Ferrari 555 Super Qualo

Ferrari 555 Super Qualo

Constructor:	Scuderia Ferrari
Designer:	Aurelio Lampredi
Predecessor:	Ferrari 625F1 (chronological) Ferrari 553 Squalo (technical)
Successor:	Ferrari D50
Technical specifications
Chassis:	Tubular space frame
Engine:	Ferrari V6 with 2417.33 cm³
Length:	3988 mm
Width:	1427 mm
Height:	1020 mm
Wheelbase:	2160 mm
Weight:	590 kg
Tires:	Englebert Dunlop
Petrol:	Shell
statistics
Driver:	Eugenio Castellotti Mike Hawthorn Nino Farina Maurice Trintignant Piero Taruffi Harry Schell
First start:	1955 Monaco Grand Prix
Last start:	1955 Italian Grand Prix
Starts Victories Poles SR 4th - - -
World Cup points:	k. A. / tba
Podiums:	k. A. / tba
Leadership laps:	k. A. / tba

The Ferrari 555 Supersqualo was a Formula 1 racing car , the Ferrari 1955 in the automotive world championship einse

Development history

The 555 Supersqualo was the consistent technical development of the 553 Squalo . The direct, chronological predecessor, the Ferrari 625F1 , was passed over due to the incompatibility with the regulations (valid at that time). The vehicle was completely redesigned, got a new tubular space frame , new radiators and a lower body. The 2.5-liter engine that was already used in the 553 was retained.

Racing history

The car made its Formula 1 debut at the Monaco Grand Prix . Even the 553 was difficult to drive. An unfavorable weight distribution, which could only be partially remedied in the 555, made the coordination work difficult for the pilots. The “wrong” Ferrari won in Monaco: Maurice Trintignant surprisingly won with the Ferrari 625F1 . Piero Taruffi , who had taken over Paul Frère's car after an early retirement , couldn't get past eighth place. Harry Schell in the third 555 retired with engine failure.

The success of the 555 remained modest. The season suffered from many important race cancellations. After the Le Mans disaster, the motorsport world was in shock and the Formula 1 season shrank to seven races. However, the 555 would have needed many races to become serious competition for Mercedes-Benz . The third places of Giuseppe Farina at the Belgian Grand Prix in Spa-Francorchamps and Eugenio Castellotti at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza remained the best results for this type of race. Overall, the 555 were only used 14 times. Until the late 1950s, some 555s in private hands were still running at dozens of racing events.

Trivia

The name "Squalo" means "shark" in Italian. The car originally got this name because of its elongated nose. The extensive modifications for the 1955 season made it a “super qualo”.

The metal sheets behind the front wheels are not aerodynamic aids, as often described, but only “rudimentary fenders” that prevent dirt, stones, rain, etc. from being stirred up.

A 555 was fitted with a Lancia V8 engine and sold to Argentina.

Race results

In the table below, only the results of the “Super Qualo” with the respective pilots are listed. Information on the types used at the same time and the respective drivers can be found in the footnotes.

• The first five of each race got 8, 6, 4, 3 and 2 points, respectively; there was another point for the fastest race lap.
• The best five results were evaluated.

year	team	tires	driver								Points
1955	Scuderia Ferrari	Englebert Dunlop	Piero Taruffi	1	8 5	1	1	1	12	12	tba
			Harry Schell	2	DNF 6	1	DNS 11	9	8th	1	tba
			Nino Farina	3 3	4 7	1	3	9	1	14th	tba
			Paul Brother	1	8 5	1	4th	9	1	1	tba
			Maurice Trintignant	3 3	1	1	6th	DNF 10	DNF 6	8th	tba
			Eugenio Castellotti	4th	4th	1	4th	5	DNF 10	3	tba
			Mike Hawthorn	1	8th	1	8th	7th	6 13	DNF 10 15	tba
			Umberto Maglioli	3 3	1	1	1	1	1	6th	tba

¹ Not on the registration list

² Started this race for Maserati

³Maglioli and Farina drove the number 10 Ferrari in the practice sessions and started the race with it. Trintignant took over the vehicle during the race.

^4th Started this race for Lancia

⁵ Piero Taruffi did the training, in the race he drove 50 laps, Paul Frère drove 36 laps.

^6th Engine failure

^7th In this race on the Ferrari 625F1

^8th Started this race for Vanwall

⁹ Farina, Schell and Frère no longer drove for the Scuderia, but Eugenio Castellotti came to the team, as Lancia had completely withdrawn from Formula 1, and Mike Hawthorn returned to Ferrari.

¹⁰ transmission

¹¹ Schell drove the car in practice, Maurice Trintignant in the race.

¹² Started this race for Mercedes

¹³ Hawthorn drove the car 60 laps, Eugenio Castellotti 27 laps.

^14th Farina in this race with the successor model Ferrari D50 at the start

^15th Hawthorn used both types at the WE, which he used in the race is currently unclear.

Legend
colour	abbreviation	meaning
gold	-	victory
silver	-	2nd place
bronze	-	3rd place
green	-	Placement in the points
blue	-	Classified outside the point ranks
violet	DNF	Race not finished (did not finish)
	NC	not classified
red	DNQ	did not qualify
	DNPQ	failed in pre-qualification (did not pre-qualify)
black	DSQ	disqualified
White	DNS	not at the start (did not start)
	WD	withdrawn
Light Blue	PO	only participated in the training (practiced only)
	TD	Friday test driver
without	DNP	did not participate in the training (did not practice)
	INJ	injured or sick
	EX	excluded
	DNA	did not arrive
	C.	Race canceled
		no participation in the World Cup
other	P / bold	Pole position
	SR / italic	Fastest race lap
	*	not at the finish, but counted due to the distance covered
	()	Streak results
	underlined	Leader in the overall standings

literature

• David Hodges: Racing cars from A to Z after 1945. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-613-01477-7 .
• Pino Casamassima: Storia della Scuderia Ferrari. Nada Editore, Vimodrome 1998, ISBN 88-7911-179-5 .
• Leonardo Acerbi: 60 years of Ferrari. Heel, Königswinter 2007, ISBN 978-3-89880-815-6

Web links

Commons : Ferrari 555 Supersqualo  - Collection of images, videos and audio files