Ask somebody to name the robust groups in Formula One and Ferrari is definitely one of the groups mention. It is clearly the brand most related to the championship, but one has to wonder if the success of the Ferrari team starts to vanish. Schumacher. Muscle .

Rory Byrne. These are the names that led Ferrari to 10 years and of dominance in both the driver and manufacturer championships. Many fans of Formula One fail to recall the state of the team before Schumacher coming on board and building his team of designers and engineers. Put simply the team was a mess. Jean Todt has led the Scuderia Ferrari team since 1993. He was the first important hiring of Luca di Montezemolo, who had been brought in to run the organization. Why was he brought in? The F1 team had become a joke. It was legendary for a couple of things – exceptionally dynamic engines, poor vehicle design, unreliability and horribly bad secrets. The team had not won a drivers’ championship since 1979 or a manufacturers’ championship since 1983. By 1999, the team had advanced enough to start the present run of domination we have seen. With the change in management, the question is whether Ferrari will remain powerful or fade back to its prior ways. There are signals of a fade. The Scuderia Ferrari team has been renowned for brilliant trustworthiness during its run with Schumacher.

Seasons would pass before a Ferrari would drop out of a race because something broke. While McLarens were bursting into great fountains of flame or having whole wings fall off, the prancing horses were smooth and trustworthy. In 2008, this modified. The trustworthiness of the auto was no longer clear. Engines failed in spite of their being a freeze on engine development, which advises a top quality control issue. Quality controls issues are a particularly bad sign for any vehicle manufacturer, let alone a racing team. Another area where Ferrari controlled in the Schumacher years was in race strategy. Who can forget winning by doing 4 pit stops in France. Was there any doubt who would come out best when a safety vehicle came on track? Ross Muscle had much to do with this winning methodology. Muscle is now undertaking the almost impossible task of making Honda a respectable racing team. In his place, we have seen some extremely dodgy plan from Ferrari in 2007 and 2008. From beginning on intermediate tires in the middle of a monsoon in Japan rather than slicks to allegedly getting almost each safety vehicle situation wrong, the team has made strategic mistake after strategic mistake.

Maybe it is just part of new folk taking on more decision-making responsibility, but it doesn’t suggest well for the future. The general ruthless management approach also appears to have changed at Ferrari.

The target of winning and dominating looks to be less critical to the organization. How else are you able to explain the choice making about drivers? The natural driver for Ferrari in 2009 is Fernando Alonso. He is the second coming of Michael Schumacher. He’s fast, cynical and knows the way to develop an automobile. Who is more suited to challenge Lewis Hamilton and McLaren? Even better, Alonso has overtly admitted his need to drive for Ferrari. If he joined Ferrari, can any one seriously question the team would be set for the following ten years to take on all comers? Like him or not, Alonso is the real thing and would deliver the products. So, what does Ferrari do? They extend Raikkonen. Raikkonen is a great driver when incentivized. After winning his championship in 2007, he is not galvanized. It is plain for everyone to see. Massa, in turn, is a pleasant driver, but does anyone truly believe he’ll challenge Alonso? One need only look at their performances in the rain to settle that question . One has to seriously question what the management is up to, while it ought to be noted a major Spanish bank is coming on board Ferrari as a sponsor in 2010.

Logically, one would suspect Raikkonen has to show some major effort in 2010 or be gone.

Time will, of course, tell. Is Ferrari in difficulty of falling back to the pack in 2009? It is difficult to say as much considering they just won the manufacturers’ championship, but there are definite cracks in the structure for everyone to see. With the new auto design laws, a new age is on Ferrari.

Whether it’s going to be full of victory or discontent is still to be determined.