There is something pretty special about classic F1 cars. Especially those once driven by Michael Schumacher. While the German also drove for Jordan, Bennetto and Mercedes, he is most famous for his days as a Ferrari driver. He won five of his seven world titles for Ferrari and the majority of his 91 wins came with that team. Of course, many of his old cars are in museums or preserved in running condition, with several in private hands and ran at Ferrari Finali Monidali events.
Our friend and supercar spy Varryx was at this year’s event, which was in fact held at Imola, the current home of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. There were plenty of cars at this event including a Ferrari F1-2000 that Michael Schumacher won his first Ferrari title in, and the F2004 in which he took his last world title in. Both of those cars were also driven by Rubens Barichello. The event also featured a few other cars from Ferrari’s past including a 1995 Ferrari 412 T2 and the Ferrari SF70H from 2017.
A Whole Range Of Ferrari’s Were On Show At Imola
The oldest car on show at the event was the Ferrari 412 T2. This car was of course driven by Jean Alesi and Gerhard Berger during the 1995 Formula 1 season, as Ferrari worked hard to make themselves much more of a force at the front of the field. Its power came from a 3.0-liter Tippo V12 engine, and the car took 11 podiums but just the one pole and win, the latter at the Canadian Grand Prix in which was Jean Alesi’s only ever win in Grand Prix racing. Ferrari would finish 1995 third in the championship.
Something that you perhaps might not expect to see at the event is a modern turbo-hybrid F1 car. This is the 2017 SF70H that Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel drove. The car was Ferrari’s first real title challenger for some years, with Vettel taking 5 wins and 4 four pole positions in the car while Raikkonen took pole position at Monaco. While a quick car, unreliability in Japan and Malaysia plus a huge smash at the start of that year’s Singapore Grand Prix meant Vettel would ultimately lose the title to Mercedes Lewis Hamilton.
Schumacher Classics Were Out In Force At Imola
The highlights have to be the classics from Michael Schumacher’s era, although Varryx was only able to capture one of them on film and in his photos. This was the Ferrari F2004, one of the most dominant cars in F1 history which took an amazing 15 wins in an 18 race season, with Schumacher taking 13 of them. This was a record for most wins in a season, matched by Sebastian Vettel in 2013 and only beaten recently by Max Verstappen with 14 so far in 2022. The car, with its V10 power, also took 12 pole positions.
A pair of Fernando Alonso Ferraris were also on show at the event. The F2012 with its unusual stepped nose is also seen in the video, a car that took two poles and three wins in one of F1s most competitive seasons ever. Alonso dragged the car into title contention, and only lost the title by three points to Sebastian Vettel at the end of the year. The F138 was the car from 2013, driven by Alonso as well as teammate Felipe Massa. The F138 started that season strongly with Alonso winning two races, but the developments on the car did not work and Alonso dropped out of title contention as Vettel romped to another title.
The Wide And Aero-laden Machines Of 2008
One of the most outrageous cars on show was the F2008 driven by Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. These cars were quite wide compared to those that followed in 2009, and aero was all over the cars with all manner of winglets and flaps. Massa would fight Lewis Hamilton for the title in 2008 and the car overall won eight races and took eight pole positions. Massa lost out on the drivers title on the final lap of the last race, but Ferrari did win that year’s constructors title.
Some Of The Best Sounding Cars In Ferrari’s History
With perhaps the exception of the SF70H, all of these cars produce an amazing sound. The V10s from 2004 scream as they head around the Imola circuit, while the V12 412 T2 produces one of the most distinctive sounds of any F1 car. Even the V8s produce one hell of a roar, and it’s noticeable how much quieter the SF70H is. However, it isn’t going at full chat in the video from Varryx, and these new turbo-hybrids do sound quite good when the drivers really go for it.
Source: Varryx YouTube Channel
