Ferrari 312B (2017)

I'd be lying if I said that
I persuaded 'il Commendatore' Ferrari.
Because I think he came
to the same conclusion himself.
But as he was asking me questions,
I said
'I think it's time
to turn the page a little.'
I said that at the end of '68.
And he asked me what I wanted to do.
It was the car during the period
when Ferrari became big
and it was the car
that changed everything.
It was a year of transition;
full of vitality, full of personalities.
There was an energy in the air.
This sparked off changes in the sport and
a renewed sense of purpose.
In short, it was a very intense
championship
featuring many races and stars.
There was Ickx returning to Ferrari.
There was Rindt,
the god of counter-steering.
There were Pedro Rodriguez and
Jackie Stewart, the world champion
and Jack Brabham, a driver
who seemed to hail from another time.
What's the story of this one?
That's the original model of the car.
This is the 70?
- Yes.
And this would be at risk of breaking?
Yes, this is not usable.
You'd be well advised to make new ones.
It depends on the risk
you want to take.
Formula 1 is risky.
But no one says,
'I take a risk at that level'.
It's the ignorance...
- And the suspension arms...
Wheels, brakes, all the parts
of the four corners of the car.
When you design these suspensions
it happens that you get
a number of cases
of cars going off the track, etc...
So you had the wishbones
and the links bent.
It was a way of acquiring experience.
- Of getting experience.
The 312B is part of my life.
It was one of the first
things I became fascinated with as a child
when I first got interested
in the world of racing.
It was an unattainable object to me
because it was driven
by racing drivers
and for me the racing driver
was a mythological figure.
As a child you go,
'It's impossible'.
I'm dreaming of doing it,
but that's what it is, a dream.
Then, having met Mauro Forghieri,
the man who created the car
the feeling became something else
because I told him
'Mauro, if you're in, we take the car,
and we fix it.'
It's been a surprise to me
because I told him,
'I'm very happy to do it'.
In that moment I saw
the possibility for the dream
to become something else,
to turn into a project.
What Paolo had offered me
was a bit like a rebirth.
I'd come back into the world of Formula 1
from a secondary entrance.
But it was like getting back
into battle.
The car was stripped
of all its parts.
The restoration of the 31251
was without doubt a very complex thing.
It's all used up, though, I see.
I can say that the 312B1 is still
one of the few Ferraris from back then
that was exclusively the product of
a pencil and a drawing board.
So I used my recollections of the car
my recollections of the engine...
One of the most beautiful things
when restoring a historic car
that used to be so successful
is to see a machine
go back on the very path
that started it all those years ago.
Paolo has had a decent racing career.
So we set up a programme
for him to do a few test runs
because he's thinking of returning to race
in the Historic Grand Prix
of Monaco.
My hope for Monaco
is to drive a car...
to experience those feelings
in a Ferrari
let the engine roar
through those streets.
I met Stefano
at the Paris-Dakar Rally in 2001.
I had decided to do it together
with two friends in a truck.
Ten days into the race
our front axle broke
and the truck was sinking into the sand.
Stefano passed by and gave us a tow.
A year later,
we fixed up the same truck
and I went with him, and this time
I finished the Paris-Dakar Rally.
He's an old-fashioned mechanic.
He's using old-style methods,
let's say.
With Stefano we gradually established
what needed doing.
We started looking for the structures
that would help us
achieve what we wanted to build.
So how did you get on
with the pressure ratio?
How did I...?
- We have measured it!
Because for example
I can tell you that...
Here are some edges, let us...
A little more?
- Yes.
We already smoothed them,
but we can do better.
Because it gets hot.
We need to check
that the engine fits
in those according to the findings of 30...
How many years?
I do not remember.
45, 46 years ago.
We should already have tested
the engine back in early December.
We are a month behind
due to a number of things.
Enzo Ferrari had always been
a fan of the 12-cylinder.
There is a separate legend
surrounding Forghieri
parallel to that of Ferrari.
I think he was the perfect interpreter
of Ferrari's philosophy.
I would say that with engineer
Forghieri in Germany
we were able to start a car
that was a 12-cylinder
as a 10-cylinder.
