The Prancing Horse Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jose Froilan Gonzalez

Gonzalez was in fine form at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix. Not only did he take his first pole position, he made good use of the Ferrari's fuel efficiency to take the lead and eventually pull away from Fangio, driving an Alfa Romeo, to eventually win by over fifty seconds. Gonzalez would win one more Grand Prix in his career, again for Ferrari, again at Silverstone, in 1954.

Answer: Alberto Ascari

Alberto Ascari dominated the 1952 Formula One season. After Piero Taruffi won the season opening Swiss Grand Prix, which Ascari missed as he was in the USA for the Indianapolis 500 (which was included in the World Championship at the time) Ascari would win every other race that season, including the Belgian, French, British, German, Dutch and Italian races.

It would take over 60 years for another driver to match his feat of winning 9 races in a row, as he won the first three races in 1953 as well.

Answer: 3

Three drivers won for Ferrari in 1956. Fangio won two races in Britain and Germany, Peter Collins won two races in Belgium and France, while Fangio shared victory with Luigi Musso at the season opening Argentine Grand Prix. Ignoring the Indy 500, which was generally ignored by European drivers, the only other driver to win a race that season was Stirling Moss, taking two victories in a Maserati.

Answer: French Grand Prix

Hawthorn won his first and only title due to his sheer consistency. Aside from taking victory at the French Grand Prix, an event he dominated by taking pole and fastest lap, he finished second five times (Belgium, Britain, Portugal, Italy, Morocco), third once (Argentina) and fifth once (Holland), with two retirements at Monaco and Germany.

It was also a tragic year for Ferrari, as Luigi Musso was killed at the French Grand Prix, and Peter Collins was killed at the German Grand Prix. Hawthorn chose to retire at the end of the 1958 season, but was tragically killed in a road accident early in 1959.

Answer: Giancarlo Baghetti

Baghetti wrote himself into Formula One history by winning the 1961 French Grand Prix on his debut in the sport and also for Ferrari (ignoring the fact Farina won the inaugural Grand Prix.) He survived a race long battle with Dan Gurney, driving a Porsche, to win the race by a tenth of a second.

It would be his only victory and he would never stand on a podium again.

Answer: True

John Surtees became the first man to win a World Championship on both two and four wheels after he won the 1964 World Championship. He won two races that season, in Germany and Italy, taking pole position and setting the fastest lap. He won by over a minute at the Nurburgring in Germany, a track where Surtees always excelled, and did the same at Monza, with only Bruce McLaren driving a Cooper finishing on the same lap.

A second place finish at the season ending Mexican Grand Prix assured his Championship victory by only one point over Graham Hill.

Answer: German Grand Prix

Enzo Ferrari had sold off his road car division to Fiat as he needed the finance to keep racing. Since 1964, the team had struggled, taking only two victories from 1965-68. 1969 was their worst season yet. Only Chris Amon drove a Ferrari at the first five races of the season, with a solitary third place at the Dutch Grand Prix his only reward. Two cars were at the British Grand Prix, where both cars retired, before Amon left the team, Ferari missed the Germany Grand Prix, and Pedro Rodriguez drove one car for four races, scoring three points.

Answer: Jacky Ickx

Jacky Ickx raced for Ferrari in 1968, winning the French Grand Prix at Rouen-les-Essarts, before moving to Brabham for 1969. Enticed back to Ferrari for 1970, he eventually remained for four years, winning three races in 1970 and finishing runner-up to the posthumous World Champion Jochen Rindt, with further victories at the 1971 Dutch Grand Prix and 1972 German Grand Prix.

But Ferrari fell back each year after 1970, with another poor season in 1973, Ferrari not scoring a single podium, leading to Ickx leaving for Lotus.

Answer: Nurburgring

Niki Lauda is a Formula One legend. Witty, brutally honest at times, and with a clear love for the sport, he is considered one of the all time greats. He made his Ferrari debut in 1974, showing instant speed but lacking the consistency he would show in later years. He won two races in his first season, finishing fourth in the title race. In 1975, he and the new Ferrari 312T were almost unstoppable, with five wins and three other podiums helping him to a first title and Ferrari's first Constructors World Championship since 1964. He only missed out on the title by 1 point in 1976, Ferrari winning another Constructors title, before he showed ultra consistency in 1977, winning only three times, though taking 6 second places, one third, one fourth and one fifth to win a second World Championship, and Ferrari a third successive Constructors title.

