The 125 F1 is Ferrari's first Formula One car. It shared its name 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 (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 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 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 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year, but the problematic superchargers were dropped in favor of larger displacement and Lampredi's 275 engine superseded the original Colombo engine.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 (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

Technical data 125 GP 125 F1 166 F2 Engine:  Front mounted 60° 12 cylinder V engine displacement:  1497 cm31995 cm3 Bore x stroke:  55 x 52.5 mm 60 x 58.8 mm Compression:  6.5:17.0:1 11.0:1 Max power at rpm:  230 hp at 7 000 rpm280 hp at 7 500 rpm155 hp at 7 000 rpm Valve control:  One overhead camshaftper cylinder rowDual Overhead Camshaftsper cylinder bankOne overhead camshaftper cylinder row Carburetor:  1 Weber 40 DO3C1 Weber 50 WCF3 Weber 32 DCF Upload:  Roots compressorDoubleRoots 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 and 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

The 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.

+VictoriesDateLocationDriver24 October 1948Circuito del Garda, SalòGiuseppe Farina3 July 1949Swiss Grand Prix, BremgartenAlberto Ascari31 July 1949Zandvoort Grand PrixLuigi Villoresi20 August 1949Daily Express Trophy, SilverstoneAlberto Ascari11 September 1949Italian Grand Prix, MonzaAlberto Ascari25 September 1949Czechoslovakian Grand Prix, BrnoPeter Whitehead13 July 1950Jersey Road RacePeter Whitehead12 August 1950Ulster Trophy, DundrodPeter Whitehead1 October 1950Interstate Race, InterlagosFrancisco Landi27 January 1951São Paulo Grand PrixFrancisco Landi20 May 1951Governador Noguera Garcez Race, InterlagosFrancisco Landi28 June 1951Bõa Vista Grand Prix, Rio de JaneiroFrancisco Landi

Complete Formula One World Championship results (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 Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 GBR MON 500 SUI BEL FRA ITA Peter Whitehead DNS 3 7 Luigi Villoresi Ret Ret 6 DNS Alberto Ascari 2 Ret Raymond Sommer 4 Ferrari 125 F1 1.5 V12 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER ITA ESP Peter Whitehead Ret Ret Ret Ferrari 166 F2 2.0 V12 SUI 500 BEL FRA GBR GER NED ITA Peter Whitehead 10 DNQ

Post-WWII Grandes Épreuves results (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