The Capocaccia-Casci-Funaioli Committee at the Trial against Enzo Ferrari for the 1957 Mille-Miglia Car Accident

Abstract

In 1957, 11 people died in a car crash in the Italian street circuit Mille Miglia. Of course, the car manufacturer Enzo Ferrari was investigated for homicide by negligence. To clarify the dynamics of the car and the root causes, a first committee of technicians and academics was created to prepare an expert report. The report directly pointed to the specific design of the tires used (made by the Belgian manufacturer, Englebert) and, as a result, to the Ferrari team and its owner. The other two reports followed, one provided by the defense and the third to finally resolve the problem. This document will not focus on the media aspects that the personalities involved have stimulated, but on the technical aspects of the reports prepared by the three committees. By accident, these memories differ in the approaches that were taken, allowing comparisons of the best approach to solve technical problems, as well as a memory of an important event in Italy, which saw the technical-scientific arguments as the keys to reaching the truth and eliminating Enzo Ferrari from all accusations.