It is the end of another era at Ferrari. Not only will reigning
champion Michael Schumacher relinquish his title crown at the end
of the season, but after five years Rubens Barrichello has decided
to leave the Maranello-based outfit this year.
There could have been few in the paddock and amongst the motoring
scribes who were taken by surprise at Barrichello's decision to
quit.
The Brazilian has had enough and called time to playing second
fiddle to the seven times world champion. Nine wins for the Italian
Scuderia was in the end scant reward for the genial driver.
Barrichello, like his predecessor Eddie Irvine, rarely got a look
in. Countless times it would appear that Barrichello was running an
experimental car. If anything was going to go wrong, you could have
put your home on the fact that it would have been Barrichello's car
and not that of Michael Schumachers.
Conspiracy theorists had a field day claiming Ferrari were running
two individual cars during race weekends; a bullet proof version
for Michael and a virtual test car for Rubens.
Coupled with the brilliance of the German ace, and his ability to
get the most out of his package, it is no wonder Barrichello has
called time on his Italian love affaire.
La Dolce Vita was something of a romance that was always going to
turn sour, especially as the team were beginning to lose their grip
on the championship and circumstances became that much more
desperate.
Obviously the incident during the final lap at the Monaco Grand
Prix illustrated the resolve of Schumacher to retain his
stranglehold on his crown at whatever the cost, yet his brazen
manoeuvre on his team-mate hammered home the final nail in the
coffin that would bring Barrichello to his knees and subjugated the
Brazilian to accept his role within the team.
Ever since Schumacher arrived at Ferrari, the team have been a
one-man outfit. Just like their tyre supplier Bridgestone, who have
put all their resources at Ferraris disposal, the reliance on the
one driver or the one team to yield results may have worked in the
past, but as their rivals reorganise and regroup, so the fruits of
their labour begin to dwindle.
Bridgestone saw all their major teams like McLaren, BAR and Sauber
desert them for Michelin, where the workload in relation to testing
and development was spread equally.
Which is why Ferrari are so reluctant to adopt a restriction on
testing. They simply have to garner more information than their
rivals as they are virtually a one tyre testing machine.
The arrival of Felipe Massa as a replacement was not unexpected
either. Massa is young enough and at the moment amenable to accept
his role within the team. He will have a number of years to build a
platform of experience and will no doubt achieve his goal of
winning a grand prix race, something he will never do whilst at
Sauber.
In time, he too will want to go that one extra step and begin to
challenge for the title, but by then, Schumacher may well have
decided to call time on his Formula One career. Officially, the
German has another year to run on his contract, but it is
understood that he has an open ticket to continue with Ferrari for
as long as he wishes.
The next question of course is where will Barrichello be
going?
The smart money is obviously on Barrichello moving to BAR-Honda.
Some have suggested that he will be replacing Takuma Sato, but with
Jenson Button contracted to Williams for next season, it seems
inconceivable that Button will be able to extract himself from his
contractual obligations.
At the very least, a move to BAR-Honda would provide Barrichello
with an equal footing within the teams pecking order and for the
first time an opportunity to compete for the championship on equal
terms.
As some old sage once said: "you have to be careful what you wish
for". Whilst many young aspiring drivers may dream of one day
driving for Ferrari, it is surprising how quickly their dreams soon
turn to nightmares as they discover the realities of driving for a
team built around one driver.
For whilst Schumacher remains in Formula One, few will ever be able
to step outside his shadow and shine on their own terms on equal
terms. Massa may have it lucky. Schumacher may decide to call it a
day after 2006 or even the year after, in which case, the Brazilian
driver may be in a prime position to take over his mantle.