A few people knows the strange history of this famous photo.
There are several shots of this episode: 6 are black and white, others are in color and the frame is wider and allows to see Luciano Conti, the late publisher of Autosprint and true animator of Imola circuit, sitting to the right of Ferrari.
It was taken in a garage at Imola, in July 1980, in occasion of the tests for the approval of circuit that, from that moment, was no longer usable by normal city traffic.
It was quite easy going into the boxes, especially for the locals who knew where to go or knew someone among the employees of the circuit. I was 13, sitting in the stand with my cousin and envying people who, more or less abused, walked in the pit-lane. We also tried an attempt (I wanted to see Gilles closely), but we were rejected.
Enzo Ferrari arrived unannounced and the garage of the Scuderia, obviously crowded, was made clear by marshals. Among the gatecrasher who were expelled was Gianni Sanna, the current owner of Foto Olimpia agency who, at that time, was not yet accredited. Before leaving, he had the instinct to give his camera to my coetaneous Gianni Mezzetti who took advantage of confusion and hid inside an empty barrel used as a dustbin (he is still much more lean than I). The only photographers who were able to stay inside the box were Roberto Piccinini and his father, the owner of Attualfoto (now Actualfoto), because with regular press accreditation.
Ferrari sat down and began to chat with Gilles and Conti, the Piccininis start to make their shots in color while Mezzetti, half-hidden, made 6 black and white pictures, then jumped out of the barrel and ran to bring the camera to Sanna who still holds the copyright.
Gianni Mezzetti is my friend and a copy of one of its 6 photos (other than that I posted) stands in my living room.