Ferrari 125 F1


The 125 F1 was Ferrari's first Formula One car. It shared its engine with the 125 S sports racer which preceded it by a year, but was developed at the same time by Enzo Ferrari, Valerio Colotti and designer, Gioacchino Colombo. Initially the racer was called 125 GPC for Gran Premio Città or Grand Prix Compressore before the Formula One era.

Mechanical details

The 125 F1 used a supercharged 1.5-litre V12 engine and sported a steel tube-frame chassis with longitudinal and cross members. It had a double wishbone suspension with a transverse leaf spring in front and a torsion bar in the rear which was upgraded to a de Dion tube for 1950. Worm and sector steering and four-wheel drum brakes were the norm for the time. The wheelbase was uprated to in the 1949 redesign. The chassis and transmission design was by Valerio Colotti.
The 125 F1 was powered by Colombo's 1.5-litre V12. It had a single overhead camshaft on each bank of cylinders with a 60° angle between the two banks. The engine had two valves per cylinder fed through one Weber 40DOC3 or 50WCF carburettor. With just a 6.5:1 compression ratio, the supercharged engine still produced at 7000 rpm. However, the Roots-type single-stage supercharger was incapable of producing the high-end power required to compete with the strong eight-cylinder Alfa Romeo 158 and four-cylinder Maserati 4CLT. Strong driving and a nimble chassis, however, allowed the company to place third in its first outing, at the Valentino Grand Prix on September 5, 1948 and the company persevered in racing.
For 1949, the engine was further modified with dual overhead camshafts and a two-stage supercharger. This combination gave the car better top-end performance and the resulting gave it five Grand Prix wins. Development continued the following year, but the problematic superchargers were dropped in favor of larger displacement and Lampredi's 275 engine superseded the original Colombo engine.
The original chassis have been lost, but an exact replica with the original Colombo engine currently resides in Museo Ferrari in Maranello alongside newer Ferrari F1 machines.

Racing

The 125 F1 debuted at the Valentino Grand Prix on September 5, 1948. Three cars were fielded, with drivers Prince Bira of Siam, Nino Farina, and Raymond Sommer who placed third in the race.
DateLocationDriver
October 24, 1948Garda Circuit, SalòGiuseppe Farina
July 3, 1949Swiss Grand Prix, BremgartenAlberto Ascari
July 31, 1949Zandvoort Grand PrixLuigi Villoresi
August 20, 1949Daily Express Trophy, SilverstoneAlberto Ascari
September 11, 1949Italian Grand Prix, MonzaAlberto Ascari
September 25, 1949Masaryk Circuit, BrnoPeter Whitehead
July 13, 1950Jersey Road RacePeter Whitehead
August 12, 1950Ulster Trophy, DundrodPeter Whitehead
October 1, 1950Interstate Race, InterlagosFrancisco Landi
January 27, 1951São Paulo Grand PrixFrancisco Landi
May 20, 1951Governador Noguera Garcez Race, InterlagosFrancisco Landi
June 28, 1951Bõa Vista Grand Prix, Rio de JaneiroFrancisco Landi

Complete Formula One World Championship results

Post-WWII Grandes Épreuves results

YearEntrantEngineDrivers12345
1948Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12MONSUIFRAITAGBR
1948Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 Raymond Sommer3DNA
1948Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 B. BiraNC
1948Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 Giuseppe FarinaRetDNA
1949Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12GBRBELSUIFRAITA
1949Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 Alberto Ascari31WD1
1949Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 Luigi Villoresi22RetRet
1949Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 Felice BonettoRet
1949Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 Raymond Sommer5
1949Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 Dudley Folland8*
1949Scuderia FerrariFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 Peter Whitehead8*9
1949privateFerrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 Peter Whitehead43Ret

* Indicates shared drive with Dorino Serafini