The Ferrari 156 was a racing car made by Ferrari in 1961 to comply with then-new Formula One regulations that reduced engine displacement from 2.5- to 1.5-litres, similar to the pre-1961 Formula Two class for which Ferrari had developed a mid-engined car also called 156 F2.
Phil Hill won the 1961 World Championship of Drivers[1] and Ferrari secured the 1961 International Cup for F1 Manufacturers,[2] both victories achieved with the 156.[3]
The 1961 version was affectionately dubbed "sharknose" due to its characteristic air intake "nostrils". A similar intake duct styling was applied to the five SP-series Ferraris[4] in 1961 and 1962 that were also designed by Carlo Chiti, and then again over forty years later to the Ferrari F430.
Ferrari started the season with a 65-degree Dino engine, then replaced by a new engine with the V-angle increased to 120-degrees and designed by Carlo Chiti. A V-6 engine with 120-degree bank is smoother at producing power because every 120-degree rotation of engine crankshaft produces a power pulse. This change increased the power by . Bore and stroke were 73mm58.8mm with a displacement of 1476.6cc and a claimed at 9500 rpm.[5] For 1962, a 4-valve per cylinder version was planned with at 10,000 rpm, but never appeared. At the 1962 British Grand Prix, Phil Hill raced a new version with a six-speed transmission mounted in front of the engine. In August, at the German Grand Prix, Lorenzo Bandini tested a non-sharknose variant with modified front and rear suspension and a smaller radiator,[6] heralding the 156 Aero used in 1963.
The updated Ferrari 156, used in the 1963 and 1964 seasons, did not feature the distinctive sharknose design.[7] but had a rather conventional intake, somewhat larger than the Ferrari 158 introduced in 1964.
In 1963 the 120° V6 employed Bosch direct-fuel injection instead of carburetors and output increased to 147 kW (197 hp). The last victory for the Ferrari 156 was achieved by Italian Lorenzo Bandini in the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix.[8]
| ----- bgcolor="#DDDDDD" ! width="22%" | Technical data ! width="26%" | 156 F1 ! width="26%" | 156 Aero | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Engine: | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | displacement
| 1476.6 cm³ | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Bore x stroke: | 73 x 58.8 mm | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Compression
| 9.8:1 | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Max power at rpm: | 190 hp at 9 500 rpm | 205 hp at 10 500 rpm | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Valve control: | Double Overhead Camshafts per cylinder bank, 2 valves per cylinder | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Fuel system: | 2 pcs Weber 40 IF3C | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Gearbox
| 5-speed manual | 6-speed manual | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | suspension front: | Double cross links, coil springs | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | suspension rear: | Double cross links, coil springs | Upper transverse link, lower triangle link, double longitudinal links, coil springs, anti-roll bars | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Brakes: | Hydraulic disc brakes | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Chassis & body: | Frackersframe with aluminum body | Self-supporting monocoque | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Wheelbase
| 230 cm | 238 cm | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Dry weight
| 420 kg | 460 kg | ----- bgcolor="#EEEEEE" | Dry speed: | 260 km/h | |||||||||||
On September 10, 1961, after a collision with Jim Clark's Lotus on the second lap of the Italian Grand Prix, the 156 of Wolfgang von Trips (Hill's teammate) became airborne and crashed into a side barrier, fatally throwing him from the car and killing fifteen spectators.
Ferrari factory policy in the early 1960s meant that all the original cars were scrapped.[9] Since then at least two replicas of the 156 F1 have been constructed. One was created for the film La Passione, which features the car as a major subject, and another was constructed by an enthusiast for personal use.[10] A 156 replica is also exhibited in the "Galleria Ferrari".[11]
(key) (results in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | Tyres | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Points | WCC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC | Ferrari 188 1.5 V6 Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 | MON | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | USA | 40 (52) | 1st | |||||
| Richie Ginther | 2 | 5 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 8 | Ret | DNA | ||||||||
| Phil Hill | 3 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 1 | DNA | ||||||||
| Wolfgang von Trips | 4 | 1 | 2 | Ret | 1 | 2 | Ret | |||||||||
| Olivier Gendebien | 4 | |||||||||||||||
| Willy Mairesse | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||||
| Ricardo Rodríguez | Ret | |||||||||||||||
| Pedro Rodríguez | DNA | |||||||||||||||
| FISA | Giancarlo Baghetti | 1 | ||||||||||||||
| Scuderia Sant Ambroeus | Ret | Ret | ||||||||||||||
| Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC | Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 | NED | MON | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | USA | RSA | 18 | 6th | ||||
| Phil Hill | 3 | 2 | 3 | DNA | Ret | Ret | 11 | |||||||||
| Giancarlo Baghetti | 4 | Ret | DNA | 10 | 5 | DNA | ||||||||||
| Ricardo Rodríguez | Ret | DNS | 4 | DNA | DNA | 6 | 14 | |||||||||
| Lorenzo Bandini | 3 | DNA | Ret | 8 | DNA | |||||||||||
| Willy Mairesse | 7 | Ret | 4 | DNA | ||||||||||||
| Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC | Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 | MON | BEL | NED | FRA | GBR | GER | ITA | USA | MEX | RSA | 26 | 4th | |||
| Willy Mairesse | Ret | Ret | Ret | |||||||||||||
| John Surtees | 4 | Ret | 3 | Ret | 2 | 1 | Ret | 9 | DSQ | Ret | ||||||
| Ludovico Scarfiotti | DNA | 6 | DNS | |||||||||||||
| Lorenzo Bandini | Ret | 5 | Ret | 5 | ||||||||||||
| Scuderia Ferrari SpA SEFAC | Ferrari 178 1.5 V6 | MON | NED | BEL | FRA | GBR | GER | AUT | ITA | USA | MEX | 45 (49) | 1st | |||
| Lorenzo Bandini | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Ludovico Scarfiotti | 9 | |||||||||||||||
| North American Racing Team | Pedro Rodríguez | 6 |