The prancing horse prances no more??

Racing. Motorsport. Sports cars. These words cause a single thing to come to mind, FERRARI! Scuderia Ferrari (Scuderia literally means stable) has been synonymous with all things fast for a long long time now. The Ferrari racing team made its debut on 21 May1948 at the beautiful Monaco Grand Prix where the legendary Alberto Ascari came home in second place and started what was to become a glorious presence in the field of motor racing. Since then, the Scuderia has gone on to win a record number of titles, both driver and constructor. Probably no other company in the world has been deified to this extent, surrounded by a kind of aura and charm unparalleled in any field, not just motorsport.

After a relatively dry period of about 20 years, a suddenly revived Marlboro Scuderia Ferrari went onto a new plane altogether with the arrival in the team of the living legend, Michael Schumacher in 1996.

Schumacher also brought along with him the nucleus of his hugely successful Benetton team in the form of Ross Brawn(technical director) and Rory Byrne (chief designer). Teaming up with Jean Todt (team principal), they set about rebuilding the Scuderia. By 2004, the scarlet team had come to epitomize perfection and precision, winning race after race with mechanical consistency. Schumacher won 13 of the 18 races, and 12 of the first 13 of the season -- both F1 records. This was the acme of his career as he went on to became the most successful driver of all time, winning an unbelievable 7 world championship titles.

2005, however, saw the beginning of the downward slide. All new regulations (widely believed to have been put in place to end Ferrari's sheer dominance and make F1 more 'lively') saw the team struggle. They also did not have their new car and were rapidly outraced by their rivals, especially the French team Renault. The new car was rushed into use and this move saw Schumacher retire at Bahrain, the first mechanical failure since 2001, ending a phenomenal run of 59 Grands Prix without technical failure. Since then, the team hasn't really managed to get back on top. They continue to remain off the pace, not helped at all by the non-performing Bridgestones. In fact, these seem to be one of the major sources of Ferrari's troubles. The tires seem to be unable to come up to racing temperature fast enough or last long enough, giving the Michelin runners a clear advantage. The 2006 season seemed to start off fairly well, giving hope to the ever loyal tifosi (meaning Scarlet fever!). Ferrari started making "We're back..." statements but have till now turned out to be just that, statements. Though I hate to say this, Schumi too seems to be losing his touch, and more importantly, his aggression. Though he remains one of the most physically fit drivers on the circuit,he is getting older. At 37, he has probably learnt what fear is. His starts seem to lack the absolute obsession seen in the younger drivers to make places up. He drives in a more placid way than before. The odd driver error has started creeping in. He seems more 'human' than 'superhuman'.

So, is this, atleast temporarily, the end of the reign of the prancing horse? Don't bet on it. The magnetism remains, and the tifosi continue to throng circuits, sure that sweet success will be theirs once again. Over half a century of racing pedigree cannot disappear with a few bad performances. The Giant from Maranello cannot be written off. Beware world, Ferrari may be down, but they certainly are not out! Long live the prancing horse!!