The disaster at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix is something Ferrari would like to forget, but it is clear that the race gave the Italian team an overabundance of food for thought.
For the first time in almost eight years neither Ferrari finished the race with Felipe Massa crashing in the first lap and Michael Schumacher destroying his car in the 33rd lap. But Ferrari's problems already began in the qualifying session when it became clear that Ferrari's Bridgestone tires were wrong for the unusually cool autumn weather in Melbourne.
According to Schumacher, "Formula 1 is not a sport which depends on just one detail. Rather it is a combination of thousands of details. Each one of those details will now have to be examined in full" before the next race in Imola, April 23.
"But one thing is for sure: we are too slow and we don't know why," he added.
There is a growing consensus among pundits that one of the 'details' Ferrari must examine in full is Schumacher himself, who at 37 appears to have passed his prime. The seven-time world champion, five titles with Ferrari, has been unable to keep up with the younger, hungry drivers like the current 24-year-old champion Fernando Alonso, who has won two out of the season's three races and leads the standings with 28 points, compared to the 11 fourth-placed Schumacher has.
The German driver has already made it clear he will decide by the middle of the season whether or not he will retire and, should he keep driving, whether he will stay at Ferrari. Among those who do not see Schumacher calling it quits is Alonso, who after Sunday's race said "he's a great driver and he'll be in winning form again soon. I'm not going to be the one to send him into retirement".
"In fact, I don't think he'll retire, He's always so motivated, so professional, and he deserves respect," the Spaniard added.
Ferrari's new car would appear to be the least of the team's problems and the defects of the V8 engine, which had compromised the second race in the season in Malaysia last month, seem to be resolved. However, Ferrari does continue to have problems with its tires, which were perhaps the most to blame for the team's dismal performance last season.
Nevertheless, the difference this year is that Ferrari is not alone in using Bridgestone and Ralf Schumacher obtained his podium finish on Sunday with them on his Toyota. Ferrari now has almost three weeks to work out its problems before the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, practically in Ferrari's own back yard. This is expected to be the race which will indicate whether Ferrari can hope to be a contender this season or confirm the team is set for another disappointing year.
