126 C2

On May 8, one of Ferrari’s and the world’s most popular drivers Gilles Villeneuve was killed practice. Barely three months later, Didier Pironi, who had a very strong lead in the rankings having won Imola and Zandvoort, was severely injured in the German Grand Prix warm-up and had to pull out of the rest of the season. The 126 C2 proved itself to be quite a competitive car and in the end, won the Constructors’ title, thanks in part to Patrick Tambay (first at Hockenheim) and Mario Andretti, who were called in to replace the two unlucky drivers.

The car was a development of the previous model but was about 20 kg lighter. It retained the engine solution with twin overhead compressors with just one wastegate valve. Each compressor received the exhaust gas from a line of cylinders and fed the opposite line to achieve a kind of fluid dynamic balance. The race for power had also begun and this was achieved by increasing the supercharged pressure.