Enzo Ferrari The prancing horse motif of Ferrari is one of the best known icons in motor sport. Enzo Ferrari took the emblem from the First World War Italian fighter ace Francesco Baracca - click here to find out more about this Italian air ace. Enzo Ferrari was born in 1898 and in his early years he enjoyed some success as a racing driver. He joined Alfa Romeo in 1920 as a driver but he soon moved to the technical and design side. In 1929, Alfa Romeo withdrew from motor racing and Ferrari took over their workshops under the name Scuderia Ferrari, and continued to build what were essentially Alfa Romeo cars. It was after World War 2, in 1947 that the first 'true' Ferrari single seater design was produced and Ferrari soon gained a reputation for reliability. The Glory Years The FIA Formula 1 Championship was launched in 1950 and was initially dominated by Alfa Romeo but in 1951 at the British GP, Ferrari achieved their first win – the first of many Grand Prix victories. The driver was Froilan Gonzalez. Alberto Ascari - Drivers World Champion 1952 & 1953 Ferrari took the Drivers World Championship in 1952 and 1953 with Alberto Ascari driving one of the all-time classic single seater racing cars – the Ferrari 500. In two seasons – 1952 and 1953 the Ferrari 500 won every Grand Prix except just one race. The mid-1950s saw Mercedes-Benz return to and dominate Grand Prix racing but the 'silver arrows' team withdrew from motor sport after one of their sports cars crashed into the crowd at the 1955 Le Mans 24 hour race. The great Argentinean driver Juan-Manuel Fangio who won the 1955 Drivers World Championship driving for Mercedes moved to Ferrari. Juan-Manuel Fangio - one of the all time great drivers took the World Championship for Ferrari in 1956 Ferrari took over Lancia's formula 1 car design (Lancia was having financial problems) and this raced as the Lancia-Ferrari and Fangio took the Drivers World Championship for Ferrari in 1956. Fangio however had a strained relationship with Enzo Ferrari and moved to the rival Maserati team the following season. Mike Hawthorn 1958 Drivers World Champion In 1958, Mike Hawthorn driving for Ferrari became the first British World Drivers Champion. But Grand Prix racing was changing – a new formula with a 1.5 litre normally aspirated engine was introduced and rear engined cars became the ‘standard’. Ferrari produced the famous ‘shark nosed’ GP car and Phil Hill of the United States took the 1961 Drivers World Championship with this car, after his team mate Wolfgang von Trips was killed in racing accident at the Italian Grand Prix.