Ferrari in the red

As in Australia, the Scuderia experienced a total fiasco in Malaysia. And the most annoying part of it all? It is neither Kimi Räikkönen’s nor Felipe Massa’s fault, but rather almost entirely the responsibility of the strategy adopted by the team itself.

Such tactical errors? The Scuderia has rarely allowed itself such missteps. And the F60 is really struggling to keep up with the pace of the other beasts in the arena. The presence of the seven-time world champion on the circuits doesn’t seem to be bearing fruit either. On the contrary, Schumacher, the former rain king and current adviser to the Reds, couldn’t prevent the Modena firm from taking a tumble this weekend in Sepang. But what is his real share of responsibility in the current turmoil of the prancing horse?

Within the team, there is no questioning of Schumacher’s qualities as a developer. Apparently, it was neither a topic to discuss the position of the former driver during the debriefing following the Malaysian GP: « Michael Schumacher’s role will not be discussed simply because during the debriefing, it involves analyzing the race results », a Ferrari representative stated.

However, all the decisions made by Ferrari in Kuala Lumpur proved to be, without exception, completely inappropriate. It all started with the shameful assumption by the team that it wasn’t necessary to send Felipe Massa out for a second round in Q1, allegedly to save soft tires for Q2. On the other hand, sarcasm could suggest that the decision was indeed wise, since those precious soft tires were ultimately preserved for the race. In fact, Massa didn’t even participate in the second qualifying session, as his Q1 time wasn’t enough.

Then, the team also distinguished itself by making the daring choice to fit rain tires on Räikkönen’s car four laps before the expected arrival. Consequence: “My tires are completely destroyed,” the Finn announced on the radio two laps later. “Kimi had to pit anyway, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to continue due to lack of fuel. And since rain was expected, we decided to fit him with rain tires, which unfortunately turned out to be the wrong decision at that moment,” Schumacher explained with regret.

Finally, while all the other drivers waited in the rain for the race to restart after the red flag, the cameras showed “Iceman” in the Ferrari garage going to get ice cream and a refreshing drink. Let’s hope that the 2007 world champion hasn’t lost that winning spirit that made him magical on the track two seasons ago.

It is now up to Stefano Domenicali to turn the tide and draw the consequences of the situation: “I must ensure that my men make the right decisions because we simply cannot accept these kinds of things.” By “my men,” Domenicali likely also meant Schumacher. The seven-time world champion responded somewhat irritably to certain questions about his exact role: “I do not want to answer that. It’s an internal matter,” stated the German.

When he was a driver, no one could compete with Schumacher in the rain. Now, the question arises whether his experience brings a real advantage to Räikkönen and Massa. In the past, Schumacher relied on the instructions of Jean Todt and Ross Brawn, the latter of whom is now outpacing all the competition with his new team.

The former Ferrari driver is facing sharp criticism from the F1 world today. Niki Lauda even went as far as attributing the responsibility for Ferrari’s current disaster to him, with the tact he’s known for: “It was Michael, the advisor in the box! As a former racing driver, he should have been able to anticipate the situation better. It was just pathetic,” reported the former Austrian world champion.

In Italy, they even mock the German: Did Schumacher define the strategy? Headlined the Gazzetta dello Sport.

In any case, Schumacher will have to prove in the upcoming GPs that he not only excelled as a driver but is also at the top when it comes to being in the pits. The next opportunity will be in China.

Note: Since the writing of this article, Schumacher has announced he will not participate in the next two Grand Prix.