It's been said a million times before that Ferrari evokes passion like no other team. Just why, no one can quite put a finger on. Perhaps, as the FIA 1989 Yearbook says, political correctness aside:
"Ferrari is like a beautiful woman: irresistible to any Italian male; capable of stopping the show; forgiven the occasional tantrum, even the odd outrage."In other words, Ferrari is a team that evokes passion because they go about their racing passionately themselves. They are the heart and soul of F1, right there from the start of the World Championship, the definitive link back to the glory days of Fangio, Farina, Ascari and alike. They have the advantage of being based amongst the most passionate people on earth, the Italians, and their on-track success has been matched by an alluringly exotic line of road cars, winning over devotees worldwide. No wonder, then, that the world breathed a sigh of relief when Michael Schumacher won the Japanese GP in his Marlboro red Ferrari (Italian racing red has given way to the whim of commercialism since 1997, but heck it's still a Ferrari, and it's still red), his barge-boards amongst everything else passed scrutineering, and the German ace was confirmed as having clinched Maranello's first driver's title in 21 years. |
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That's 21 years since Jody Scheckter clinched the 1979 World Championship with a win at Monza, 21 long years of waiting, hoping, holding one's breath, and suffocating in the process as Ferrari kept falling at the hurdles. 21 years of seeing some of the world's best drivers try in vain, from the likes of Villeneuve, Pironi, Arnoux, Tambay and Alboreto, to Berger, Mansell, Prost, Alesi and Schumacher. Two decades which Ferrari would much rather prefer to forget. So what exactly went wrong?
The typical answer is to point to the anomaly that while Ferrari has had limitless resources, such that during the 1980s and 1990s when costs in F1 skyrocketed they were financially the best-placed, they had never had the organisation and management to channel those funds effectively. Knowing how to build a successful F1 team from what you have is quite a different kettle of fish from acquiring those elements in the first place. It's a particular skill Ron Dennis and Frank Williams have been particularly adept at. It's a common explanation, but it's not totally correct. If it were completely true, then Ferrari would have been constantly in the doldrums. But in fact, from 1980 to 1999, Ferrari won the constructor's title three times, and came second on seven occasions. Six times they propelled a driver to 2nd in the title chase (if you count 1997), and four times a Ferrari driver came 3rd overall. By any team's standards, that's creditable, to say the least. In fact, you could point to many things, managerial, technical, tactical, and even twists of fate, that have all conspired to keep Ferrari waiting for Godot. Here are the 10 things that F1 Rejects have come up with... |
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