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Ferrari has not won a championship of any kind since 2008, when Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa secured the constructor’s title and nearly the driver’s title in a rain soaked Brazilian Grand Prix. Now, Raikkonen is gone from Ferrari, moving from F1 to WRC to NASCAR Trucks and back into F1 with his #1 seat being replaced by a current great, Fernando Alonso. While 2008 was only 5 seasons ago, to the Tifosi and Ferrari staff, this is a lifetime. But fear not Ferrari backers, history has an eery way of repeating itself.
Turn back the page to 1996. Ferrari has not won a championship of any kind since 1983 when Patrick Tambay and Rene Arnoux grabbed the Constructor’s Title (Nelson Piquet won the Driver’s at Brabham). You would have to go all the way back to 1979 to find the last Ferrari Driver’s Champion with Jody Scheckter. So it’s 1996, and a two-time World Champion, 27-year-old Michael Schumacher, joins the team. With handpicked technical directors and designers Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, all flourish under the leadership of Jean Todt. Todt, who had been with Ferrari since 1993, essentially gives Schumacher free reign to build his team. Ferrari, although with a competitive car in that period, had to wait until 1999, 3 long seasons, to win a single championship (Constructor’s) while they chased the Adrian Newey designed McLarens. Then in 2000, it all clicked. Ferrari was dominant. Unstoppable. Michael Schumacher could not lose, and when he did, it was to teammate and perennial whipping boy, Rubens Barrichello.
Flip forward to 2010. The early 2000s are over, the team is dismantled and although they recently won the 2007 Driver’s Title and 2008 Constructor’s Title, there is something off in Maranello. Another two-time World Champion, 29-year-old Fernando Alonso, joins The Scuderia. For three seasons Fernando has a fairly competitive car and with just pure will and skill is able to challenge for, although never secure, a World Championship for Ferrari. Now into his 4th season with the team, the F138 car looks great, like a real title contender, but again find themselves chasing another Newey-penned car, this time at Red Bull Racing. Fernando, however, is a title favorite by many experts and with good results from his teammate, replacement whipping boy Felipe Massa, the team could sneak in the Driver’s and/or Constructor’s Titles, setting themselves up for another dominant run with the new 2014 engine regulations.
Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari’s team principal, has failed to deliver under his reign and could very easily be out after season’s end, especially if another let down occurs for the Italian marque. Strange strategy calls from the pit wall have become common place, and this was again on display at the Malaysian Grand Prix after Fernando Alonso broke his front wing and the team elected for him to stay out, with this call quickly back firing, putting Alonso out of the race. (Do I even need to remind any of the Tifosi of the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix pit strategy call?) So if Domenicali, who’s been in the hot seat for some time, is ousted, who is his replacement? Well, a very familiar face to the Ferrari garage, Ross Brawn, who is supposedly out from his team principal role at Mercedes at season’s end to make room for the incoming Paddy Lowe.
Ferrari has the new Schumacher, the new Rubens and could again have Brawn. What are they missing? Oh yeah, the guy who is already designing their 2014 challenger, Rory Byrne. Sound familiar? It won’t take much to reunite the super team.
Turn back the page to 1996. Ferrari has not won a championship of any kind since 1983 when Patrick Tambay and Rene Arnoux grabbed the Constructor’s Title (Nelson Piquet won the Driver’s at Brabham). You would have to go all the way back to 1979 to find the last Ferrari Driver’s Champion with Jody Scheckter. So it’s 1996, and a two-time World Champion, 27-year-old Michael Schumacher, joins the team. With handpicked technical directors and designers Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne, all flourish under the leadership of Jean Todt. Todt, who had been with Ferrari since 1993, essentially gives Schumacher free reign to build his team. Ferrari, although with a competitive car in that period, had to wait until 1999, 3 long seasons, to win a single championship (Constructor’s) while they chased the Adrian Newey designed McLarens. Then in 2000, it all clicked. Ferrari was dominant. Unstoppable. Michael Schumacher could not lose, and when he did, it was to teammate and perennial whipping boy, Rubens Barrichello.
Flip forward to 2010. The early 2000s are over, the team is dismantled and although they recently won the 2007 Driver’s Title and 2008 Constructor’s Title, there is something off in Maranello. Another two-time World Champion, 29-year-old Fernando Alonso, joins The Scuderia. For three seasons Fernando has a fairly competitive car and with just pure will and skill is able to challenge for, although never secure, a World Championship for Ferrari. Now into his 4th season with the team, the F138 car looks great, like a real title contender, but again find themselves chasing another Newey-penned car, this time at Red Bull Racing. Fernando, however, is a title favorite by many experts and with good results from his teammate, replacement whipping boy Felipe Massa, the team could sneak in the Driver’s and/or Constructor’s Titles, setting themselves up for another dominant run with the new 2014 engine regulations.
Stefano Domenicali, Ferrari’s team principal, has failed to deliver under his reign and could very easily be out after season’s end, especially if another let down occurs for the Italian marque. Strange strategy calls from the pit wall have become common place, and this was again on display at the Malaysian Grand Prix after Fernando Alonso broke his front wing and the team elected for him to stay out, with this call quickly back firing, putting Alonso out of the race. (Do I even need to remind any of the Tifosi of the 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix pit strategy call?) So if Domenicali, who’s been in the hot seat for some time, is ousted, who is his replacement? Well, a very familiar face to the Ferrari garage, Ross Brawn, who is supposedly out from his team principal role at Mercedes at season’s end to make room for the incoming Paddy Lowe.
Ferrari has the new Schumacher, the new Rubens and could again have Brawn. What are they missing? Oh yeah, the guy who is already designing their 2014 challenger, Rory Byrne. Sound familiar? It won’t take much to reunite the super team.