History & photos via Girardo & Co
This 1995 Ferrari 412 T2 Formula One car was driven by Jean Alesi during the 1995 Formula One World Championship, and ended up in Michael Schumacher’s hands as he tested with the team prior to his first season with them in 1996. It’s up for sale at Girardo & Co.
The car, chassis 157, was the second 412 T2 built by Ferrari. It was handed to Jean Alesi for the season-opening Brazilian Grand Prix at Autódromo José Carlos Pace in 1995. Alesi qualified for the race in sixth, picking up one place to finish fifth.
For the Gran Premio de Argentina, 157 was allocated to Alesi as his spare car. It would see action after Alesi spun going into turn one, causing a restart which he took in chassis 157. Leading at one point, he’d eventually score a comfortable second place finish.
The 412 T2 would take to the track for a third time in round three of the 1995 season – the Gran Premio di San Marino held on Ferrari home turf at Imola. Alesi put the car on the third row of the grid in fifth and fought his way up in the race, passing his teammate Gerhard Berger to finish second.
Michael Schumacher would eventually claim the 1995 Formula One World Drivers’ title, defending his 1994 World Championship title in a dominant season driving for Benetton. Schumacher saw Ferrari on a strong trajectory and signed with the team for the next two seasons. On November 16th, 1995, he headed to the Ferrari test track in Maranello and tested for the team in this car, chassis 157 – his first time driving a Ferrari Formula One car.
Less than a week later, the team traveled to Estoril for more testing in 157. After 28 laps of testing, Schumacher pushed the Ferrari to a 1:21.20 – 0.7 seconds faster than Gerhard Berger had gone in qualifying for the Portuguese Grand Prix.
Following its time with the team, the car would move into the custodianship of Peter Fandel. In 2000 it was acquired by Klaas Zwart, who got it back into motorsport including a demonstration at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix.
In 2013 the Ferrari made its way to its current owner, who had it inspected and certified by Ferrari Classiche. They returned it to Maranello in 2018, where it was rebuilt to race ready condition.
For the full details on this stunning, successful and significant 1995 Ferrari 412 T2, head to Girardo & Co’s official website here.
History & photos via Girardo & Co
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