Who will drive for Ferrari in Formula 1?
With a third place in the Constructors' Championship last year, Ferrari could be quite satisfied. The Italians continued to develop the car behind the scenes and beat McLaren in the process. The team therefore decided to continue with the drivers from last season. It means that this calendar year Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz will drive the Ferrari cars.
Leclerc has been one of the great talents of Formula 1 for years. In 2021 he showed again that he can be crucial, so it seems that the partnership with Ferrari will ensure a good relationship. Since last season, Sainz has sat next to him. The Spaniard made a stable impression after a difficult start, so it seems the team has found the right combination.
The constant factor in Formula 1
With 16 Constructors' and 15 Drivers' titles, Ferrari are the most successful team in Formula 1. Ferrari are the only team to have competed every time since 1950. Big names such as Lotus, Jaguar and many others fell or quit, while the team from Maranello kept going. Good results or not, the Italians kept appearing at the starting line.
Drivers such as Niki Lauda, Michael Schumacher and Juan Manuel Fangio won many titles with Ferrari and contributed to the record collection of championships won in Formula 1. And although other teams have sometimes unexpectedly pushed Ferrari back down the rankings, the Italians have so far always managed to come out on top.
The Golden Years
The 1980s and 1990s were clearly not Ferrari's best period. McLaren and Williams alternated winning titles and in 1995 it was Schumacher who took the title with Benetton. This success led the Italian team to pay a mega sum to acquire the German (and with him a large part of Benetton) for 1996. It turned out to be a golden move, but one with a rough start.
Changes to regulations meant that the Italians, even with Schumacher at the wheel, had to settle for second place. One year later the drama was even worse, when Jacques Villeneuve took the title and Schumacher was disqualified. The German had a run-in with the FIA and saw his results go down the drain. Not that it mattered much to Schumacher: the title was lost anyway.
It wasn't until 2000 that the tide turned for Schumacher and Ferrari when he formed a driving duo with Rubens Barrichello. For five years in a row, Schumacher was champion and Ferrari took the constructors' title five times. After five years of dominance, Ferrari fell further back on the grid and Schumacher also called it quits. In 2006, the German drove his last season at Ferrari and went to work as a consultant.
Kimi Raikkonen won the last championship for Ferrari. Schumacher’s replacement at the team won a world title in his first year in red and that is to this day the last one for the Tifosi. After that, things quickly deteriorated at Ferrari. After a season without wins in 2014, Maurizio Arrivabene came in as team boss to bring Ferrari back to the top.
This was only partially successful, as with Vettel as the new driver, Ferrari came close in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, they had the biggest opportunity to end Mercedes' dominance, but then the Italians were not fast enough. With Leclerc and Vettel, it might have had the fastest line-up of the top teams, but it failed to win the title. Instead, tensions arose within the team, including a crash in Brazil between the two drivers.
The year 2020 was a season to forget for Ferrari. Leclerc may have scored a podium in Austria, but the Italians clearly lacked speed. The Ferrari driver got a podium at Silverstone and Vettel did the same in Turkey. A sixth place in the Constructors' Championship was the worst result since 1980.
In 2021 Sainz provided a breath of fresh air within the factory. Although he had a difficult start at Ferrari, he developed into a reliable driver in the second half of the season. For the current calendar year Ferrari therefore seems to have two drivers in house who can get the maximum out of the car.
Which engine do Ferrari use?
Like Mercedes, Ferrari are an engine manufacturer in Formula 1. In 2019 the engine was Ferrari's strongest point, but in 2020 all that speed was gone. Last year, Ferrari improved significantly, allowing the team to compete with the better teams again. Haas and Alfa Romeo Racing also drive with the Italian's engine.
