The 2014 Formula One season mercifully came to end for Ferrari on Sunday in Abu Dhabi. The driver duo of Fernando Alonso and Kimi Räikkönen hit the track for the last time before four time champ Sebastian Vettel takes over for the departing Alonso. They managed to squeak into points paying positions finishing ninth and tenth, Alonso ahead of Räikkönen respectively, but were far behind being able to jump ahead of the Williams team in the Constructors’ Championship.
The mediocre performance capped off the first winless season for the Prancing Horse since 1993. There were hopes in the middle of the season that Ferrari would be in close competition for third place in the Constructors’ Championship, but that they would be able to prevail. That was not the case as Williams driver Felipe Massa exacted his revenge upon his former team, narrowly missing out on the win in Abu Dhabi, but managed his third podium of the year, finishing second. His team-mate, top-performing up-and-comer Valtteri Bottas, sealed the deal for Williams by finishing right behind Massa for his sixth podium of the season. The race was won by Lewis Hamilton en route to his second World Championship.
At the beginning of the season one of the biggest question marks was whether or not the two former champions, Alonso and Räikkönen, with their strong personalities, would be able to make it through the season without being at each others’ throats. I think we all expected fights for podiums and Drivers’ Championship points and to see whoever would emerge as the number one driver at Ferrari put up a strong fight for the Drivers’ Championship. It didn’t take long to realize that Mercedes had the field under their thumb and the real fight was going to be for third. The fight between the two F14-T drivers was also a bit non-existent.
Räikkönen managed to out-finish his team-mate only three times, two of the three being retirements for Alonso. The Finn failed to appear on the podium, finished outside the points six times and didn’t make a great case for bringing him in over Felipe Massa who, was not brought back to the team for similar results. The Iceman finished twelfth in the Drivers’ Championship, over 100 points behind Alonso. Räikkönen has faith that the things learned throughout the season this year, followed up by off-season testing and a fresh look from Vettel, will help bring the team back to being competitive at the front of the grid. I think it’s safe to say that there is nowhere to go but up for Kimi.
Alonso on the other hand really proved his worth as a driver this season. In a car that clearly couldn’t keep up in terms of straight line speed and season long problems with tyre graining, the Spaniard made the absolute most out of what he had. Alonso had two unfortunate retirements in the team’s home grand prix in Italy and again in Japan, but those were the only races in which he didn’t finish inside the top ten. He managed only two podiums, third in China and second in Hungary, but those were probably two more podiums than the car was capable of getting without such a top driver in the seat. Outstanding starts, great race management and sheer willpower from Alonso kept the Ferrari team in the conversation as all championship hopes were dashed. Before the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix he had a shot at finishing as high as fourth place in the Drivers’ Championship, but Bottas’s podium run and an eighth place finish from Vettel kept Alonso to finishing in sixth place overall in the Championship.
Ferrari are hoping for improvement on a mostly clean slate next season. Alonso is definitely out at Ferrari, with Vettel taking his seat next to Räikkönen. It isn’t officially confirmed yet, but it is strongly rumored that Alonso will be at McLaren-Honda for the 2015 season. Along with the new driver lineup there will also be a new team principal in Maranello. Stefano Domencali stepped down early in the season after Ferrari’s slow start to make way for Marco Mattiacci. The former head of Ferrari North America finished out the season as the F1 boss, but just seven months after his appointment he has been replaced. Maurizio Arrivabene will be taking over. Arrivabene has been with Ferrari sponsor Philip Morris for 27 years and has been a close partner with Ferrari in Italy and on the race track.
So the season concluded with the third team principal in the last year taking over. A season that saw the team President, Luca Di Montezemolo, replaced by Sergio Marchionne near the end of the season. Finally their top driver is leaving for what he thinks will be greener pastures. There is no doubt that the Ferrari team will be doing a lot of things differently in preparation for 2015. After a season where mediocrity reigned and success was hard to come by, something different will be welcome in Italy.
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