The 1987 season should have been a celebration for Ferrari. Their new turbocharged monsters were fire-breathing works of art, capable of bending physics to their will. But in the sanctity of the Scuderia’s garage, a civil war was brewing – one measured in horsepower and whispered accusations.
The rumor started as pitlane gossip, the kind mechanics exchange over espresso between sessions: “Alboreto’s engine isn’t the same as Berger’s.” At first it was dismissed as typical Italian melodrama. Then the telemetry started telling a different story.
The Smoking Gun in the Data
Michele Alboreto, Ferrari’s loyal soldier since ’84, was noticing something strange. On identical power settings, Berger’s car would rocket out of corners like it had been shot from a cannon. The straight-line speed differences were impossible to ignore:
- At Monza’s Parabolica, Berger gained 0.8 seconds just on acceleration
- Top speed traps showed consistent 12-15 km/h advantages
- Engine harmonics on Alboreto’s car sounded noticeably duller
The open secret? Berger’s engine was rumored to be packing an extra 200 horsepower – enough to turn a midfield car into a winner overnight.
Barnard’s Shadow War
John Barnard, Ferrari’s brilliant but divisive English designer, stood at the center of the storm. His revolutionary carbon-fiber chassis demanded perfect engines – and in his eyes, only Berger could extract their full potential. Italian engineers whispered about “special maps” being loaded only into the Austrian’s ECU.
Alboreto confronted the team:
“Either give me the same engine or admit you don’t want me to win.”
The response? A shrug and a fresh set of harder tires.
The Garage That Split in Two
The fallout was immediate and toxic:
- Italian mechanics began “accidentally” leaving Berger’s wheel guns uncharged
- Strategy meetings turned into shouting matches
- Alboreto’s race engineer quit mid-season, slamming the door so hard a fuel rig toppled over
Even the espresso machine became a battleground – Berger’s crew allegedly reprogrammed it to dispense lukewarm shots to Alboreto’s side of the garage.
The Truth Ferrari Never Admitted
While no official confirmation ever came, the numbers don’t lie:
- Berger scored nearly triple Alboreto’s points
- Qualifying gaps regularly exceeded 1.5 seconds on power circuits
- Barnard’s notebook (later auctioned) contained cryptic notes about “Driver A/B engine parity testing”
When pressed by journalists, Enzo Ferrari himself allegedly growled: “We build fast cars. It’s the driver’s job to make them win.” A telling non-denial.
Legacy of Distrust
The ’87 season left scars that shaped Ferrari for decades:
All engines now come sealed with FIA tamper-proof tags
Driver equality clauses became standard in contracts
The team learned the hard way that Italian pride burns hotter than any turbo
For Alboreto, the betrayal never faded. In a 2005 interview, he’d still tense up when asked about Berger’s sudden ’87 speed: “Some questions,” he’d say, lighting another cigarette, “are better left to the historians.”
As for those mysterious engines? They now live in Maranello’s museum – silent witnesses to Ferrari’s most open secret.
