F1, Mauro Forghieri is dead: he was a Ferrari engineer in Lauda’s heyday

F1, Mauro Forghieri is dead: he was a Ferrari engineer in Lauda's heyday

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Mourning at home Ferrari and in the world of Formula 1. He died in Modena at the age of 87 Mauro Forghieri, engineer for a long time in the Cavallino stable and close collaborator of Enzo Ferrari. He was director of the Reds in the golden age of the titles of Niki Lauda: under his leadership, the Maranello team won seven constructors’ world titles.

Who was Mauro Forghieri

In 1959, as soon as he graduated, thanks to the good influences of his father, Forghieri was immediately hired by Ferrari, under the racing department, at the same time as his contemporary Gian Paolo Dallara. He was then assigned to engine development, while Dallara was employed in the design of the chassis; both under the direction of engineer Carlo Chiti. At the end of 1961, with the dismissal of Chiti and the passage of Dallara to Maserati, Forghieri was called by Enzo Ferrari in the role of head of the technical department for racing cars, focusing mainly on F1 and cars in the Sport Prototype category. One of his first assignments concerned the tuning of the 250 GTO, with the modification of the rear bridge in order to improve its stability in the fast corners. The prototypes include the six successes in the Marche World Championship (the last of which was won in 1972) and the arrival in the parade at the 1967 Daytona 24 Hours.

Forghieri and Ferrari: years of victories

In F1 the first victory came at the German GP in 1963, with John Surtees’ Ferrari 156 F1-63. At the end of the 1964 season, Surtees, in a Ferrari 158, was world champion, while the team won the constructors’ title. In 1968, during the Belgian GP, ​​the engineer introduced the first ailerons in a single-seater, elements destined in a short period of time to radically revolutionize the physiognomy of all racing cars. In the 70s he designed the successful 312 series cars (in particular the world champions 312 T, T2 and T4) with transverse gearbox, driven by a “flat” 12-cylinder engine, which between 1975 and 1979 led to the victory of 4 championships of the F1 constructors ‘world and three drivers’ titles (with Niki Lauda and Jody Scheckter). At the beginning of the 1980s, Forghieri introduced turbocharged engines to Ferrari, designing the 126 series (126 CK, 126 C2, 126 C3 and 126 C4), with which the team won the constructors’ championship in the 1982 and 1983 seasons. driving, Ferrari has won a total of 54 world Grand Prix, 4 drivers’ world titles and 7 constructors.

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