The extraordinary legacy of Enzo Ferrari lives on

Ferrari's performance at the pinnacle of motorsport ebbs and flows, but the House Of Maranello remains arguably the strongest and most enduring element of Formula 1's foundation.

And the outstanding legacy of Enzo Ferrari remains intact.

The man known far and wide as Il Commendatore was born on 18 February 1898 in Modena, Italy, but his birth was only registered two days later due to heavy snow.

Ferrari's father was the son of a grocer from Capri who started a workshop fabricating metal parts at the family home.

Enzo was just ten when he saw Felice Nazzaro win the 1908 Circuit di Bologna. It inspired him to become a racing driver. But first he served in the Italian Army in World War 1, and narrowly survived the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic.

In the 1920s he achieved his dream of racing with Alfa Romeo, who then backed his efforts to set up his own short-lived race team.

© F1-Photo.com / Cahier Archive

After World War II, Enzo re-founded his eponymous race team that adopted the prancing horse as its logo in honour of Italian WW1 fighter pilot Francesco Baracca.

The team's open-wheel début took place in Turin in 1948. The first win came later in the year in Lago di Garda. In 1949 the team won the 24 Hours of Le Mans. And in 1950, Enzo enrolled the team in the newly-born Formula 1 World Championship.

Ferrari is the only team to have competed in F1 without a break ever since, and its legendary founder was one of the most dominant figures in motorsport.

Just weeks after Enzo's passing on August 14, 1988, Ferrari took a one-two victory at their home race at Monza.

Gerhard Berger led team mate Michele Alboreto across the line, the only race that year not won by McLaren's Ayrton Senna or Alain Prost.

It was a fitting farewell and tribute to Enzo Ferrari's outstanding contribution to the sport.

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