He then chose to leave Ferrari, joining Brabham for 1978 though he retired in 1979, choosing to focus on running his airline. He returned to Formula One in 1982 with McLaren, won a third title in 1984 before retiring again after 1985.

In 1993, he returned to Ferrari in a consulting role. He returned to Formula One full time in 2001 when he was made team principal of the Jaguar Formula One team, though was made redundant at the end of 2002. In 2012, he was made non-executive chairman of the Mercedes Formula One team, and was the key figure behind the team signing Lewis Hamilton for 2013.

Suffering from kidney issues, Lauda died in his sleep on May 20, 2019, at the University Hospital in Zurich. His season long battle with James Hunt for the 1976 title was dramatised in the film 'Rush', released in 2013.

Answer: Gilles Villeneuve

Jody Scheckter won three races in 1979, with three second places and more consistent points finishing landing him the title after leading home a Ferrari 1-2 at Monza, his loyal team-mate Gilles Villeneuve finishing half a second behind.

Gilles Villeneuve also won three races in 1979, but his most famous race from that season is the French Grand Prix, where he finished second after spending the last lap banging wheels with Rene Arnoux in a Renault. He would finish runner-up to his teammate.

Both drivers remained for 1980, but it was a difficult season for the Prancing Horse, Scheckter only scoring two points all season before retiring from the sport.

Answer: Patrick Tambay

The Ferrari 126C2 was a powerful machine, with high hopes in Maranello that Ferrari would once again compete for major honours. At the 1982 San Marino Grand Prix, Ferrari finished 1-2, Didier Pironi leading home Gilles Villeneuve. But the latter felt betrayed by what he perceived as not following team orders. At the next grand prix in Belgium, Villeneuve was killed after being launched over the rear of another car driven by Jochen Mass.

Pironi would be the only Ferrari on the grid at the next three races, and took one win, two seconds and two thirds over the next six races. But during practice at the German Grand Prix, he vaulted over the rear of a Renault driven by Alain Prost, a crash eerily similar to that of Villeneuve. Pironi survived, but his legs were smashed and his career over.

Patrick Tambay, drafted in to drive at the Dutch Grand Prix, won the German Grand Prix, a first career win after making his debut in 1977, though he had found himself without a drive at the beginning of the 1982 season. He stayed with Ferrari for 1983, winning one more race and helping the team to successive Constructors Championships, before spending two seasons at a fading Renault team in 1984-85, and a final season at Team Haas in 1986 before announcing his retirement.

Answer: 1986

Ferrari struggled compared to the McLaren and Williams teams that dominated the 1980s but they could generally snatch a win or two throughout a season. After Constructors titles in 1982 and 1983, they finished second overall in 1984 and 1985, Michele Alboreto taking two wins and finishing runner up to Alain Prost in 1985.

1986 was their nadir. Though the drivers managed occasional podiums, there were no victories and the team finished fourth in the Constructors.

Gerhard Berger was hired for 1987 and after a period of struggle and unreliablity, he took two wins at the season ending Japanese and Australian Grand Prix, giving the team hope heading into 1988. That hope proved unfounded as McLaren blitzed everyone in 1988 though Ferrari took an emotional 1-2 victory at the Italian Grand Prix, the first race in Italy after Enzo Ferrari had passed away.

1989 brought about renewed focus with Nigel Mansell hired and new technology in a semi-automatic gearbox, with Alain Prost joining for 1990. But though there were victories for both drivers, Prost would finish runner-up to Senna at the end of 1990 after a controversial first lap collision at the Japanese Grand Prix.

Answer: Gerhard Berger

The 1991 season was marginally competitive for Ferrari, Alain Prost and Jean Alesi scoring podiums but a win proved elusive. The 1992 F92A was perhaps one of the worst Ferrari's ever produced, only excellent driving by Alesi putting the car on the podium twice, Ivan Capelli eventually being replaced by Nicola Larini. Gerhard Berger joined Alesi for 1993, the F93A proving no more competitive than the 1993 car.

The 412T produced for 1994 was a return to forum for the Prancing Horse, the 3.5 litre V12 particularly impressive and powerful. It was competitive out of the box, a Ferrari on the podium at 7 of the first 8 races before Gerhard Berger finally took a victory for Ferrari at Hockenheim in Germany. Results tailed off after that though there were three more podiums, Ferrari finishing 3rd in the Constructors.

