I see that John Iley, Ferrari's chief aerodynamicist, has been "let go" by the team and many sites are interpreting this as a result of the poor performance of the F60 this season. Yet it seems a bit extreme to blame Iley for the failure of this year's design to dominate the field, especially as he has been just as much responsible for the very competitive Ferraris of 2005 onwards. So great is the need of the team to win, however, that something has to be done and, as in the past, that tends to mean heads rolling and personnel changes.
Felipe Massa in Germany
In point of fact, the F60 was disadvantaged from the start by having no double diffuser and the design department has shown remarkable adaptability in fitting one as soon as possible, thereafter improving the car with further tweaks. A podium finish in Germany was evidence that development is working and it is not beyond possibility that Ferrari might still win a race this year. It seems an unfortunate moment to let Iley's contract lapse, therefore.
I cannot escape the conclusion that this is just the latest step in di Montezemolo's "Italianization" of Ferrari. From being an international team composed of the best engineering, design and management minds in Europe, Ferrari is fast becoming a truly Italian national team. That may be in keeping with the needs of its support and fanbase but I doubt that it can do much for its competitiveness in F1. Say what you want about Jean Todt (and I shudder at the thought of him in Mosley's position) but he was never one to take nationality into account when building and maintaining the most efficient team in the sport.
Expectations of glory die hard after a period of dominance and there are still those who see the problems of the moment as a mere blip in the fortunes of the team. Yet the signs have been there for a couple of years now in embarrassing pitlane fumbles, decreasing reliability and a fading from the front row of the grid. To me, the surprise has been that the process has taken so long, perhaps evidence of how effective were the working practices introduced by Todt and Brawn.
But such things decay and die as new team members are introduced and the last of the old guard clear out their desks. I think Ferrari fans are going to have to show their loyalty over the next few years as their team drifts away from success and becomes the team we knew back in the seventies and eighties, always to be taken into account but ever flattering to deceive.
It may even be that, with Big Ron departed from the scene, McLaren too will not be the force we have been accustomed to. This year of Brawn and Red Bull success may not be a short-lived departure from the status quo but may continue and become the norm of the future. Such changes happen in F1 from time to time, as those who remember the great days of Tyrrell, Lotus and Williams will attest. Nothing lasts forever.
Which is true but ignores the fact that Ferrari is always with us. Other teams come and go but the red one goes on and on, regardless of how fortune smiles on it. Like Silverstone, it was there from the beginning and still it remains.
Oops, but Silverstone's days are numbered, aren't they...?