Ferrari from 2009 to 2016 why did they recess so much?

Happy to answer:

From 1996 to 2007 Ferrari was either World Champion Drivers or Constructors top 3. this was a combination of the following:

1. Strong Management leadership from Luca Di Monetzemolo & Jean Todt. they preserved the team from the Italian Media
2. Very strong driver line up - Michael Schumacher Eddie Ervine, Rubens Barrichello, and Filepe Massa. Schumacher being the best in the world.
3. Strongest Designers - Rory Byrne, Ross Brawn, Stefano Domenicalli and the full engine development team at Ferrari Corse
4. Strong backing from Parent FIAT - Gianni Angelli kept the corp people away from Montezemolo
5. rules were not as strict as today. open for a lot of interpretation
6. Open testing - Schumacher would literally pound around Foriano and Mugello for days testing the cars.

starting with Schumachers retirement, then the loss of Jean Todt, and one by one each of the key players fell by the way side. the team slid slowly down the grid. that coupled with rules changes - V-10 - V8 then Turbo V-6 nad aero restrictions and ban on in season free testing.

So today that is why Ferrari have lagged ... not to mention the corporate shake up = Monetzemolo leaving, Piero beign pushed out and given huge golden parachute with the stock flotation... and Marchionne coming back in. and the constant press scrutiny.

 

No testing. Limitations on engine development. F1 became a design competition,... with little ability to improve. F1 sucks because a team is forbidden by the rule to work harder than an opponent to win.

Olympians should only be allowed to practice 8 days a year... figure skaters should be limited to 1 pair of laces per season... lets see how that turns out.

 

at the simple level, here's who got the new regulations right:

-V8, Red Bull and Adrian Newey
-V6, Mercedes

 

yep - hit the wrong button...

 

2014 - 2017 (the hybrid era) Mercedes dominance

So you know Ferrari had and still has a "coporate culture problem" within the F1 dept. This hybrid era formula is altogether a totally different beast which seemed to have played into the hands of Mercedes.

1.) Mercedes had a jump(2 to 3yrs) on this hybrid formula before the talks of these new engines which was 2012 into 2013 for 2014. KERS or ERS-K(2009) was not as complicated and did well with the teams....some used it others did not. All manufacturers debated on what platform of ICE to use, all wanted an I-4 platform but Ferrari(even though Ferrari's history in F1 of making I-4's) was NOT having it so all agreed to the V-6 platform. It's the MGU-H (motor generating unit - heat (turbo)) that is the most complicated part of this hybrid formula (2014 - current).

2. 2014 - Mercedes comes out of the gates with this hybrid formula and a 100hp advantage above everyone else....which in F1 is monumental. They dominate 2014, 2015, and 2016 with an 82%, 86%, and 85% of pts. for said yr.

3. The Token system (2014 - 2016 ended 2017) - which was supposed to reduced costs in engine developement and put a "freeze" on engine development. Well this definitely favoured Mercedes since they had a jump on this to begin with. Renault and Ferrari were tied with their hands to their backs and knew Mercedes would be dominant. The token system was eventually thrown out ending 2016 into 2017.

4. 2017 - Reliabilty(4 component allocation allotment) - Mercedes won(Mexico) with 2 GP's to go but it was not like the dominance of 2014 - 2016 years with 4 or 5 GP's to go thereby Ferrari closing the gap...somewhat. Oil burning speculation amongst Mercedes and Ferrari for "boosting" purposes....Ferrari gets caught(Allison) but suspicions within the Paddock in Mercedes camp.

5. 2018 - Reliability (3 component allocation allotment) and Spec engines for Works and Customer teams (same engines same software) and tighter restrictions on oil burning. If there was ever a year in this hybrid formula, this looks to be the year of an exciting fight amongst the teams....most notably Ferrari and Mercedes for the WCC and WDC titles. It will come down to the drivers of said teams and maybe, just maybe the 3 engine rule.....can't wait for it to start.

that's my 2 cents.

 

I think you're right, the 3 engine rule could make the difference just based on reliability.

 

Newey has always been brilliant, not just 09-13. Ferrari just got it 'more' right in the early 00s due to a number of things. Newey only really had a free hand when he got to Red Bull.

 

Don't forget having Bridgestone making custom tires for just your car was very helpful.

 

It's still an advantage to run Bridgestones when that company has been working closely with your team while other teams had to switch manufacturers and figure out how to make their car and suspension work best with a new type of tire. Plus, the fact Ferrari didn't dominate and won a WCC without a WDC one of those seasons makes me think the tire dominance they had in the early 2000s was an even bigger advantage in hindsight.

 

Short answer: life goes in cycles. People come and go, rules change, FIA political interests change... so from time to time it´s a reset and start from zero.