What Next? Ferrari's Difficult Question

Following the accident during the Grand Prix weekend past, Ferrari made the decision to still run a second car with an alternate driver. The incident in the end did not prove life threatening, however the driver was left without the ability to operate the car altogether. 

That decision was made following the 1999 British Grand Prix, during which Michael Schumacher broke his leg in a crash; Mika Salo was the driver of choice to partner Eddie Irvine at Ferrari. While in his second race in Ferrari at the 1999 German Grand Prix Salo led for part of the and at Monza he also finished third, ahead of Irvine, Mika’s career never took off in the right direction. 

Whether the reason for Mika’s failure to succeed had to do with his level of talent or the quality of the equipment he operated, or a mix of both, it is not really known. 

Ten years after that incident, Ferrari is facing an almost identical situation. On Saturday July 25^th at the Hunargoring, Massa was struck by a bouncing 800g piece of debris, which had fallen off the car of Rubens Barrichello. 

Felipe Massa underwent surgery as a result of the incident; the young Brazilian was reported to have suffered bone damage of his skull and a brain concussion, and was excluded from the Sunday race in Budapest. The doctors, having induced a coma from which he will waken in 48 hours, have done everything physically possible to save the Ferrari piloti.  

It is a relief to the fans, the public, and the writer of this article that Felipe’s condition is listed as stable, and hopefully the Brazilian will emerge in perfect health after 48 hour coma. While the news that Felipe is fine brings a huge level of relief, the team must start looking towards the future, both short term and long term. 

When Michael had his accident in 1999, the team made the decision to higher a temporary replacement so that the team could try and challenge for the points. While the team is not fighting for the championship crowns in 2009, points are still vital towards the 2010 budget. 

While Ferrari could continue running a single car at each Grand Prix, the decision to do so would impact how high up the championship ladder the team is able to finish. The ultimate position in the ladder at the end of the season rules the total amount of fees paid out by the FIA to the team towards the 2010 season. 

Due to Ferrari’s reliability issues and lack of performance in 2010, it is possible that only one car would score points towards the championship at each Grand Prix. However running two cars versus one can maximize the team’s chances of scoring those vital points. 

Running only one car at each event may quite possibly also affect the standings with the sponsors; Ferrari has sponsors that have paid the team for exposure based on two cars bearing the logos, and should only one car be competing the exposure is halved.  

While the second car was not run at the Hungarian Grand Prix due to respect for Felipe, should he not be ready to compete at the European Grand Prix the uncomfortable yet important question must be asked. Once Felipe is revived and his condition is diagnosed as recovering but not yet ready to race, who should be his replacement? 

Jaguar, Honda, BMW, McLaren, all have been forced to field a temporary driver in the past. Depending on the race, the team, and the driver, the replacement proved very successful or was compared to a moving pylon. Teams have given opportunities to ex-F1 drivers, test-drivers, and competitors in the feeder or junior formulas; and the choice of a test driver has backfired most of the time.

Yet Ferrari could very well choose to give the drive to either Luca Badoer or Marc Gene.  Luca Badoer has raced for the Scuderia Italia, Minardi, and Forti Corse teams, and is presently a test driver for the Ferrari F1 team; his experience of 56 starts could be beneficial should Ferrari make the decision to run him as a replacement driver. His innate knowledge of the F60 could also make him a wise choice. At the same time, Luca has not driven the car in anger, has not tried to block the opposition, or execute a pass in quite some time, and hence might not be the best selection for the position.

Marc Gene is Ferrari’s second test driver. On November 2004, Gené signed a deal to become a test driver for Scuderia Ferrari alongside former team-mate Luca Badoer. His contract was renewed for 2007, and while he remains a member of the Scuderia the 2008 regulations have limited his involvement with the car. 

He has raced with Minardi as late as 1999, and his recent racing experience and victory with Peugeot at the 2 hours of Le Mans could give him the advantage over Luca Badoer, should the decision need to be made.

Yet Ferrari could very well reach outside its current roster. On November 26th, 2008 Ferrari invited the top three finishers in the Italian Formula 3 Championship to test its Formula 1 car.

"For every generation, Scuderia Ferrari is a symbol for all those who have a passion for racing," commented Ferrari President Luca di Montezemolo. "Looking to the youngsters and to the future, I hope this initiative can contribute to the development of young drivers and also to the regeneration of motor sport in our country." 

