Video: Sainz tests the mythical Ferrari 412 P in Fiorano

October 14, 2022

Being a Ferrari driver has its advantages, and one of them is trying out motorsport jewels, as has happened with Carlos Sainz and a 412 P at the Fiorano circuit. The Spaniard was put at the controls of one of the most beloved and remembered machines in the history of the Prancing Horse, restored by the Classiche department of the Maranello firm.

In addition to the special occasion of getting into that vehicle, the man from Madrid did it on the 50th anniversary of the inauguration of the Ferrari test track, but the most important thing came from the hand of the spectacular car that 55 years ago, in the 24 Hours of Daytona, he arrived in formation with two other racing cars for a trio at the top of the podium.

In that 1967 race, Ford had planned to dominate, but Ferrari’s hunger to win at the home of his greatest rival at that time was such that they made a weapon to beat the evolution of the GT40. In this way, the car driven by Lorenzo Bandini and Chris Amon took the victory, accompanied on the podium by the duo of Mike Parkes and Ludovico Scarfiotti , and the couple formed by Pedro Rodriguez and Jean Guichet .

The victory was the answer to the painful defeat in the 24 Hours of Le Mans the previous year, and the arrival at the finish line was orchestrated in a very particular way, since reaching the end of the test, the team spoke by phone with Maranello , who decided to perform a publicity stunt by putting their three cars in parallel across the finish line.

“It was very exciting,” said Carlos Sainz as he got out of the Prancing Horse vehicle. “I had never driven a sports prototype car, let alone one from that era, it was very different to anything I’ve driven so far.”

“Only Ferrari can allow you to experience something like this,” acknowledged the Spaniard who is still fighting in the general classification of the 2022 Formula 1 season to achieve the runner-up position.

The team wanted to thank the man from Madrid for his time behind the wheel of the 412 P with which they achieved so much success: “Thank you [Carlos] for taking us back to February 5, 55 years ago.”