After the 2017 Hungarian Grand Prix, under a fog of champagne and above a mural of the McLaren Honda woe that had beset one of his chief rivals, Sebastian Vettel appeared on top of the world. Despite a race-long steering issue on Vettel’s car, the Scuderia secured its second (and last) one-two finish of the season whilst Vettel, having taken his fourth win of the 2017 season, sat 14 points clear of his nearest foe. Half-way towards achieving Ferrari’s first championship of any kind for nearly a decade, Vettel and the prancing horse seemed to have cracked the title-winning code held by Hamilton and Mercedes since the dawn of the hybrid era.
Fast forward five months, Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes enter the last race of 2017 as world champions following an unprecedented three-race collapse by the Scuderia. From Singapore to Japan, a slender three-point advantage following a hard-fought victory at Spa and a procession on Ferrari’s own turf becomes a 59-point chasm between Hamilton and the now hopeless Vettel thanks to a first lap incident in Singapore and a plethora of mechanical issues in Malaysia and Japan. Despite a valiant effort, Hamilton triumphs with two races to spare. Ferrari possessed what was widely considered to be the best package, yet the Maranello outfit leaves 2017 empty-handed.
The beginning of another season comes with renewed hope and Ferrari will arrive in Melbourne armed with the belief that this will be its season. However, with rumours already beginning surface regarding the potential retirement of 2007 World Champion Kimi Raikkonen and with a driver “merry-go-round” looming in the off-season, is 2018 Ferrari’s best chance of putting together a successful campaign?
Looking at the results from testing, things seem very promising for Ferrari. It set the two quickest lap times and covered the largest amount of distance in the two tests. The car, therefore, will unquestionably be competitive and should give both Vettel and Raikkonen a shot at the title this season. Given the dynamic of the team last year, Vettel will most likely take priority but many fans and pundits alike are angling to see Raikkonen give one last push in what could be his last season.
However, unlike last season, Red Bull and engine partners Renault seem to have got its act together on both reliability and performance. Many believe they could become the third horse in both the drivers’ and constructors’ championships this season. Added to the resurgence of Renault and McLaren, Ferrari may find it much tougher to consistently score podiums and race wins at the same rate as last season.
This will most likely be down to the fact that Ferrari tend to perform better on higher down-force circuits compared to the Mercedes, but will face stiffer competition on its “strong tracks” from teams like Red Bull and McLaren who have more down-force orientated packages.
Looking further, if Raikkonen does retire at the end of the season, Ferrari may also need to devote a large amount of time into finding a good replacement that will allow it to keep pushing for titles. Vettel and Raikkonen have had a very strong relationship as team-mates, unusual in F1, and whilst Raikkonen’s performances have come under review recently, he has been beneficial in helping Vettel attack for a title.
With its current lineup, it seems hard to predict that the Scuderia will triumph in the all-important constructors’ championship but the task of finding a driver who compliments Seb well and is quick enough to compete could prove to be an unnecessary, costly distraction if it gets caught up on the never-ending merry-go-round.
Ferrari has learnt from that three-race stretch that ended its season last year. The Scuderia will be back and ready to fight when the lights go out in Melbourne. The question is, will they be able to right the wrongs of 2017, or more worryingly; will they even have the chance?