We closed the holes where
the oil pressure was higher
for those who know something
of mechanics, with toothpicks.
On the cup below the engine
that was cracked and half opened
we put some Sellotape, some cardboard
to keep the oil inside.
We did about a thousand metres
at the start
but we managed to secure
a signing.
Forghieri was someone with
a thousand ideas, a thousand solutions
when something happened
he had a thousand ideas
then afterwards he would realise that maybe
another idea would have been better
but that's the benefit of hindsight...
Mauro lived through very dangerous times.
There was the danger of fire.
The machines were not as robust
as they are today.
Yet the next day
they had to race again.
It took along time to rebuild
those cars in the correct way.
They were not built using
pre-existing equipment
like moulds and things like that.
You could say they were built
using a tape measure and hammer.
Good morning, Ilaria!
- Hello, how are you?
You always come over when it's raining.
I left with the snow
and you with the rain.
I am more satisfied now
than when I had my hands on it.
When you called me and you made me
feel the vibration, I was moved.
And you can feel it, you know?
The engine that vibrates
underneath seems alive.
There is a wire marked red.
- Yes.
I think that it indicates the signal.
Let's ask.
Yes, to make sure.
But it's on the diagram.
Is it on the diagram?
- It should be on there.
Let me take a look.
If we have doubts...
It's on there, right?
The signal...
- There's the earth.
It is indeed the signal.
Wait, let's try something.
Let's start the rev counter
so we can see if...
Do the power curve in this situation.
The less it increases,
the better the engine.
Check if the rev counter
says 10.
Davide, don't get upset,
it's him who's increasing the power.
Yes, don't worry.
Let's do 10 and 5
and see what happens.
It's kicking, eh?
- Oh, yeah!
11 and 3,11 and 4.
Let's put down the curve
at this point.
Should we put it on here?
Ferrari: a complete car.
Chassis, engine, piece by piece,
with an extraordinary craftsmanship
an extraordinary dexterity,
an accuracy...
For many years there was a rivalry
between Ferrari
and the English teams,
the English mechanics.
There are some cars
that leave their mark on a specific time.
This one certainly did.
Also in terms of form
in terms of design and colour.
A harmony, a grace.
When I travel back
to my childhood...
it was a period where the missile,
the 'rocket' as it was called
fascinated children.
And this car here had that
magic of representing a missile.
In those years, in the 70s
the fact that men
had landed on the moon
was an extraordinary thing.
Many engineers in the racing world
had a desire or passion
for aeronautics.
Aeronautics
may even have been their childhood dream.
The things that I drew most often
were aeroplanes.
Equally, the engines
that attracted me the most
were aeronautical turbines.
The flat 180 V engine
originated with Franklin
who built private planes in America.
And it was Franklin who asked us to build
an engine that could be inserted in the wing.
We would not have built it so flat
for Formula 1.
We used the modern techniques
that came from aeronautics.
Engines like that hadn't existed before.
It doesn't fit, damn.
I wash my hands, and
have a look as well, come on.
There must be one
that goes with the wire.
This one's been burnt by the exhaust.
Alright.
The driver who feeds on solitude
needs an ally.
An ally outside of the track.
You need reassurance
that someone is there for you.
Stefano is the most important person
there is.
The driver must have confidence.
You do something quickly
because the engineer is telling you
that you're three minutes behind and only
got three laps left. All of this in a hurry.
But the driver must trust you.
And in order to earn the driver's trust
you can never, never get it wrong.
The engine was inside the car.
I think it gets hot in the back.
They say that
even Regazzoni felt hot.
Of course, the water is at 212 F!
When you look at the design
it is extreme
because in the end they used up
all the space around the man
that is, they surrounded the man
with fuel tanks, engines, mechanics.
Mauro told me that they put
the fuel inside
and then used the compressor to send it
to the tanks under pressure
to fill that one and this one over here
and finally closed them
with the fuel coming out.
Otherwise it would spill.
- Yes.
Damn!
It took so much fuel!
Who knows how the driver must have felt!
