Something Everyone in F1 Agrees On
Ferrari winning makes the sport better
While the 2021 Formula 1 season gave us Max Verstappen’s “Orange Army” versus Lewis Hamilton’s “Team LH”, everyone can agree that Formula 1 is so much better when Ferrari is at the top.
And as Sebastian Vettel so precisely said, “everybody’s a Ferrari fan”.
Last year gave us two opposing parties — those who love Verstappen and hate Hamilton, or those who love Hamilton and hate Verstappen.
But there’s one thing it seems everyone agrees on: they love Charles LeClerc.
On Sunday, he showed why.
Not only is he respectful in interviews, fair on track, and he’s F-A-S-T. He’s a perfect addition to the Hamilton/Verstappen energy.
Even Ferrari’s other driver, Carlos Sainz, is one of the more likable drivers on the grid. And he’s got the chops to back that up.
Sainz finished ahead of teammate, LeClerc, and took fifth in the championship after both Red Bull and Mercedes.
With likeable and formidable drivers, a powerful car, and the prestige of the Ferrari brand, this could be the year the sport explodes even more than after last season.
Why Ferrari Matters
For one, history.
Scuderia Ferrari is the most successful and oldest currently competing team in Formula One. They are based in Maranello, Italy.
Founded in 1929, the team began producing its cars in 1947, having previously run Alfa Romeos. They were part of the inaugural World Championship in 1950.
Ferrari has won the drivers' title fifteen times, in 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961, 1964, 1975, 1977, 1979, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2007.
They won the Constructors' Championship (established in 1958) sixteen times: in 1961, 1964, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, and 2008.
The drivers who have won the Championship while driving for Ferrari are Alberto Ascari, Juan Manuel Fangio, Mike Hawthorn, Phil Hill, John Surtees, Niki Lauda, Jody Scheckter, Michael Schumacher, and Kimi Räikkönen.
Scuderia Ferrari has 239 wins, 782 podiums, 231 poles, 255 fastest laps, and 8,756 points in 1030 starts in Formula 1.
Formula One without Ferrari would be like the NFL without the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, and Pittsburgh Steelers, or Manchester United and Barcelona in soccer. Ferrari is the sport's most prestigious team, having won the most races and championships, by far.
In 1977, founder Enzo Ferrari told Car’s Keith Botsford, "The racing cars are our most effective way of making the Ferrari way known, and selling what we produce." The company is built to race.
And, without its F1 triumphs, Ferrari would probably not be the most powerful brand in the world, as it was named by Brand Finance multiple times.
However, Ferrari hasn’t won a constructors’ title since 2008. This 14-year drought is the second-longest in the team’s history, behind only the 17 years from 1983 to 1999.
Even worse is that Ferrari has stopped winning races altogether.
Yes, they’ve won races from 2009-19 with past champions and legends such as Fernando Alonso, Räikkönen, and Sebastian Vettel. Current lead driver Charles Leclerc also has two wins in the Ferrari red.
But that’s not enough for the team from Maranello.
The Netflix Effect
We’ve discussed the success of Drive to Survive on Netflix ad nauseam, and aside from digital viewership, its actual physical presence is also growing.
Since 1959, six American venues have hosted 42 editions of the U.S. Grand Prix, but for the first time in series history, there will be two American dates on the season schedule. The Circuit of the Americas in Austin is back with a contract that runs through at least 2026, and the Miami Grand Prix debuts May 8 on a brand new course being built at Hard Rock Stadium.
Meanwhile, McLaren is owned by Californian Zak Brown. Haas F1 is still plugging away. Michael Andretti is inquiring about a future in F1 team ownership. Formula 1 itself is owned by Liberty Media, the Colorado-based group that also owns the Atlanta Braves. Liberty executives have openly discussed adding more U.S.-based events, with their sights set on Las Vegas and New York.
According to Zoomph social media data I’ve been tracking since last season, outside of Italy, the majority of social media chatter around Scuderia Ferrari comes from the United States.
The Ferrari Club of America is the biggest Ferrari enthusiast club in the world.
With all these new eyeballs rushing to Formula 1, the series must have Ferrari at the top.
New fans don’t know of a world where Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton don’t dominate.
With a fast car, a steady boss, and the perfect teammates, these new fans will get to see why Ferrari and the tifosi are cemented in Formula 1 as the best.