Working for Mr. Ferrari

A firsthand look at the inner workings Of Ferrari by race team manager Romolo Tavoni, as told to Chris Nixon

Romolo Tavoni spent more than a decade working for Enzo Ferrari, first as his secretary, then as team manager of Scuderia Ferrari. They were turbulent years involving triumph and tra­gedy, however the relationship ended abruptly when Tavoni and seven other executives were fired, late in 1961.

Now in his mid-seventies, Tavoni is a big man with a deep bass voice. He also has a keen sense of humor, so laughter is seldom far away during any conversation. He began his career in 1946 as a bookkeeper with Officine Mas­erati but in October, 1949 he left to try his hand at banking, with Credito Italiano in Mo­dena. “The manager had given Enzo Ferrari a loan to build a new factory in Maranello and one day he told me that Mr. Ferrari needed a secretary for two months. He asked me to take the job because he was sure that the factory would grow and bring good business to the bank.