I think Paolo Barilla wants to
look after this car
a bit like his father,
who bought works of art
and put them in a place
for everyone to see.
Of those cars
they only made four original ones.
They were very demanding cars
for us as well as Ferrari back then.
Last time I said I would be a lot happier
if the gearbox was closed.
The gearbox... it's closed now.
I cut some sections...
and after that... we'll wait for
the flywheel and put it in the car.
If there weren't all these drawbacks
if the input shaft was fine,
the flywheel...
I would have already finished the car.
Now I am no longer calm
otherwise I wouldn't have been here
at Easter or yesterday. What do you say?
Because the race is a risk
for the car.
Oh well, it was built to race,
yes,but"
That's that!
We brought it back as it was
originally, all bolts restored,
the washers...
I could have put it in all new.
The 312B, I've seen it come
into the world.
Because it came to us
to what was then called
the Chassis Department
the chassis, the body arrived.
What was then called the chassis,
now the body.
We mounted the four groups
of suspensions
and there was work to be done.
I experienced the first time
it was put on the track.
The sound of the exhaust was pure music.
Don't lose that cap!
I just want to see if it fits!
Paolo's first go-kart was
a gift from my mother
with which he eventually entered
his first few races.
Then he bought another one
with which he won
the Italian Go-Kart Championship in 1976
and then in '79 he moved from go-karts
to Formula Fiat Abarth
then Formula 3.
He had an almost perfect race.
Together with his partner Klaus Ludwig
they won the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It was a glorious victory.
Le Mans especially then
was considered a historic race
of global significance.
It was one of the most important
events of the year.
A racing driver is always a racing driver.
And when he lowers the visor,
he acts like a racing driver.
There will be ten and ten.
There's a lot of people I don't know.
Let's start it up and do some quick fixes.
We need to do some laps.
First we need to get it started.
Now even the fuel pump...
We detach this.
- Yes.
However, with both of them up.
- Yes.
On the first lap,
I pull this one down.
No, you need to do it as you're going out.
- As I'm leaving...
Because the problem
is that if you go down to the minimum
without the fuel pump,
it switches itself off.
He wants us to hear it.
He did it for me and for you.
So, you're going to put in the return springs
and use them in the same way as the others.
I think it's the pedal that stays down.
We will take a look at it.
Can I tell you something?
You have the return springs that
don't work when you close the throttle.
I think it's the pedal that stays down.
No-one has ever used the return
springs in that position. No-one.
Shall I go?
- Go. Connect the pump.
Four?
- OK, go.
Does it stay accelerated?
Then I'll attach the return springs...
Now we have a leak, get out.
However, compared to before
from the little I can tell
it sounds much improved by ear
but it's a different thing
to be inside the car.
Yes, no, it's that you can't drive it.
Let's take off the starter.
I don't know if we can get another lap in
as the track was booked until 1pm.
We have it until...
- 1pm is now.
Stefano must take a look at the leak.
Davide?
- Tell me.
Come here so you can see it better.
We have to take the gearbox off.
So, Stefano, how is it going?
- The entire car has to be dismantled.
Two laps to hear if
the accelerator is OK?
No, it is not worth it.
I took off the starter
and a glassful of oil came out.
No, we might burn the engine,
basically.
Let's dismantle the car.
- Alright.
When you assemble a racing car
and put it on the street
it's not a given that it'll all go fine.
There's no guarantee.
You know if we had two years,
the oil seal
would not bother me,
but we have two weeks.
The first half of the championship
is animated by the rivalry
between the Ferrari of Ickx
and the Lotus of Rindt.
On the difficult Monte Carlo circuit
it is Jochen Rindt
who gets the victory.
At the Belgian Grand Prix,
Ickx must leave the place to Rodriguez
and in the Netherlands
Rindt is again first.
But there is great news
on the horizon for Ferrari.
A young talent of motor sports
is taking his first steps in the paddock.
Clay became Formula 2
European champion
using a car built in Bologna
by the Pederzani brothers.
What in your opinion, Mr Pederzani,
is the future for Clay Regazzoni?
I think he has all the qualities
to become one of
the best drivers in the world.
