As we all know, racing is a very demanding business and it’s rare to see any racing car constructor or engine builder survive, let along thrive, for very long.
Once-great
Formula One teams from the Sixties and Seventies, like Lotus, BRM, Brabham, Cooper and Tyrrell, are long-gone for example, and production race car manufacturers like March and Reynard are no longer with us.
All American Racers was in business for 34 years from 1966-99, building Eagle
F1, Indy and IMSA cars, and probably ranks as the most accomplished American race car constructor. But AAR no longer builds race cars, although the company continues in business building lightweight composite components and devices for the US military, as well as doing motorcycle and special engineering projects.
In fact, it’s difficult to find many race car or engine builders with longer lives than AAR. Without doubt,
Ferrari sets the standard. The great Italian team’s roots go back to before WWII, of course, when Enzo Ferrari started fielding Alfa Romeos in various European races. The first Ferrari F1 car debuted in 1948 and Alberto Ascari scored the marque’s first grand prix victory in the 1949 Swiss GP, the year before the first modern F1 world championship was organised.
From 1950 through today, Ferrari’s official grand prix record shows 202 wins, 196 poles and 14 world championships, plus 49 non-championship F1 race wins between 1950-79 when those events were allowed to take place. It’s a pretty stellar record by any measure, particularly when you add Ferrari’s nine Le Mans victories and many other world championship sports car wins from the Fifties, Sixties and Seventies.
The only other modern F1 teams with serious histories are
McLaren and
Williams. McLaren was founded in 1966 and has scored 156 wins and 131 poles. Williams started racing in F1 in 1969 and the team has won 113 races and taken 125 poles. In comparison, the remaining F1 teams -
BMW, Renault, Honda, Toyota,
Red Bull et al - are young pups.
