Ferrari, a 2017 report full of contrasts

This 2017 season got off to a flying start for Ferrari, technically, sportingly and morally speaking. Fears expressed by the untimely dismissal of English technical director James Allison – who left after a year in red at Mercedes – and the establishment of an essentially Italian team, young, determined and with new ideas, did not last.

The aggressive strategy of Sergio Marchionne, big boss of the Fiat-Chrysler group, applied to the letter by his armed wing Maurizio Arrivabene (head of Ferrari Sports Management. Editor's note), paid off from the outset at the same time as the SF70H proved to be of a very good standard.

Achieving two victories and three second places before achieving the Monegasque laurels, dreamed of for fifteen years, was enough to fuel the wildest hopes. So yes, hopes grew and grew, to arrive at a rather flattering mathematical result.

Facing Mercedes, Ferrari was the only team to maintain a bit of suspense. Four years of V6 turbo/hybrid engine, 79 Grands Prix contested, 71 pole positions, 63 victories, 4 Constructors' and 4 Drivers' world titles for the Star, compared to 8 victories, including 5 in this “splendid” year 2017 for Ferrari.

Ninth year without a Constructors' world crown, tenth without a Drivers' crown, certainly, but it is the first time, since 2010, that the Scuderia has completed a season rich in so many victories.

This year, Fernando Alonso had missed the title by a trifle, a few turns from the finish of the last Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi (against Sebastian Vettel et Red Bull. Editor's note), and the affair, tinged with tears and criticism, then caused a lot of noise, unlike this year. In a general context swallowed up by Mercedes (19 victories to 0 in 2016, compared to 12 to 5 in 2017), there is indeed reason to see something positive...

More than half full, the glass of the balance sheet nevertheless appears largely half empty, because too many shadows on the board remind us that this 2017 season was not the one Maranello expected.

Find our complete breakdown of the Scuderia Ferrari season in issue 2143 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.