Under the bodywork of the Ferrari 312B3 on the anniversary of Niki Lauda's first F1 win

This was the beginning of a Ferrari renaissance after a dismal 1973, one which would see them take three consecutive constructors' championships from 1975 onwards.

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The impetus of those glories really came from the 1974 car created by Ferrari’s design genius Mauro Forghieri, reinvigorated after a year in ‘the wilderness’ as a result of internal politics.

Team boss Enzo Ferrari had been away from the factory with an illness for several months in 1972-73, but by the summer of ’73 was back to full health. One of the first things he did on his return to work was to bring Forghieri back from ‘special projects’ anonymity to head up the technical department once more.

In the latter part of the ’73 season the team ran a Forghieri-modified version of the original ’73 car, still carrying the same 312B3 type number but in reality quite different, with side-mounted – rather than front – radiators and new suspension.

Forghieri’s theme with these modifications was to more fully centralise the car’s mass. The more the mass can be centralised, the more agile the car will be. The cornering forces will build up more quickly but with less momentum, giving better direction change.