A dishonored livery: where would Schumacher, Irvine, Todt, and Montezemolo be in the standings with the SF-26?

Zero spirit of 1996, Ferrari stopped at the livery

“On the occasion of the Italian Grand Prix in Monza, Scuderia Ferrari HP celebrates one of the most significant chapters of its history, thirty years after Michael Schumacher’s first season in Maranello. Michael’s story with Ferrari was much more than a sequence of wins and titles. His relentless pursuit of improvement, attention to detail, discipline, and ability to be a true team man contributed to creating a culture that has become one of the distinctive traits of the Scuderia.”

“Thirty years later, that culture continues to be part of the way Ferrari approaches competitions. Monza therefore represents the ideal place to celebrate this legacy, not simply by looking at what has been achieved, but by recognizing values that are still part of Ferrari today.” Thus on September 1 the official Ferrari website commented on the presentation of the livery that characterized the SF-26 in the Italian GP in Monza.

Ferrari has indeed decided to evoke 1996 and the beginning of the Schumacher era. The evocation, however, stopped at the livery because on track the ‘show’ was not very edifying if the goal was to honor discipline and being team men.

The provocation

It is true that regardless of what happened with all probabilities Hamilton and Leclerc would have still been destined to fight for sixth place facing an embarrassing power and top speed deficit. Witnessing the shoves at the First Chicane with Charles Leclerc’s retirement shortly after, however, is equivalent to putting the ball on the penalty spot for Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion, cleverly managing the murky art of politics, is trying to sew the captain’s stripes onto his suit also through objectively solid performances.

Andrea Kimi Antonelli has won 7 races out of 13, a fact that is even clearer than the 76-point lead over Lewis Hamilton who only won in Barcelona. It is hard to think that Ferrari could somehow have regrets considering the forces at play. The celebratory livery, however, raises a question, or, if you prefer, a provocation. Where would Michael Schumacher, Eddie Irvine, Jean Todt, and Luca Cordero di Montezemolo be in the world championship standings with a Ferrari SF-26 that perhaps even has something more than the F310 that won with Schumi in Spain, Belgium, and Monza? Thinking about it is a stylistic exercise, bar talk, but the fact remains that the much-praised ‘execution’, the 2026 refrain of team principal Frederic Vasseur, was deficient especially in the areas of ‘discipline’ and ‘team men’ emphasized by Ferrari itself.

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