Answer: 4

In what was perhaps his best season to date, the Ferrari 412T2 proved as competitive as its sister car from 1994. In addition to his victory in Canada, Alesi finished second four times, in Argentina, San Marino, Britain and the European Grand Prix, where he was leading in tricky conditions only to be overtaken by Michael Schumacher two laps from the end. He would finish fifth overall, his season somewhat blighted by the fact he retired in eight of the sixteen races due to poor reliability and back luck.

Teammate Gerhard Berger was equally as competitive, scoring six third places throughout the season to help Ferrari finish 3rd overall again in the Constructors Championship.

Answer: False

Double World Champion Michael Schumacher joined Ferrari in 1996. The team was going through a restructure, desperate to win their first title since 1979. At the season opening Australian Grand Prix, Schumacher qualified a fine third but retired after only five laps due to engine failure.

He would have to wait until the seventh race in Spain to win his first race for Ferrari, a brilliant drive in wet conditions. He won two further races, in Belgium and a rather emotional win in Italy, his first time driving for Ferrari at Monza.

He finished the season third overall and helped Ferrari to second place in the Constructors Championship.

Answer: Mika Salo

Schumacher was second in the championship when he crashed at Stowe at the British Grand Prix, held at Silverstone, the cause being brake failure. As he would be out for a number of races, Ferrari looked for a replacement, hiring Finnish driver Mika Salo from the Austrian Grand Prix onwards. After a 9th place in Austria, Salo proved competitive at the German Grand Prix, leading for many laps before moving over to allow teammate Eddie Irvine to take victory, now lead driver and fighting Mika Hakkinen for the title. In thanks, Irvine gave Salo his trophy on the podium.

Schumacher returned for the final two races, finishing second in Malaysia to Irvine, and to Hakkinen in Japan.

Answer: German Grand Prix

Barrichello had been racing in Formula One since 1993, for Jordan until 1996, then for Stewart from 1997 to 1999, before switching to Ferrari for 2000. By the time he arrived at the German Grand Prix, he had waited 123 races to taste success.

Starting 18th on the grid, Barrichello mastered the tricky wet-dry conditions to finally achieve his first victory, bursting into tears on the cool down lap, and unable to stop them flowing again on the podium. He would win 8 more races for Ferrari until leaving at the end of 2005, having finished runner up to his teammate in 2002 and 2004.

Answer: True

The 'retirement' of Michael Schumacher is still a somewhat controversial topic but it was Kimi Raikkonen who partnered Felipe Massa for the Prancing Horse in 2007. At the season opening Australian Grand Prix, the Finn was dominant, taking pole position, setting fastest lap, and taking victory, leading home the McLaren duo of Alonso and Hamilton.

Raikkonen would take five more victories during the season, six more podiums, retiring only twice, to snatch the World Championship at the season ending Brazilian Grand Prix.

Answer: 11

Alonso won his first race for Ferrari at the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix. He won four more races in 2010 but would eventually finish runner-up to Sebastian Vettel in the World Championship. 2011 proved less competitive, with a solitary victory at the British Grand Prix, before another championship tilt in 2012, winning three races, but also 5 seconds, 5 thirds, and only two retirements - but Vettel did enough at the Brazilian Grand Prix to take the title.

He won two more races in 2013 but with the change in rules for 2014, the Ferrari was uncompetitive, scoring only two podiums.

He left for McLaren at the end of 2014.

Answer: False

Ferrari began supplying engines on a full-time basis in 1991, Minardi using Ferrari power before Ferrari switched to the Scuderia Italia team in 1992 and 1993. The venture didn't prove successful and Ferrari stopped provided engines for thirteen years.

In 2006, Red Bull used Ferrari engines before Scuderia Toro Rosso and Spyker used them in 2007. Toro Rosso continued using them in 2008, as did the Force India team, with Toro Rosso taking victory at the Italian Grand Prix with Sebastian Vettel. Toro Rosso would use Ferrari engines until 2013, before switching to Renault for two seasons, using Ferrari again in 2016, before switching to Honda.

Other Ferrari-engined teams include Sauber/Alfa Romeo, Marussia and Haas.