As with so many sporting fallouts in history, politics - and arguments over regulations - were at the heart of the matter.

The bad blood between Ferrari, the FIA and Italy's national motorsport body (the ACI) was believed to date back to 1962, when Ferrari wanted to homologate their 250 GTO to compete in GT racing. According to the Italian rules of the time, 100 road-going models of a car had to be built before it was eligible to race. The story goes that Ferrari were short of the tally, but had a trick or two up their sleeves...

According to popular legend, Enzo Ferrari was able to pull the wool over the eyes of the FIA by taking representatives to see a small group of GTOs in one area, then ushering them in for a cordial coffee, before taking them off to see other batches in another area. In total, the FIA counted enough cars to be satisfied. There was just one issue - Ferrari had moved the same cars to different locations...

How much of that is myth and how much is reality is open to debate, but it might explain why in 1964, when Ferrari wanted to homologate a new car, the 250 LM, the FIA denied them eligibility. The governing body could not see Ferrari building the requisite 100 cars, and were reportedly less open to persuasion due to past events.

If that drew Enzo's anger, the ACI's decision to not back Ferrari in the argument sent him into frenzy.