Scuderia Ferrari

About

Scuderia Ferrari is an Italian Formula One racing team competing in Formula One as part of the racing division of Ferrari. The team will feature Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. as its driver for the 2021 season. The team is the oldest surviving and most successful Formula One team of all time and has competed in every world championship since 1950. The team has 16 constructors and 15 drivers championship in the bag making it the most successful team in the history of Formula One. The team last won a driver’s title in 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen.

Racing History

Initial Years(1950-1974)

The Initial years for Ferrari in Formula One were quite fruitful as the team would win multiple titles with Alberto Ascari. The team would struggle in the following years because of the emergence of Maserati and Mercedes who would outpace the Italian team. After the departure of Marque car manufacturers like Mercedes and Alfa Romeo, Ferrari would compete with the likes of BRM for the championship. The team would consistently evolve with the times with the years watching the team reach great heights and win championships and then have some barren years where the team would struggle for cash and ability to put the car on the track. By 1974 the team had one of the best drivers on the grid, Niki Lauda as part of the team.

Return to winning ways(1975-1979)

Lauda’s presence would bring structure to the team and the team would become a competitive challenger for race wins and championships. The team would win the 1975 title with Niki Lauda behind the wheel. In 1976, Lauda would lose the title by half a point. Lauda would come back to snatch the 1977 title. Lauda would leave the team in 1978 and the team would see Jody Scheckter winning the last title for Ferrari in the 20th century in 1979.

Decline and Barren Run(1980-1999)

Ferrari would struggle massively ever since, coming close to winning titles multiple times but falling short of competitors like Mclaren, Brabham, and Williams throughout the 1980s and 1990s. The team would employ top drivers like Gilles Villeneuve, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, and many more and taste some success in terms of race wins but never achieve the ultimate goal of winning the title. The team was termed to be too political during this time with it becoming too difficult for the personnel to make productive changes.

The revamp would however start with Michael Schumacher Signing for the team in 1996. The German brought with him a team of Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne who would go back to the drawing board and start rebuilding the team. Schumacher would come close to winning the title in 1997 and 1998 but lost out to eventual winners. The turnaround would however start from 2000 in what is still termed as the golden period in the history of Ferrari.

Dream Run(2000-2008)

Ferrari would get back to winning ways as Michael Schumacher would clinch the title in 2000. The team would go on a 5-year streak where the team and driver would sweep all the championships. By the end of the 2004 season, Ferrari had won 6 Constructors Championships on the trot while Michael Schumacher had won 5 Driver Championships on the trot. The team would suffer a loss in the form in 2005 when Renault and Mclaren would leapfrog them in the standings.

The team would return to form in 2006 and narrowly win the title but ultimately lose out to Fernando Alonso and Renault. In 2007 however, Kimi Raikkonen would win what would be the last Ferrari Drivers Championship to date. Felipe Massa would come agonizingly close to winning the title in 2008 but lose out on the last lap of the last race of the season.

Decline and Unsuccessful Campaigns(2009-Present)

Ferrari would suffer a decline in form from 2009 onwards. It would be plagued by the same issues that led to a barren run in the late 1980s and 1990s. Michael Schumacher and his dream team had left Ferrari and the personnel that had replaced them were not able to fill the void left by them.

Ferrari would come close to winning the title multiple times with Fernando Alonso and Sebastian Vettel behind the wheel but fall short every time owing to one reason or the other. Overall, the team was unable to mount a consistent challenge, losing out to Red Bull Racing when it came to aerodynamics and then to Mercedes when it came to power unit performance.

The team finished the 2020 season in 6th place after suffering from a loss of competitiveness on the engine side due to an FIA ruling. The team would feature Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz as the drivers for the 2021 season.

Drivers

Some of the prominent drivers to have driven for the team include Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastian Vettel, and many more.