Enzo Ferrari liked Clay very much
because he reminded him of drivers
that he had loved.
Regazzoni is a man who speaks little
who has a nice smile
and who is above all not
a piantagrane
that is to say
he doesn't cause problems.
To have a man who was supportive towards
the mechanics and drank Lambrusco.
He was almost Italian
because he was a Swiss from
Canton Ticino who spoke Italian
with a natural congeniality.
Looking back at your life,
would you say you're satisfied?
Are you happy, have you, in short,
reached your goal and your ideals?
I never had the ambition
to get into Formula 1.
Of course today I'm really happy
and I must say that
I am doing pretty well.
Regazzoni arrived
and he was relatively unknown.
He immediately showed himself
to be fast
and in tune with the atmosphere
of that particular Ferrari.
I think the best drivers of today
are Rindt
then there is Brabham always
with the first ones, Stewart...
At the next roundabout,
take the third exit.
Stefano!
You can't give it a telling-off like that!
You are right.
- Because the pistons will go to hell.
The engine can't keep on running,
give it a little more fuel.
But he must have fuel, not him.
It's not a solution.
Every time you use it
the piston could seize up.
Do you know him?
- Him? No!
Did he stop on the circuit?
The battery.
When I stopped,
it turned off immediately.
But the engine can't keep running,
can't you see, Jesus Christ!
It is a 12-cylinder. That one is an 8-cylinder
and keeps running on its own without a problem!
This one doesn't run
and neither will it start.
OK, is it turned off?
Anyway, a Formula 1 engine
needs to last!
The engine isn't right.
It sounds wrong.
We must ensure that
the pedal doesn't go back.
Turn it off.
- And it remains accelerated.
Let's see if changing speed resets it
so we have an idea
if not, we must try...
Now go ahead, give it a try...
- Let's do a trial run.
Now I put it back as before.
If it seems OK,
let it do a few laps
so we get an idea about the car.
If it stays accelerated,
I come back in.
Yes, because we put it
as it was before.
Can I go?
- Go!
Maybe there's a problem
with the mechanical pump
or with the valve.
- Not with both, no.
The valve.
- The valve
because there is some dirt
or something.
But if he does five laps, we can
understand what's wrong with the car.
We can talk about it...
- Yes.
You can take a look...
How is the car handling the track?
It has a constant understeer.
I fear that rolls a bit on the rear
which makes me want to harden
the rear bar a little.
Wait, this'll make you laugh.
I came with this.
Yes.
I won't tell you the racket I hear,
but they forced me to put it in.
Why?
- I got this one deaf ear.
Then we used to work like now.
- Sure!
No ear protectors, nothing.
In acceleration it goes down and when
I let go, the pressure goes back up.
There is almost definitely something wrong
with the carburation.
I don't understand why.
Someone must have made
an imperfect carburation.
They were supposed to try this thing,
but they didn't.
Why doesn't this pump push?
You do everything
you can to do your best
and you realise that it's impossible.
We should have thought about it.
I blame myself.
I can see that this system
doesn't work.
Because if he says...
- Davide?
If he says that the electric petrol
pump shoots like this...
I can't hold it with the finger.
- ... not even making one bar!
Excuse me...
- Tell me, Mauro.
Can you see how it's flat? This is one of
the reasons why the accelerator keeps blocking.
I don't think so. It's a sheath made
out of steel, it can't be crushed.
It's the first time I've seen it done
in this manner in this car.
Never seen it done like this in all my life.
OK, but this here...
- It has a seat that...
Look, this is flat.
Mauro, even pliers can't crush
the sheath.
Excuse me, try to open
the accelerator if you can.
It gets stuck.
- Well then, what can you tell me?
No, Mauro...
- You have to put it underneath!
As soon as I let go, it turns off!
What happened?
There is a big problem.
That carburation problem,
the accelerator that did not go
the fuel system that did not work
has taken out a valve.
The car does not move anymore.
The problem is that
we don't have time.
We have less than 20 days.
It's pointless for him to take the cam,
just send back the engine.
He must do two cams,
he already knows what I mean.
We have to pull it out of the car
and send it to Novara.
