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The first 'British' Ferrari

Ferrari's first monocoque Formula 1 car came about thanks to a small British company. Gary Watkins discovers one of the more remarkable stories of 1973

Pat Fry and James Allison may be at the top of the Ferrari technical tree today, but they aren't the first Brits to whom the Scuderia has turned for engineering expertise.

Even before John Barnard and his Surrey skunkworks in the late 1980s and Harvey Postlethwaite at the start of that decade, the Italians had swallowed their pride and looked north.

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Author Gary Watkins

Gary Watkins has, for reasons best known to himself, devoted all his working life to covering sportscar racing. This season is his 33rd as a motorsport journalist, during which time he has reported on major long-distance events on four continents and approaching 80 24-hour races. He reckons a degree in political philosophy makes him well qualified for covering the sometimes Machiavellian world of international sportscars.

Gary, who also writes for Motor Sport, Autocourse, RACER and others, lives in Surbiton close to the former workshops of the Cooper Formula 1 team but spends more time on the road than at home for most of the year.