Ferrari, more than a shadow of itself

If in Formula 1, Ferrari is synonymous with victory, the Italian team has also gone through difficult times. It is necessary to go back to 2007 to see Ferrari win a driver’s championship. Kimi Räikkönen then lifted his only and unique World Champion title with Ferrari.

One year later, the Italian team only captured the constructors’ title. Amidst the smiles and abundant champagne, the Scuderia was far from imagining that they were entering years of drought. Since then, they have seen their rivals pull away with the dominance of Red Bull before Mercedes took over. Sixteen years have passed and the tifosi are still waiting for a new title and, above all, to find exhilarating joy again.

The Crashgate and the first dark hours

It seems like a distant memory when Ferrari easily dominated Formula 1. On board his red rocket, Michael Schumacher won the world championship title five times in a row with Scuderia (2000-2004) and became the most successful driver in the sport with seven titles. A time when Yuki Tsunoda and Oscar Piastri were still wearing diapers. Fernando Alonso, with Renault, managed to break the red dominance by winning two titles (2005-2006). Then, Michael Schumacher retired for the first time. While the title won by “Iceman” in 2007 brought smiles back to the tifosi after the departure of the seven-time world champion, the departure of Jean Todt in 2008, Ferrari’s general manager, marked the end of a glorious era.

However, the team is not far from achieving a one-two finish that year. But the 2008 F1 season is known for a particular story. It all begins with the Singapore Grand Prix and the infamous “Crashgate,” which allowed Fernando Alonso to win the race thanks to the deliberate crash of his Renault teammate, Nelson Piquet, in order to bring out the safety car. If Renault didn’t know it at that time, the French team had just played a major role in the end-of-season world title. This episode leaves a bad taste in Felipe Massa’s mouth to such an extent that he wants to take legal action to have the results of the Singapore GP annulled. And it’s not over yet!

The Brazilian Grand Prix causes a big blow to Ferrari. With his 94 points, Lewis Hamilton is the favorite to become world champion for the first time in his career. Behind, Felipe Massa only has 87 points. At that time, a victory only brought in 10 points. The Scuderia driver must therefore win and hope that Lewis Hamilton does not finish in the top 5. In other words, it’s almost mission impossible for the Brazilian. Felipe Massa wins his home Grand Prix and Ferrari lets its joy explode. Except that the race was not over. In the last corner, the Briton, then in 6th place, overtakes Timo Glock and takes 5th place, synonymous with the world championship title. The disappointment is immense when an engineer announces the news to the Massa camp. He does not become world champion by just one point.

The failed turn of the hybrid era

In 2009, Formula 1 enters the hybrid era, at least in its early stages. Ferrari is among four teams (McLaren-Mercedes, BMW Sauber, and Renault) to have a KERS (SREC in French). A system for recovering kinetic energy that allows for a maximum storage of 60 km per lap and its deployment at full power for approximately 80 additional horsepower for nearly 6 seconds. And the initial results are not encouraging. Ferrari goes through dark times. The team has its worst season in terms of points (70) since 1993, winning only one race in Belgium and finishing only 4th in the constructors’ championship.

Despite a team reshuffling during the season, the team’s mistakes and reliability issues did not help Scuderia get back on track. The crisis settled in Maranello and lasted for a long time. Between 2011 and 2021, Ferrari endured the domination of Red Bull and Mercedes. Only two of its drivers became vice-champions: Fernando Alonso (2010, 2012, 2013) and Sebastian Vettel (2017, 2018).

During the year 2014, Formula 1 introduced hybrid turbocharged V6 engines with a dual energy recovery system. And it was Mercedes who came out on top. They designed the best car on the grid with an unbeatable engine. In total, they won 111 out of 160 Grand Prix races between 2014 and 2021. They secured eight constructor titles and Lewis Hamilton won six world titles while Nico Rosberg won one. It was an unstoppable domination. On the other hand, Ferrari once again missed this turning point. The car’s performance was suboptimal and the team failed to solve its strategic and internal problems. In other words, the Scuderia was not making progress and was constantly making mistakes. To make matters worse, the FIA penalized Ferrari in 2019, deeming their engine illegal. This was a controversial matter that sparked a lot of debate. Indeed, the Italian team had won two races in Italy and Belgium at the time.

