Piero Ferrari and Binotto lead tributes to legendary F1 engineer Forghieri

Forghieri is widely regarded as one of the key players in the history of Scuderia Ferrari, having been a team manager and both a chassis and engine designer with the Maranello outfit.

His stint with the company lasted from 1959 to 1987, encompassing some of its most memorable successes. He is credited with an involvement in 54 race wins and 11 world championships.

On the team’s website, Piero Ferrari recalled mediating between his father and Forghieri.

“When I joined the company in 1965, I shared an office with Cavalier Giberti, Ferrari’s first employee,” he said. “While Mauro Forghieri, taken on a few years earlier, was next door. We were therefore separated by 10 years of age and a window.

“In fact, we saw each other all day every day. Forghieri was energetic and passionate about everything he did. He was sanguine and I recall that in many of those interminable meetings at the Gestione Sportiva, that started in the evening and went on into the night, I mediated between him and my father.

“I know my father appreciated his tireless work ethic and he knew that any mistakes only came about through an attempt to do something better and to look ahead.

“We have lost a part of our history, a man who gave a great deal to Ferrari and to the world of racing in general.”

Chris Amon, Ferrari 312, Mauro Forghieri, chief engineer, Ferrari founder and owner Enzo Ferrari

Photo by: Motorsport Images

Binotto noted that Forghieri was a great motivator with a charismatic personality.

“Today is a very sad day for everyone at Scuderia Ferrari,” he said. “We mourn the passing of Mauro Forghieri, one of the most amazing people to have worked here.

“He was appointed as team manager at the age of 27 and, with his brilliant insights, he was one of the last all-round engineers in the car world.

“I met him on various occasions and each time was something special. He was, to the end, a truly charismatic individual.

“His revolutionary ideas, together with his vibrant nature, his abilities as a great motivator, meant he played a very important role in some of the most significant moments of Ferrari’s history and he did more than most to fuel the Prancing Horse legend. We will all miss him.”

Forghieri was also very much involved in Ferrari’s sportscar racing programme, which was shelved in the early 1970s.

Current head of GT sporting activities Antonello Coletta said: “Mauro Forghieri played a key role in fuelling the history of Ferrari.

“Enzo Ferrari claimed to be an agitator of men, and I think we can say that Forghieri was an agitator of ideas.

"He was a brilliant innovator, capable of coming up with technical solutions that eluded most of the engineers of his day.

“He was a designer who went beyond his defined role, who became a benchmark and a source of inspiration for everyone who worked with him.

"He was an eclectic designer and his curiosity and desire to push the boundaries sealed his place in the history of Ferrari and motorsport in general.”