The 126C series began as Ferrari's first attempt at a turbocharged Formula One car, replacing the highly successful but obsolete 312T series which had been in use since 1975. The basic chassis was initially almost identical to the previous car, but the smaller and narrower 1.5-litre V6 turbocharged engine suited the ground effect aerodynamics now essential for competitiveness in a way the wide flat-12 had not.
During early engine development Ferrari experimented with a Comprex pressure wave supercharger supplied by Swiss company Brown Boveri — this version was called the 126BBC, later renamed 126CX. Drivers praised the system for its naturally aspirated-like driving feel with an extended power range that reduced turbo lag. However, the system was tall in the car and risked mixing exhaust and intake gases, so Ferrari opted instead for twin KKK turbochargers, producing around 600 bhp (447 kW) in qualifying trim and 550 bhp (410 kW) in race configuration. Nicola Materazzi, hired by Enzo Ferrari in December 1979 specifically for his turbocharging experience from the Lancia Stratos Gr 5 programme, led this technical path.
The 126CK, raced in 1981, was extremely fast but difficult to drive. Gilles Villeneuve described it as "a big red Cadillac" and found the handling treacherous. Harvey Postlethwaite, who arrived mid-season, later concluded that the 126CK "had a quarter of the downforce that the Williams or Brabham had that year" — the fundamental problem was aerodynamic, not mechanical. Despite this, Villeneuve won back-to-back races at Monaco and Spain and scored several podiums.
For 1982, Postlethwaite oversaw a complete overhaul of the car. The new chassis was smaller, nimbler, and featured genuinely competitive aerodynamics for the first time. The twin KKK turbocharged engine was further developed for reliability. The 126C2 featured Ferrari's first genuine full monocoque chassis with honeycomb aluminium panels — its closest parallel to British specialist construction since 1962. Qualifying engine output reached 650 bhp (485 kW) during the season with approximately 600 bhp available for race use. A revised pull-rod rising-rate front suspension replaced the rocker-arm arrangement at mid-season, introduced at the French Grand Prix alongside a thinner longitudinal gearbox designed to promote undisturbed airflow beneath the ground-effect side-pods.
Villeneuve and Pironi set record times in pre-season testing, and optimism was high at the start of 1982.
The car debuted at the South African Grand Prix in January, where both cars retired. At Long Beach, Villeneuve was fitted with an unusual twin-wing configuration — two thin rear wings placed side-by-side and staggered fore and aft, effectively creating a single double-width wing. This was a deliberate exploitation of regulation loopholes, conceived in retaliation for Williams's water-cooled brakes arrangement at the previous race in Brazil and as a political statement amid the FISA-FOCA wars. Villeneuve finished third but was disqualified.
The season's defining tragedy began at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, where Pironi overtook Villeneuve on the final lap in an act Villeneuve interpreted as a direct violation of team orders. The fallout was severe. At the following round in Belgium, during qualifying at the Zolder circuit where Villeneuve had won in 1981, Villeneuve was killed in a collision — one of the most devastating losses in Formula One history.
Ferrari chose not to enter a second car for the next three races before drafting in Patrick Tambay as Villeneuve's replacement. Tambay scored three podium finishes and won the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim. The emotional weight of that victory was compounded by the fact that, at the same race, Pironi was critically injured in a similar qualifying accident to the one that had killed Villeneuve — a crash that ended Pironi's motorsport career. Ferrari again ran without a second car for two races before bringing in Mario Andretti as Pironi's replacement for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, where Andretti finished on the podium alongside Tambay. Despite entering only half the season, Tambay finished fifth in the Drivers' Championship.
Ferrari won the Constructors' Championship in 1982 — a title secured through one of the most turbulent seasons the team had ever endured, having lost both its original drivers before the year concluded.
For 1983, mandatory flat-bottom regulations eliminated much of the ground effect aerodynamics that had underpinned the 126C2's performance. A redesigned B-specification variant was built and raced for the first half of the season. Postlethwaite developed an oversized rear wing that recovered approximately 50 percent of the lost downforce, while the engine was boosted to around 800 bhp (597 kW) in qualifying and over 650 bhp for racing — output generally regarded as among the best figures produced by any engine in 1983.
The 126C3 was introduced at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1983 with Patrick Tambay, followed by Rene Arnoux at the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim, which Arnoux won. Postlethwaite retained the oversized rear wing of the 126C2B. Over the remainder of the season, Tambay and Arnoux scored four wins between them and both remained in championship contention, but late-season reliability failures cost both drivers. Ferrari nonetheless took the Constructors' Championship for a second consecutive year.
The 1984 season was dominated by McLaren's MP4/2, which the 126C4 could not match. The car won only once that year: at the Belgian Grand Prix at Zolder — the same circuit where Villeneuve had been killed in 1982 — driven by Michele Alboreto, who also took the team's sole pole position of the season at the same event. Both Alboreto and Rene Arnoux reported throughout the year that the car lacked grip despite a powerful engine producing around 850 bhp in qualifying. Ferrari finished as runner-up in the Constructors' Championship, 86 points behind the dominant McLarens.
The 126C series as a whole won ten races, took ten pole positions, and scored 260.5 World Championship points across the 1981 to 1984 seasons through four distinct variants. The 126C2 in particular stands as one of the most consequential cars in Ferrari's history — it delivered a Constructors' Championship through a season defined by tragedy, beginning the process of technical modernisation that would define Ferrari's approach through the remainder of the turbocharged era.
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