Ferrari hope to be the 'Prancing Horse' again

Abu Dhabi - Maurizio Arrivabene was optimistic in saying that they intend to arrive at the season-finale here next year, in the mix and fighting for the Championship.

Mention the words "Formula One" to a layman and the prompt reply would be "Ferrari."
Such is the significance and standing the team holds in what is the pinnacle of motorsport. They are the only team to have raced in every season since the F1 championship began in 1950 and have racked up 15 Drivers' and 16 Constructors' Championships.  
Back home in Italy, the 'Prancing Horse' is a massive part of the social fabric and it is said that when the team wins in some part of the globe on a Sunday, their passionate fans - the tifosi - are out on the streets in their Ferrari road cars, celebrating the win. But for a team stepped so much in history, wins have been in short supply, so to speak.
After a dominant period from 1999 to 2004 during which they clinched every Constructors' title and every Drivers' title from 2000 to 2004, during the Michael Schumacher era, the Scuderia hasn't been prancing. Their last Drivers' title came in the 2007 campaign under the 'Flying Finn' Kimi Raikkonen.
Also, their last two Constructors' titles were in 2007 and 2008. Things got worse for them last season with Ferrari not able to win a single race, the first time that had happened since 1993.
They ended up on the podium only twice. Having gone five successive seasons without any piece of silverware, it was but natural that heads would roll. And indeed it did, with the team firing two of their team principals - Stefano Domenicali and Marco Mattiacci.
Domenicali lasted from 2008 to 2014, while his replacement was gone after just one season. A massive shake-up took place at their home base in Monza, one of which was Maurizio Arrivabene being transferred from team sponsors Philip Morris and installed as the new team principal after the conclusion of the Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix last year.
But in a sport like Formula One, it would be foolish to expect for things to change overnight. Nonetheless, Ferrari have shown remarkable improvement this season with four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel winning three races since joining them from Red Bull Racing.
After a dominant Red Bull period from 2010 to 2013, it is now the Mercedes who are the team to beat with twin titles on the bounce over the past two seasons.
Their drivers Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, to some extent, have seen their names at the top of almost every other race. It has been a one-horse race, so to speak, with only Ferrari's Vettel posing some kind of a threat this season with three victories.
But Ferrari are hoping to be prancing again, with the new season rolls out in 2016. Maurizio Arrivabene was optimistic in saying that they intend to arrive at the season-finale here next year, in the mix and fighting for the Championship.
"I hope so, because last time I said we would like to stay in front of them, this is an objective," said Arrivabene.
"Then last weekend somebody said in Italy, they make a statement in the newspaper 'yeah, but where they want to go, they are going to be second, Mercedes is going to win', and I was asking 'So, what you want me to do in terms of objective? To tell to everybody that I would like to be second next year?' Of course, to beat them is our objective but it doesn't mean we are going to achieve it. But we will try very hard," he added.
The 58-year-old had set a target of three wins at the beginning of this season and they have managed in achieving that.
Asked to lay down his target for next year, Arrivabene said on a lighter note: "The target for 2016 is to cancel the smile from the face of my friend Toto (Wolff)." Toto Wolff is the team principal of Mercedes.
james@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi