda, is examined realistically and sensibly. Matters were not always black and white, despite what some would like us to believe.  The accounts of the negotiations with Stirling Moss and Jackie Stewart leave me with a sensation of "what might have been".

Of course, Ferrari's personal and family life are documented here, as is the growth of the road car side of the company. We also learn about the abortive negotiations with Ford in the 1960s, and the subsequent agreement with Fiat.

Overall, this is a lively and well written book.

The Limit - Michael Cannell

With the end of the 2012 Formula 1 season, I have thrown my energies into further exploration of motorsport history.  As part of this process, I recently read a book which had been nestling on my Kindle for a little while.  I refer to The Limit, by Michael Cannell.

Ostensibly, this book, sub-titled Life and Death in Formula One's Most Dangerous Era, takes a look at the lives and careers of Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips, culminating in the tragic conclusion to the 1961 season.  However, in a wider sense it serves as a chronicle of a whole epoch in the sport, and it also throws a light on the changing of the times in the aftermath of the Second World War.

There is a wealth of biographical detail about both Hill and von Trips, and some attempt along the way to gauge how aspects of their respective backgrounds may have impacted on the course of their racing careers. The chapters covering Hill's upbringing in particular I found enlightening, and some of my preconceived notions about him were dispelled.

There are some evocative and sobering passages dealing with Hill's attempts at the Carrera Panamericana, and an intriguing account of how he gradually attracted the attention of Ferrari.

The parts documenting the formative years of Wolfgang von Trips are valuable because there seems to be a dearth of in-depth material available about him, in the English language at least.  Again, the story does not conform to some of the blithe assumptions which I previously harboured.  Some effort is made to explain how he ascended to World championship contender status, from his links with Mercedes and Porsche, the ambivalent attitude of his family towards his racing activities, to some of the accidents which hampered his progress along the way.

We are also given shorter, but still affecting, portaits of some of the other characters in this drama, such as Alfonso de Portago, Luigi Musso and Peter Collins. One is left with the feeling that a uniquely diverse, complex and substantial band of men inhabited the Ferrari team, and motorsport generally, during those years.

The turbulent and tragic 1958 Grand Prix season is covered in depth, particularly the internal and political strife engulfing the Ferrari driving strength.  It appears that the scheming, intriguing and general volatility assumed some kind of peak around the middle of that year.  The portions revolving around the deaths of Luigi  Musso and Peter Collins, and their aftermath, are interesting to say the least.

Many of the anecdotes, including those concerning Enzo Ferrari, will be familiar to many, but it is good to have so many condensed into this tome, and for many the book will serve as a form of "refresher" pertaining to the goings-on of that era.

Perhaps understandably, the 1959 and 1960 seasons are largely glossed over, so that attention can be rightly devoted to the momentous 1961 championship struggle.  The impression given here is that there was more tension and gamesmanship between Hill and von Trips than is often assumed. Their relationship that year was a curious one, and it is a moot point whether any mild animosity which may have developed was precipitated by the actions of the Ferrari team itself.  The events surrounding the fateful Monza race are dealt with sensitively and without sensationalism.

One of the most striking aspects of this book for me is its depiction of the personality of Phil Hill.  He had always been a somewhat enigmatic figure to me, different in many ways from the archetypal Grand Prix driver of virtually any era, but The Limit paints a very complex picture, even when compared to that which I had always assumed to be the case. Belying his image with some as a "Ferrari man" through and through, Cannell implies that the Californian felt under-valued and under-appreciated in the team.

There is some well-pitched analysis of the differences in the relative psychological make-up of Hill and von Trips, and how this affected their attitudes to racing and its perils, their motivations to compete and their outlook on life in general.  Some racing books can indulge in this sort of thing to excess, but I think here the author got things just about right.

I found Cannell's writing style to be expressive and rich, but also accessible and enjoyable.  The atmosphere and ambience of the time, both on and off the racetrack, is powerfully and effectively conveyed. The book contains the odd, relatively harmless, historical inaccuracy, but this should not detract from the book's entertainment value. The one other mild irritant is a tendency for the socio-political importance of  motor racing, particularly in parts of Continental Europe, to be over-estimated.

I approached this book with an open mind, not knowing quite what to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised by its content and style, and by its ability to hold the interest and attention.  The fact that I got through it within a few short hours is testimony to this.  I came away feeling that I had genuinely learned things, which is one of the criteria with which I judge a book's merits.  Dedicated historians may not feel that it adds that much, but for anyone seeking a grasp of the flavour of the sport and the times, The Limit is well worth checking out.

In addition, I came away with a greatly enhanced respect and reverence for Phil Hill, Wolfgang von Trips and all those who participated in top-level motorsport during that time....