A life in the spotlight, always the protagonist and in any case. And then the farewell in silence, on a hot day in August.
It was the 14th, eve of the 15th of August, a day dedicated to absolute rest.
Just 30 years ago. That morning Enzo Ferrari left the earthly world and his story became the legend of a man who, from his passion for cars, made it a world-wide myth. The funeral took place almost sneakily, in silence, in contrast to the roar of the engines that had accompanied him for a lifetime. Yet Enzo Ferrari, 30 years later, remains something unique on the world scene. A name and a myth that gathers millions of fans on the F1 tracks.
A factory that produces records and dream cars, with people willing to wait years to have an exclusive model. Today, 30 years later, what remains of Enzo Ferrari's Ferrari? It's easy to say that it's a consolidated reality, one of the most famous brands in the world, which after its listing on the stock exchange has shown a unique capitalization perhaps of its kind.
All that remains of yesterday's Ferrari, in Maranello, is the Commendatore's office and small house, as everyone called him. Industrial methods have changed, technology is the master. Of the two thousand or three thousand cars a year, we have increased to over 7500. Turnover is clear. But Ferrari's history is one of racing, competition, drivers and challenges. And one of the most emblematic drivers in the history of Ferrari, Arturo Merzario, tries to tell it 30 years later.
"It's difficult to make comparisons - says the driver from Como, who at 75 years old is still on the world's tracks - today's Ferrari is something else, there's nothing left of Enzo. The working methods, the fear of those who worked for him at the time. I'll give just one example: when he entered the building where the cars were built, silence fell. He was almost feared, respected and venerated. But it really aroused fear. A look at him, an observation of him, could decide a person's destiny. It was a company in the true sense of the word, and yet 30 years ago, when he died, it was already an industrial reality of a certain level, and yet he kept everything under control, with a firm fist that few managers have ever had". So if today it remains a Ferrari myth it's because the commendatore has been able to leave a unique mark... "No, and I don't want to make it a provocation. If today's Ferrari has remained so and has even grown up as a myth in the world, it is due to those who have been able to take the baton. That is, I give credit to Luca Cordero Di Montezemolo. You can say everything and the opposite of everything about Luca, but the Ferrari of the late 80s and early 90s was on the verge of collapse. The Fiat executives who took over during the interregnum period only did damage. Montezemolo imposed his figure, he pushed on the sport, which is the lifeblood of Ferrari and then, with the epic Schumacher, he built the foundations of a myth unique in the world.
Montezemolo, like Enzo Ferrari, might seem a little too much according to some... "No, because Ferrari, however big, is a company that needs the steady hand of a single person. After Montezemolo, Sergio Marchionne, another wrist manager, was succeeding. Unfortunately, he disappeared earlier and, I don't think the Ferraristas want him to, I'm afraid that the next two or three years will be difficult. It's a company with a precise DNA, marked by Enzo Ferrari, followed by Montezemolo and then by Marchionne. It takes people of this kind to continue the myth. If it ends up in the hands of some FCA manager, it ends badly. You don't have to improvise passion, history and DNA at school, you need your wrist and skills".
You raced for Ferrari and you're the only one who gave the commendatore a "tu", how come? "A bit of youthful unconsciousness, I was 24 years old, he was already around 70. I was used to racing for Abarth, who was always Mr Abarth but we had a very simple attitude. That's why I used to do this. In fact, I entered the commendatore's office smoking cigarettes when no one did. I remember being in Imola in the spring of 1969, when Enzo Ferrari called me. I told him I was busy with Abarth and we'd be in touch in September. Which I did on time. I entered with my friend Marco Crovella, who accompanied me, I saw an open green gate and entered parking the car near the entrance. Two caretakers attacked me, with bad words, and they wanted to arrest me.
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