Franco Cortese: The Very First Ferrari Driver

Quick and eager, Franco Cortese was a notable Ferrari driver and will always be remembered as ‘the first one’.

In hindsight, driving for Ferrari might just be his proudest achievement.

Italian racing mogul

Born in 1903 in Oggebio, Italy, Franco Cortese started his professional racing career aged 24. He entered the first edition of the Mille Miglia driving an Itala 61. Together with his teammate M. Baroncini, he finished 8^th. Cortese would go on to finish the tough race 14 times, a record that still stands as of today a record that technically still stands today, as the event hasn’t been held since 1957.

Franco Cortese in the Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 (1938).

Other big achievements before teaming up with Enzo Ferrari include podiums in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and first places in the Coppa Acerbo. He also got to drive early Alfa Romeo and Maserati cars, helping to establish the young automakers.

In 1936, Cortese founded Scuderia Ambrosiana together with fellow Italian racing drivers Giovanni Lurani, Eugenio Minetti and Luigi Villoresi. They raced in blue and black, inspired by the colours of Inter Milan. In the early years, the team primarily drove the Maserati 6CM but were never able to win a race. Their first race win came in 1946 when they drove a Lancia Astura to a first place in Modena. A one-time Formula 2 entry was realized in 1951 at the Italian Grand Prix of Monza, but their used Ferrari 166 F2 was unable to complete the race.

A surprising Targa Florio victory came in 1951 when the team entered a Frazer Nash into the Italian endurance race. Franco Cortese drove the British car to first place with an average speed of 76.5 kph (47.5 mph).

Piacenza 1947

Franco Cortese already raced with Scuderia Ferrari in 1935, where he drove an Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 together with Francesco Severi to an 8^th place result. Then, in 1947, when Enzo Ferrari decided to start a racing company under his own name, signing Cortese was rather big news. He was a big driver back then, with a large racing record. Another selling point for Enzo was the fact that Cortese helped sell machine tools that the Ferrari factory built during the Second World War. The decision was made definite after Cortese won the 1946 Egyptian Grand Prix, beating the almighty Alberto Ascari.

Ferrari sent a contract Cortese’s way in April 1947 and offered him a seat in the upcoming Ferrari 125 S. He signed it and the rest is history…

Scuderia Ferrari built and prepared the Ferrari 125 S for a race in Piacenza, Italy, on 11 May 1947. The team’s initial plan was to enter with two cars, but after the second driver, Nino Farina, refused to race, only one Ferrari was used.

Cortese’s misfortunes in the race began almost immediately, as the car could not reach it maximum potential due to an overfilled sump. He pulled into the pits and his team drained the excess oil. He then re-joined and was gaining speed and positions until a broken fuel pump forced Cortese to retire the race altogether.

1947 Rome Grand Prix

Just two weeks later, Ferrari was back on track. The team entered the Roma Grand Prix and Franco Cortese was back behind the wheel of the Ferrari 125 S. It went better than expected, and Cortese completed 40 laps with an average speed of 88.5 kph (55 mph) and ultimately achieved Ferrari’s first victory.

A week after this victory, Cortese and his team entered the car in a race in Vercelli and won again. Four races (a first place, a second place and two DNFs) would follow before Ferrari updated the 125 S and named it the Ferrari 159 S. The car was fitted with a larger engine and minor visual changes. Cortese drove the car to a second finish in its first race at Pescara, trailing only Vincenzo Auricchio in his Stanguellini.

Cortese as Ferrari driver

Cortese’s focused then briefly switched to other automakers, such as Frazer Nash, Alfa Romeo and Fiat, before fully returning to the Prancing Horse in 1953. His first drive back with Maranello was in a Ferrari 250 MM with Bruno Sterzi. The pair finished 8^th during the 10 Hours of Messina.

A Ferrari 250 MM, similar as to what Cortese drove.

Looking at his racing record, it could well be that he preferred driving open-top cars because his subsequent entries were either in the Ferrari 166 MM or the 500 Mondial.

Cortese during testing of the Ferrari 500 TR.

He won the 1956 Italian 2.0-litre sports car championship in a Ferrari 500 TR, with three race wins. His last race was in October 1958 at Innsbruck, Austria, piloting his Ferrari to a 7^th place finish. In total, he entered 58 races with a Ferrari, and below is a complete overview of those entries.

Source: Wikipedia

Cortese’s later life

After retiring from racing, it’s said Franco Cortese became an advisor for car component manufactures. He passed away on 13 November 1986 in Milan.

Art print of Franco Cortese driving the Ferrari 125 S. Limited run, get yours here!

Written by Max Lammers. Join our email list if you’re interested in receiving the latest on our online magazine and store.