Managers who let themselves be guided less by emotions than rather make objective decisions, who proceed less improvising than methodically, seem to have been rather rare in Italy at that time. Enzo Ferrari was probably not one of them, which is probably why he was probably not exactly happy about the appointment of Ugo Gobbato as the new boss of Alfa.

Since the fascists in power absolutely pushed the production of military goods forward, the new boss was forced to hand over the racing department to the Scuderia. The consequence of this greater involvement was for Ferrari to join the party in 1934. Probably more painful that the famous Jano and his team now had to deal exclusively with aircraft engines and later also with diesel engines.

Otherwise the prospects for the year were hopeful, as the Scuderia was able to dispose of six P3s and both the experienced Achille Varzi and the youthful, hopeful Guy Moll. In addition to the vehicles, Tazio Nuvolari would probably have made the team the best ever, but Varzi and Nuvolari should never be together in a team again due to a decision by Varzi.

Nuvolari switched to Bugatti. The coches were considered out of date due to the adherence to the previous things. Maserati was at an intermediate stage. The eldest brother Alfieri died in 1932 and the sale to the Osi sibling group did not take place until 1937. But a new, much worse threat casted its shadow ahead, the fact that GP cars are subject to just only one restriction, namely a weight of maximum 750 kg without tires and liquids.

You probably know the story that the first Silver Arrow was created because Alfred Neubauer had a body that was approx. 1 kg too heavy and therefore sanded it shortly before the race, which revealed the bare aluminum. The two German companies were subsidized by the Nazi government without end, and through their enormous pressure they developed vehicles that were gradually far superior to the Italians.

There were three phases. In the first, these vehicles were still under development, there was still calm before the storm. They competed in the second, but they weren't quite ready yet. But then at some point there was no more fun and Enzo Ferrari seemed to have suspected this from the start of development, the more data leaked from the new cars. At some point the Alfa P3 had to compete against the Mercedes W25 with 110 kW (150 hp) and the Type A from Auto Union with a good 74 kW (100 hp) more.

And if that's not enough, take a look at the chassis, with Mercedes an independent suspension at the front and a De-Dion axle at the rear and with Type A as a mid-engine with double crankshafts at the front and swing axle at the rear, not to mention hydraulic brakes, five-speed transmissions and other vibration technology. But what was perhaps considered worse in Italy was the development potential of the two types of vehicles. They almost doubled their performance over time.

Despite exhortations to fight for your own country, the first overlaps occurred in 1934. Fagioli drove for Mercedes, Caracciola sat in one of Ferrari's Alfas at the Mille Miglia. Sensations were largely absent, apart from the high- speed race on the Avus, which two Italians won because Mercedes didn't even take part and Auto Union had to give up due to damage. The Scuderia also took a triple victory in the French GP, which was seen as the first real test of strength.

The year could have been perfect if Guy Moll hadn't died in an extremely risky overtaking maneuver in Pescara and Tazio Nuvolari hadn't beaten the Scuderia in a Maserati in front of a home crowd. In 1935 almost everything was done that could help against the Germans, as long as it was financially possible. Two particularities were remarkable for Ferrari this year.

First there was an Alfa with each one engine in front of and behind the driver. In both Formula Libre races, the construction turned out to be too heavy and tire-killing. After all, a route record of 336 km/h came out on the motorway from Florence to Viareggio. Nuvolari, who had returned to the Scuderia, drove, of course. He then also managed the feat of winning the German Grand Prix in front of overwhelming competition.

But then it ended. The Germans had finally made their vehicles stable. The year 1936 was successful for Bernd Rosemeyer from Auto Union, while after that Mercedes dominated the scene more, especially when Rosemeyer died in a record attempt in early 1938. The last disgrace was still ahead of the Scuderia, in the form of the Alfetta above. It will undoubtedly achieve fame, but not until the post-war GPs.

Its 1.5 liter displacement did not yet fit into the regulations. It was also designed more for races that were out of reach for the Germans. The racing formula for GPs held in Italy had been changed in the direction of 1.5 liters without further ado, but it was not expected that Mercedes would be able to produce such a car in just five months. It happened as it had to happen that Mercedes won in Tripoli, which at that time also belonged to Italy.

The entire racing department had long since been relocated to Milan under the new Alfa boss Gobbato, but Ferrari remained the sports director. At the end of 1939, this was also over, Enzo was dismissed.