It won’t be the first time that Ferrari will be pinning their hopes upon the shoulders of a German multiple World Champion to aid their quest from mediocrity back into the big time. The 2014 season was, by the Scuderia’s standards, a disappointment, finishing fourth in the standings, amassing 216 points, and yielding only two podium finishes. Fernando Alonso’s title-less stint in Italy has ended with the Spaniard moving to McLaren, but his high level of ability have been replaced by four-time champion Sebastian Vettel, partnering Kimi Raikkonen, who endured a particularly difficult 2014 season. Vettel also endured, by his standards, a tough season. His Red Bull team were comfortably outpaced by Mercedes throughout the season, the team’s only wins coming from Vettel’s team-mate Daniel Ricciardo, who finished ahead of the German in the standings by 71 points.
2015 Ferrari Season Preview
The Ferrari team and the tifosi will hope that 2015 will bring rosier times, and might think that the only way is up. The winter was initially a positive one. In Jerez, the team impressed, setting a flurry of impressive lap times, but once the team headed to Barcelona, reality checks were in order, with Mercedes proving to be comfortably the best and fastest all-round package, with Ferrari coming in a fraction behind Williams. In Barcelona, Vettel set a personal mileage of 787, with the team clocking-up a total of 1411 miles, finishing second in the mile charts.
It appears that the Scuderia are turning the corner, but unfortunately, and literally, not fast enough. Until the lights go green in Melbourne, it is a guessing game, but as I write, Vettel and Raikkonen have ended the first practice session fifth and eighth respectively. Will the scarlet cars see the chequered flag first in 2015? Maranello expects.
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