Short on Points and Ideas, Ferrari Must Battle on With Red Faces

Not many expected to see Brawn, a team on the point of collapse four months ago, leading the world championship, but fewer still would have bet on Ferrari, the ­reigning constructors' champion, languishing at the bottom of the table without a single point to their name after three races. The Italian team's misfortune has been so bad that not even the lottery of a wet race in China could offer hope of ­temporary respite from the misery.

Felipe Massa, never far from the front of the grid last year, started from 13th place yesterday and made impressive progress as the atrocious conditions shifted the balance in favor of the driver's skill rather than the performance of his car. But just as the Brazilian moved into an unexpected third place, the Ferrari ground to a halt with an electrical problem, a rare failure for a car that is normally bullet-proof. Meanwhile, Kimi Raikkonen, in the other Ferrari, struggled to make a one-stop strategy work (as opposed to two for Massa) and finished a distant and unhappy 10th.

Splitting pit-stop strategies is a sign that bets are being hedged, as there is nothing to lose if the car is not working. Ferrari's interpretation of the technical changes for 2009 has been found wanting, not least because of the absence of the controversial rear diffuser in the design.

Ferrari added more confusion by opting to fit their car with Kers, the energy retention system that provides a six-second boost of power every lap. Kers also brings additional mass and that handicap has so far proved to outweigh the performance advantage, particularly when Ferrari's Kers system is believed to have blown up in a startling manner while on the workbench. The system was removed from the car in China, which added another variable to the equation when trying to determine Ferrari's shortcomings.

Once the rot sets in, particularly within a team carrying the expectations of a nation, controlling the potential for panic becomes as important as finding a cure. In the days when Ross Brawn was technical director and Michael Schumacher did Brawn's bidding on the track, race strategy was Ferrari's strongest suit.

Those days seemed distant when the threat of rain during the Malaysian grand prix prompted a knee-jerk reaction at the pit wall. Raikkonen was sent out on wet-weather tires even though the track was dry. By the time the rain arrived a few laps later, the grooved rubber had seriously overheated and the tyres were useless. It was an error as fundamental as forgetting to put fuel in the car and a sure sign that desperate measures were being taken in order to achieve a result – any result.

It was hugely embarrassing for a team with a proud record, and it had two unfortunate side effects. The incident recalled memories from two decades ago, when Latin chaos and Ferrari were mentioned in the same breath. But it also led to a management reshuffle last week. One of the race engineers, who was believed to have been responsible for the strategy, was given a factory-based job, one that we were assured was vital in the search for a cure to the technical problems but that was seen as the equivalent of a move to motor racing Siberia.

The only comfort Ferrari can take is that their experience and technical resources are such that the car will come good sooner rather than later. But, by then, the winners of 15 drivers' world championships will be fighting for the season's scraps.