But this rise in power had worried the competition. Surprisingly, Ferrari was finally competing with Mercedes in races and with relative ease. Red Bull and Mercedes had pressured the FIA to investigate the legality of this famous engine. Rightfully so, as the FIA had found something irregular in the power unit of the Ferrari engine and had reached a confidentiality agreement. « If you ask me, I would like to give you all the details of the situation, but they [Ferrari] were against it. They were sanctioned, but we cannot give you the details of the sanction »,” Jean Todt, president of the FIA at the time, had declared. This sanction had repercussions the following year. Ferrari finished 6th in the constructor standings, trailing behind Renault, Racing Point, and McLaren by only 131 points. That says a lot.

2022, the art of making a fool of oneself

In 2022, hope is reborn… or almost. With the new regulations, Ferrari does not want to miss this new turning point. After a difficult year in terms of performance in 2020, the Scuderia is trying its luck by integrating Carlos Sainz to replace Sebastian Vettel in 2021.

The following year, with the duo of Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz, Ferrari hopes to find a new momentum. However, if the season started well with a magnificent double in Bahrain, things quickly took a turn for the worse. The team is experiencing a rollercoaster season. The drivers have to deal with a temperamental F1-75. Considered the best car on the grid after winter testing, it has encountered several engine issues. We remember Charles Leclerc’s retirement in Spain while he was on his way to another victory, or Carlos Sainz’s car catching fire in Austria. A total of 9 retirements, including driver errors, compared to 5 for Red Bull and 3 for Mercedes.

If it was only reliability, that would be Ferrari’s problem in 2022. Throughout this season, the Scuderia has been devising questionable strategies, even surprising their competitors. There’s no need to explain the fiasco of the Monaco Grand Prix. The list is long: poor tire choices, picking the number one driver, botched pit stops, and piloting errors. These mistakes show that Ferrari isn’t learning from its past errors and the same problems keep arising. And that’s a real shame. Ferrari finishes the season with a total of 554 points and second place in the constructors’ championship, while Charles Leclerc finishes as runner-up behind the invincible Max Verstappen. Yes, Ferrari has regrets. The only year in which they could hope to win a coveted title since 2008, the team managed to self-sabotage. An incomprehensible achievement.

2023, the year of transition

While it may be too early to talk about the 2023 season, we can already take stock of Ferrari’s start to the season. During the off-season, Ferrari decided to replace Mattia Binotto and chose Fred Vasseur as the team principal. The Scuderia wants to bring in a new breath of fresh air, and internal changes are made, although most of the team remains in place. Unlike the previous year, the start of the season is catastrophic. Ferrari only appears on the podium once after eight races. And the Italian team is once again plagued by reliability issues and a lack of car performance. While it was competing with Red Bull for the titles in 2022, the Italian team is currently positioned only fourth in the standings with 100 points. Carlos Sainz is sixth with 58 points behind the two Mercedes, Fernando Alonso, and the two Red Bulls, while Charles Leclerc is behind his teammate with 42 points.

The assessment is clear. Ferrari cannot find the solution to reverse the trend. Everything seems to imply that 2023 is a transition season. But until when? A team that gives the impression of searching for itself and remains stuck in its glorious past without ever really evolving. We can only hope that internal changes will bear fruit. There are even rumors of hiring from competing teams to aid in the development of the next car. Fred Vasseur has a lot of work to do, and Ferrari must react quickly before its drivers crack. Perhaps they should take inspiration from the work done at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where they were victorious in the centennial edition. At least the Scuderia fans cannot end the season disappointed. That might be the only positive aspect, with tifosi who will always stand behind their team, waiting for a new triumph.