There's not much time.
The car does not move anymore.
Now you're telling me that
you haven't done those things.
You did not check valve clearance.
I told you ten times.
Excuse me, I just wanted to say that
at Paul Ricard, we ran out of time.
We went against the piston,
that's for sure.
We are up to our neck in it.
Yes, I'd even say, we are in deep shit.
So, I won't say anything anymore
because we would only lose time.
I realised that I can't know
what happened.
Let's not talk about it anymore.
Then, you have to mount
the engine now.
1:17.
Can you tell me if you have oversteer?
Huh?
- Do you have any oversteer?
No, there is...
With stiffer springs you have the impression
that it is easier to drive.
I have to go to the office.
Stefano, I will send you everything
he tells me in the car
even while Paolo is driving.
But he said our work there
hasn't solved the problem yet.
Gaetano, look, first and last.
So if it rains we have to loosen
the shock absorbers in extension
front and back.
It won't rain.
Did you race with this car
many times?
Yes, because cars back then
lasted a long time.
We made many changes.
He, however,
has completely rebuilt the car
because he had to remove
all the pumps.
He is one of the original drivers
of the car.
Do you know what he'll make you do?
He'll make you drive!
He'll put a helmet on you.
Those times are gone.
All we want is to do well,
by which I mean, get to race.
Look, Derek Bell...
No, but Stefano now says
that we must be very careful
because he is starting
to have other ideas.
This is the original, sister to the other
in case you need some spares.
It took him eight months to build it.
Now is the time
for the Series F cars.
The F1 cars that marked the period
1966 to 1972.
They already got down on the track.
For them the reference time
is that of Katsuaki Kubota
already a highlight in the previous
session in the other series
here with the Lotus 72, 1971.
The weather is on the
drivers' side this morning
but as we know the meteorological conditions
here in Monaco are often unpredictable.
After only three laps, qualifying
sees Katsuaki Kubota in the lead
followed by Stuart Hall
and in third place the Ferrari 312B
driven by Paolo Barilla.
Until now their timings
are 1:36 for Kubota's Lotus
1:40 for Hall
and 1:41 for Paolo Barilla.
And although these are only
the first laps of qualifying
the drivers are already pushing
themselves to the limit
to earn the top spots
on the grid for tomorrow's race.
Who had problems?
The Lotus went straight
at the 'Tabac corner.'
He was the one
who was driving fastest.
He is Japanese, from Kakanui.
Right now you're just
five seconds slower than the best.
But the car is fine if I remove that
when I'm going fast, because it gives me...
Cars re-enter the track
after a short stop
put in place after an accident by
Katsuaki Kubota
whose racing chances are compromised.
Let's see how the other drivers
will be able to
benefit from the exclusion
of the one Who so far proved to be
the fastest driver on the track.
Remember that this is one of two
qualifying sessions today.
Let's now see the lap
of Paolo Barilla with his 312B.
If he improves on his time,
he will take pole position.
Now the Ferrari is passing the chicane
and driving towards the Swimming Pool section.
His lap time doesn't seem to have improved
after the short pit stop.
It could be better.
This completes the first
of the qualifying sessions for Series F.
In first position Stuart Hall,
then Smith-Hilliards Surtees
followed by Dayton's Brabham,
Kubota fourth
and Paolo Barilla in tenth position.
We'll see if the former Formula 1
driver improves his time
and takes the pole
in the afternoon session.
When they suspend the session
and you are there at the pits
the pump heats up.
Even if you keep the electric pump on,
it does not load fuel anymore.
We must solve the pump problem,
otherwise the engine doesn't work.
But the pump hasn't got a problem
if he keeps the electric pump on.
So if you leave the battery
you let the electric pump go
and the pump cools down.
It has always been like this,
it never had this problem!
We are having some problems.
We are missing 4cm to the roll-bar.
But we can't add it,
we have to saw it from the car.
Are you kidding me?
If I were Paolo, I wouldn't race.
It's raining, guys! It's raining!
Qualifying might start again
in a few minutes.
They won't make it,
it takes two or three hours of work.