"One of the stated duties of the Federation is the development of this sport in Italy, and that includes promoting young drivers," commented the President of the ACI-CSAI, Gino Macaluso. 

The quickest driver in last year's test was Mirko Bortolotti. Mirko is merely 19 however his racing pedigree and talent is already showing. At the F2008 test, he impressed the team with his performance setting a time of 59.111 seconds, quicker than the previous fastest lap set by the F2008 at the circuit by any driver, and picked up Red Bull backing and a place in Formula 2 for the 2009 season. 

Mirko has less experience in F1 than either one of the Ferrari test drivers, and while it is possible that he may prove to be a future champion and may perform well on his first outing, it is possible that he could prove an embarrassment and hence ruin his career by this stunt. At the same time, Rome was not built in one day.

"If you think I am good wait until my nephew arrives."

Ayrton Senna’s words are not quickly forgotten, and Bruno Senna’s, the nephew in question’s, on track performances seem to validate the statement. In 2008, he finished 2^nd in the GP2 series, and was being considered by Brawn GP as a possible driver for the 2009 season. His drive with Brawn never materialized, but since being denied a 2009 drive he has competed in the Le Mans race, and the 1000 km of Catalunya. 

He was rumored to be a candidate as a replacement for Sebastian Bourdais, and was offered an opportunity to compete in DTM for Mercedes, an opportunity he declined.  Senna will get into F1 at some point, and perhaps Ferrari would be a wise option, even if it were for duration of two or three races. It would be a partnership that even Enzo dreamt of, but it is also one that may take years to materialize.

Should Bruno prove to be as magnetic as his father was then he could possibly bring glory to the Scuderia unseen since the days of Michael Schumacher. Should Bruno be a mirror image of Ayrton, then he should be signed long term by Ferrari versus just for a few season ending races; since both Massa and Raikkonen have contracts with Ferrari until the end of 2010 there would be no place for Bruno at Ferrari at this time.

Who may be offered a ride for the rest of the season is an ex-driver? Sebastian Bourdais, although managed by Nicolas Todt, would most likely not be offered the opportunity; Jean Todt, Nicolas’ father no longer has vital input into the workings of Ferrari, if any, and Sebastian has not really shown much potential. 

The driver that may be offered the opportunity to help Ferrari is Michael Schumacher.  Michael has been visible in the pits at many Grand Prix, offering support to the team and drivers on track. His re-entry into the sport as a driver for the remaining races of the ’09 season could prove quite beneficial to the team. 

The Ferrari F60 has quite a few issues and its failure on the track can be compared to the 1996 car. The car was driven by Michael Schumacher, and to the wonder of his team mate, Eddie Irvine, Michael seemed to drive it quite well. The reason for the successful operating of the car has to do with Michael’s ability to drive anything well; this ability to make a bad car into a competitive race car is an amazing, but it is also one of the problems with Michael. 

Mr. Schumacher has been described as a bad test driver; engineers need to be able to tell if anything that was done affected the performance, yet if each time the car is driven well the engineer can not tell if this is beneficial or takes away from the performance of the car. When two cars are being run by one team it is beneficial to have a sharing of setting data between the two drivers, but if one driver provides nothing then the development goes nowhere.  

Hiring Michael Schumacher could prove beneficial; the F60 has up to now performed quite poorly with the exception of the brilliant showings and Michael could maximize its potential, even if there is none there.

The test ban in 2009 means that no radical developments can be introduced without the risk of hurting the current performance, and as a result Ferrari needs a driver that can threaten the points leaders, even if he is driving a pig. But does Schumacher have what it takes? In 2008 he demonstrated in tests that he still is able to not only set respected times, but also match the leaders’ performance levels. 

The problem with Schumacher is that he may not wish to return to the cockpit, and should he make his return this is Ferrari, it is no longer team Schumacher. Could he be able to galvanize the team enough to overcome the issues and problems?

In the next few days, Ferrari will be facing difficult questions and ultimately. Can Massa race again? Can he ever win? Can he lead a normal life style? 

The state of the Brazilian’s health is an unknown; throughout this entire weekend his condition ranged from stable to near-death, and the truth will only be known upon his return to consciousness from the coma. 

Should Massa be able to compete, he will most likely miss a race or two; the extent of his injuries might force the Brazilian into early retirement, as history has shown.  Let us then hope that he is built strong like Nigel Mansell, or as they say strong like Bull.

Forza Felipe!!!!