When Mauro Forghieri passed away in November he left a remarkable body of work, for he was arguably the last engineer working in Formula 1 who was truly capable of designing a car from nose to tail, including its engine and gearbox. Almost unthinkable now, in an era in which perhaps half a dozen aerodynamic specialists might be engaged on the front wing alone.
Forghieri was but 26 and aiming to work in the American aviation industry when Enzo Ferrari put him in charge of the company’s racing department. Forghieri’s father had worked for the company in multiple spells since before the war and Enzo had taken an interest in young Mauro’s progress, offering him an internship in 1960 and then, at the tail end of ’61, the keys to the design office. A swift ascent by any measure, though in this case lubricated by the abrupt departure of key staff including engineering chief Carlo Chiti.
The clear-out – simmering angst among Ferrari’s rank-and-file brought to the surface by a confrontation between Enzo’s wife Laura and commercial chief Gerolamo Gardini – left a denuded technical staff facing a substantial range of tasks. Formula 1 was by no means the
