Ferrari 125 F1

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  and famed designer,  Gioacchino Colombo.

[ Mechanical details
The 125 F1 used a supercharged  1.5 L  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 2160 mm (85 in) wheelbase was uprated to 2320 mm (91 in) in the 1949 redesign.

The 125 F1 was powered by Gioacchino Colombo 's 1.5 L (1497 cc/91 in³) 60°  V12. 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 hp (172 kW) 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 Valentino Grand Prix  on September 5, 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 280 hp (209 kW) 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year, but the problematic superchargers were dropped in favor of larger displacement and Lampredi's 275 engine  superseded the original Ferrari engine.

Racing
The 125 F1 debuted at the Valentino Grand Prix  on September 5, 1948. Three cars were fielded, with drivers Prince Bira  of  Siam,  Nino Farina , and  Raymond Sommer  who placed third in the race.

Complete Formula One World Championship results
( key ) (results in bold indicate pole position, results in italics indicate fastest lap)