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.[1][2]
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| Category | Formula One car | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constructor | Ferrari | ||||
| Designer(s) | Enzo Ferrari, Gioacchino Colombo, Valerio Colotti | ||||
| Production | 1948–1950 | ||||
| Successor | 375 F1/166 F2 | ||||
| Technical specifications | |||||
| Suspension (front) | double wishbone suspension with a transverse leaf spring | ||||
| Suspension (rear) | torsion bar, upgraded to a de Dion tube for 1950 | ||||
| Length | 3,685 mm (145.1 in) | ||||
| Width | 1,400 mm (55.1 in) | ||||
| Height | 1,025 mm (40.4 in) | ||||
| Wheelbase | 2,160 mm (85.0 in) 2,320 mm (91.3 in) | ||||
| Engine | Ferrari Colombo 1,497 cc (91.4 cu in) V12 supercharged | ||||
| Weight | 710 kg (1,565.3 lb) | ||||
| Tyres | Dunlop Pirelli | ||||
| Competition history | |||||
| Notable entrants | Scuderia Ferrari | ||||
| Debut | 1948 Italian Grand Prix | ||||
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Mechanical details
editThe 125 F1 used a supercharged 1.5-litre V12 engine and sported a steel tube-frame chassis with longitudinal and cross members.[1] 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 2,160 mm (85 in) wheelbase was uprated to 2,320 mm (91 in) in the 1949 redesign. The chassis and transmission design was by Valerio Colotti.
The 125 F1 was powered by Colombo's 1.5-litre (1497 cc/91 in³) V12. The engine's name, and the car powered by it, the 125 S sports racer, were derived from the tiny 124.73 cc (7.6 cu in) 55 mm (2.17 in) by 52.5 mm (2.07 in) cylinders. 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 230 PS (169 kW; 227 hp) at 7000 rpm.[3] 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 Italian Grand Prix on 5 September 1948 and the company persevered in racing.
For 1949, the engine was further modified with dual overhead camshafts (though still two valves per cylinder) and a two-stage supercharger. This combination gave the car better top-end performance and the resulting 260–280 PS (191–206 kW; 256–276 hp) gave it five Grand Prix wins.[4] 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 (used for Ferrari 275 F1), but an exact replica with the original Colombo engine currently resides in Museo Ferrari in Maranello alongside newer Ferrari F1 machines.
Technical data
edit| Technical data | 125 GP | 125 F1 | 166 F2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine: | Front mounted 60° 12 cylinder V engine | ||
| displacement: | 1497 cm³ | 1995 cm³ | |
| Bore x stroke: | 55 x 52.5 mm | 60 x 58.8 mm | |
| Compression: | 6.5:1 | 7.0:1 | 11.0:1 |
| Max power at rpm: | 230 hp at 7 000 rpm | 280 hp at 7 500 rpm | 155 hp at 7 000 rpm |
| Valve control: | One overhead camshaft per cylinder row |
Dual Overhead Camshafts per cylinder bank |
One overhead camshaft per cylinder row |
| Carburetor: | 1 Weber 40 DO3C | 1 Weber 50 WCF | 3 Weber 32 DCF |
| Upload: | Roots compressor | Double Roots compressors |
- |
| Gearbox: | 5-speed manual | ||
| suspension front: | Double cross links, transverse leaf spring | ||
| suspension rear: | Pendulum axle, transverse leaf spring |
De Dion axle, transverse leaf spring |
Pendulum axle, longitudinal torsion bars |
| Brakes: | Hydraulic drum brakes | ||
| Chassis & body: | Oval tubular frame with aluminum body | ||
| Wheelbase: | 216 cm | ||
| Dry weight: | 710 kg | 710 kg | |
| Dry speed: | 260 km/h | 235 km/h | |
Racing
editThe 125 F1 debuted at the Italian Grand Prix on 5 September 1948. Three cars were fielded, with drivers Prince Bira of Siam, Nino Farina, and Raymond Sommer who placed third in the race.
| Date | Location | Driver |
|---|---|---|
| 24 October 1948 | Circuito del Garda, Salò | Giuseppe Farina |
| 3 July 1949 | Swiss Grand Prix, Bremgarten | Alberto Ascari |
| 31 July 1949 | Zandvoort Grand Prix | Luigi Villoresi |
| 20 August 1949 | Daily Express Trophy, Silverstone | Alberto Ascari |
| 11 September 1949 | Italian Grand Prix, Monza | Alberto Ascari |
| 25 September 1949 | Czechoslovakian Grand Prix, Brno | Peter Whitehead |
| 13 July 1950 | Jersey Road Race | Peter Whitehead |
| 12 August 1950 | Ulster Trophy, Dundrod | Peter Whitehead |
| 1 October 1950 | Interstate Race, Interlagos | Francisco Landi |
| 27 January 1951 | São Paulo Grand Prix | Francisco Landi |
| 20 May 1951 | Governador Noguera Garcez Race, Interlagos | Francisco Landi |
| 28 June 1951 | Bõa Vista Grand Prix, Rio de Janeiro | Francisco Landi |
Complete Formula One World Championship results
edit(key) (results in bold indicate pole position, results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 | D | GBR | MON | 500 | SUI | BEL | FRA | ITA | ||
 Peter Whitehead
|
DNS | 3 | 7 | ||||||||
| P |  Luigi Villoresi
|
Ret | Ret | 6 | DNS | ||||||
| Alberto Ascari
|
2 | Ret | |||||||||
 Raymond Sommer
|
4 | ||||||||||
| 1951 | Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 | D | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | ESP | |
| Peter Whitehead
|
Ret | Ret | |||||||||
| P | Ret | ||||||||||
| 1952 | Ferrari 166 F2 2.0 V12 | D | SUI | 500 | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | NED | ITA | |
| Peter Whitehead
|
10 | DNQ | |||||||||
Source:[5]
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Post-WWII Grandes Épreuves results
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 | MON | SUI | FRA | ITA | GBR | |
| Raymond Sommer
|
3 | DNA | ||||||
 B. Bira
|
NC | |||||||
| Giuseppe Farina
|
Ret | DNA | ||||||
| 1949 | Scuderia Ferrari | Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 | GBR | BEL | SUI | FRA | ITA | |
| Alberto Ascari
|
3 | 1 | WD | 1 | ||||
| Luigi Villoresi
|
2 | 2 | Ret | Ret | ||||
| Felice Bonetto
|
Ret | |||||||
| Raymond Sommer
|
5 | |||||||
| Dudley Folland
|
8* | |||||||
| Peter Whitehead
|
8* | 9 | ||||||
| private | 4 | 3 | Ret |
* Indicates shared drive with Dorino Serafini
References
edit- ^ a b "Ferrari 125 GPC". gilcodesign.com. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
- ^ Acerbi, Leonardo (2012). Ferrari: All The Cars. Haynes Publishing. p. 9.
- ^ "125 Single Stage F1". mitorosso.com. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "125 F1 GP 1949 – Two Stage". mitorosso.com. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ Small, Steve (1994). The Guinness Complete Grand Prix Who's Who. Guinness. pp. 37, 357, 388 and 400. ISBN 0851127029.
- Acerbi, Leonardo (2012). Ferrari: All The Cars. Haynes Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84425-581-8.