Anyone who lives beyond man’s natural span of “three score years and 10” has to be respected, and to live a further 20 years demands admiration. If that man has devoted nearly 70 of those years to a passion for racing cars and motor racing, then those of us who believe in motor racing as a way of life must hold the greatest admiration for such a man, and such a man was Enzo Ferrari.

From 1920 to 1938 his name was synonymous with Alfa Romeo, and in Italy Alfa Romeo was motor racing. In 1947 Ferrari struck out on his own as the manufacturer of Ferrari cars, and they have become more of a part of the Italian way of life in motoring and motor racing than even Alfa Romeo. If Enzo Ferrari had not fallen out with Wilfredo Ricart, Alfa Romeo’s chief engineer, in 1938, he might never have started his own firm and a Ferrari car might never have been born. The name of Ferrari would undoubtedly have stayed with motor racing, for it was Ferrari’s passion, even to becoming an obsession.

In his early days it was grand prix racing that was his true love, and in the 1930s he ran a powerful team that kept the name Alfa Romeo in the forefront of grand prix racing. In 1948 Ferrari committed his new factory to a programme of Formula 1 racing, and to this day the name Ferrari has been in the sport consistently, missing the odd race here and there, but never missing a season. If for nothing else, 40 years of continuous support for grand prix racing shows a dedication beyond normal understanding.