ENZO FERRARI



By Richard Williams;
Published by Yellow Jersey Press.

To what extent is the story of Enzo Ferrari still waiting to be told?

The Old Man's life story has been recounted before, albeit in many different ways. Several accounts contradict one another on particular details, others are too grounded either in their support or criticism of Ferrari's character and approach to give a clear picture of what is really going on. Frequently, one of the above problems arises because of the other.

That said, there is still no one biography of Enzo that seems to offer a definitive account of the man. Whether that says more about Ferrari or the people writing about him is hard to say, but it remains that if you want to really understand the forces that made things happen at Maranello while the team's founder was alive, you've got your work cut out for you. Richard Williams's new book, however, should make the job a little easier.

Williams is notable for the fact that he chooses to write about the most overworked topics in F1, and yet still manages to produce something that invariably rates as a highlight of its particular year. 'Racers', which took a 'view from the paddock' look at the 1996 season, all but reinvented the behind-the-scenes genre and five years down the track is still unmatched for substance and sheer readability.

'The Death of Ayrton Senna' set itself apart from the hordes of other titles that followed the Brazilian's fatal accident at Imola by favouring balance, careful analysis, and good reportage over sensationalism and hero worship. 'Enzo Ferrari', while arguably not quite as engaging as the two earlier titles, still delivers a measured account of Ferrari's life, devoid of the hyped-up drama or saccharine that coloured many earlier attempts.

Williams traces the entirety of Enzo's life, and describes it in parallel to the shifting fortunes of his career in motor racing, from the formative years with Alfa Romeo through to the era that saw Gerhard Berger take the wheel. Much of the focus, though, is on the period between the 1920s and 1950s. Indeed, the coverage of the later years accelerates dramatically as Ferrari's health worsens, and his role reduces from an overlord to a virtual figurehead.

While the fact that Williams seems to have carefully considered each piece of information before writing it onto a page should be a fairly big drawcard for this book, I particularly liked the way that, when the mood struck, he was able to juxtapose some well thought-out observation alongside some fairly vivid race descriptions.

The account of Tazio Nuvolari's stunning victory over the hometown juggernauts at the 1935 German Grand Prix offers a good example.

"... gradually he made ground, creeping up on the German cars. By the tenth lap, astonishingly, he was in the lead. Two laps leter, however, there was a setback. The cars stopped for refuelling and a change of tyres. Caracciola was in and out in sixty-seven seconds. Von Brauchitsch's crew had the second car on its way in forty-seven seconds.

In the Scuderia's pit, the mechanics were filling Nuvolari's petrol tank and refitting his car with a new set of wheels shod with special Englebert tyres, their treads 6mm deep rather than the usual 4mm to take account of the extra wear encountered at the Nürburgring. But Nello Ugolini watched in horror as the pressure pump refused to deliver its fuel to the car's tank, forcing the mechanics to complete the task using gravity and a funnel. Two minutes and fourteen seconds after coming to rest, Nuvolari was on his way.

"Now he was in sixth place, and the chase began. In a single lap he overtook four cars. This was total concentration, total aggression, a blend of competitive savagery and the utmost sensitivity to the messages being delivered by the cracked and undulating concrete of the track, by the thousand stretched and straining components of the car, by the sound of the engine and the tyres, and by the visual information from kerbstones, trees and hoardings, all of them fed through seat, hands, ears, and eyes, and translated into the quick, darting movements that sent the car slaloming and dancing through the turns, clipping verges as it slid, bucking over the famous humps that sent all four wheels off the ground. By these means he was pulling back the only man who still lay ahead." (p. 87-88).

There's still a month to go before the 2002 season kicks off, and I can suggest few better ways to help pass the time than sitting down with this book, with the phone off the hook, and plenty of snacks and drinks close at hand.