Formula One: What first in testing means for Ferrari and their future

Scuderia Ferrari leads the Formula One field after winter testing. How will it all stack up for Maranello over the next couple of seasons?

To the surprise of some race fans, leading the Formula One pack in pace at this year’s winter testing was Scuderia Ferrari. The fact that it is surprising, given that Ferrari has been around since F1’s inception and is the winningest team in F1 history, signifies just how bleak the fortunes in Maranello have been for the better part of a decade. Since Ferrari is on now on top of the time sheet, what does this mean for their future?

Taking a look over the last several years, the abilities of the team have ebbed and waned, from the highlights of Michael Schumacher and the dominance of the early 2000s and the Italian-built machines (especially the F2004), to Kimi Raikkonen and his place as the last F1 champion that was enrobed in the traditional “Rosso Corsa” (or racing red) of the Scuderia. That was back in 2008 and, since then, Ferrari has seen a multitude of issues.

After some dismal seasons and performances, the house of Ferrari was forcibly restructured with the resignation of long-standing president Luca di Montezemolo, with Fiat head Sergio Marchionne taking over, as well as a new team principal in Maurizio Arrivabene, the third team principal to direct the team in only a matter of years.

Since 2015, Ferrari has been in a rebuilding phase of sorts, and last season was the first times in many seasons that Sebastian Vettel and his SF70H were competitive enough to vie for the championship.

In the end, the Scuderia came up short in 2017, but after Vettel laid down a smashing time of 1:17:182 at testing this year on day 3, setting the unofficial lap record on the Catalunya circuit, Kimi Raikkonen got himself within four hundredths of that on the fourth and final day of testing, proving that Ferrari is up to the challenge.

This may not mean much now, as the dominant Mercedes was more focused on their long runs during testing, and Red Bull chose not to display their full flight, but it does mean that the Scuderia’s cars are performing better than they have in years prior. However, Sebastian Vettel downplayed the pace of his ride, with the German stating per the following per the BBC:

"“I am pretty happy with the laps I had and the feeling I got for the car. But it is the wrong time to draw any conclusions.”"

The season is long, and we all know that testing doesn’t prove everything, like when long-term reliability, holding a competitive pace for an extended amount of time, or penalties could affect even the best car and/or racer’s season.