I won't get ready.
Finish...
The second and final
qualifying session is about to begin
for Series F that we remember
includes Formula 1 cars
dating from the period
1966 to 1972.
Notably absent from this session
are Katsuaki Kubota's Lotus 72
and the Ferrari 312B
of Paolo Barilla.
Given the sudden weather change,
cars are equipped with rain tyres
and it will be difficult for the drivers
to improve on their earlier times.
But let's see if this final
qualifying session
will produce unexpected results.
So the second round of qualifying
came to an end
leaving the earlier results virtually intact.
Finished?
Paolo has retired.
No, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry too,
especially for you, Paolo.
The greatest disappointment
is that the project remains unfinished.
We had all these hopes,
all this work
this joint effort
made by lots of people
and I cannot honour it.
I was sorry for everyone involved,
especially those people who worked on it.
For me personally I lived it instead
as a great privilege
because to bring
the Ferrari to Monaco
to race it,
is an extraordinary thing.
Because of something stupid,
we missed out on our dream.
It bothered me
that it was a stupid thing.
It really did!
And also the way that everything
happened in a way
to get us there to the point
where we could not do anything else.
You know, you are disappointed
for the two years of work
for the little thing here
you say... damn!
Two pumps broke
within just a few road tests.
This part here took us
20 days to make.
The nice thing was
that at the end of the race
in front of the tribunes
by the Swimming Pool section
everyone applauded the car!
That leaves you with a sense
that what you are doing...
You always doubt if you're doing
something important
if you're only doing it for yourself,
being selfish
but if someone can really appreciate it
then you think it was the right thing to do,
because this car
can be a beautiful thing for anyone
who sees it, lives or feels it.
What happened wasn't important.
A Ferrari must express itself.
It must express itself on the track.
And a car can express itself
only at 100% of its possibilities.
For us it means pushing it to the limit
in order to make it live
as it once lived.
In the second half of the season
Ferrari and Lotus continue
to battle until the last turn
making the tyres screech
on the asphalt, wheel to wheel.
But despite Ickx managing to reach
the podium more often
it is Rindt who wins two more races,
one after the other.
And it is in England
that Regazzoni manages to fully earn
Enzo Ferrari's trust
and his place in the team.
In Hockenheim, just as the flag is lowered,
Rindt ends up in the field
but it only takes him one lap to
regain the second place behind Ickx.
It is again Rindt
who crosses the finish line first
beating Ickx
by only 7/10 of a second.
Rindt dominated the middle part
of the season
and won four races in a row.
There was not that perception
of being able to catch up
a guy and a car like that,
it looked like a closed championship.
But Ferrari had not yet shown
to be able to keep that pace there.
Just before the long awaited
Grand Prix of Italy
something incredible happens.
From the beginning,
this is Ferrari's day.
Regazzoni dominates on the first lap
but then Ickx overtakes him
and takes control.
The all-Italian temperament
of engineer Mauro Forghieri
is an explosive mix.
The triumph is all Ferrari's.
With Ickx and Regazzoni recording
the best lap in the same time.
Then the Ferrari
had an extraordinary comeback
with a first Ferrari double-win
in Austria
which was a bit... Austria has always
been an Italian appetizer.
The Monza Grand Prix
is a roulette
because it takes place
on a high-speed circuit.
I think our drivers
know what they have to do.
They must help each other
and try to reach the last lap.
As close to first position
as possible.
Jochen Rindt,
who is almost the world champion
only needs a few points
with four races left to go
in order to become 1970s
world champion.
Monza 1970, I was twelve.
I had two favourite drivers.
Rindt and Jackie Ickx,
fighting in that year.
The feeling for everyone was that
Rindt had already closed the scores
because he was in great shape.
The image was that of a driver
and a car that were unreachable.
There was a suspicion
that it was a dangerous car.
I remember that it was the first time
there was an invasion of the track.
And it was an incredible victory for us.
The public considered Clay Italian.
The image of 312B and the image
of Monza have always been one.
For that day, for that victory.
That celebration remains in history.
So it was a perfect day.
It was one of the most beautiful
racing periods of my life.