In 2011, a few months after Ferrari had lost the title for their new driver Fernando Alonso with a catastrophic strategy call in the final race of the season, chief designer Aldo Costa was sacked. Di Montezemolo had demanded a head because the car was lagging behind Red Bull.
It later transpired that there was not much wrong with the car itself; the major difference was in Red Bull’s mastery of using exhaust gases for aerodynamic effect, a technology Ferrari never mastered over the succeeding two and a half seasons it was permitted. By the time that was clear, it was too late. Costa joined Brawn at Mercedes.
In 2014, Ferrari had agreed a deal for Newey to join the team. He began to get cold feet when team principal Stefano Domenicali was forced into resigning following the team’s poor start to the season. Shortly afterwards, other things happened that undermined Newey’s faith that going to Ferrari was a good idea, and he decided to back away for good.
Domenicali’s replacement Marco Mattiacci never gelled with Alonso, who was already having grave doubts about Ferrari’s ability to ever produce a car in which he could win an elusive third title.
Alonso said he wanted to leave. Mattiacci did nothing to try to keep him; instead signing Vettel and effectively forcing the Spaniard out. The fact Alonso says he never wanted to stay is immaterial; now Ferrari had lost arguably the best driver in the world, the man who almost single-handedly had made them look respectable for the previous five years.
And now Allison has gone, too.
Vettel, it transpires, is not happy about that at all – and running the race strategy from the car is unlikely to increase his confidence either.
Up and down the paddock in Germany, many people were saying that they found it hard to see a way back for Ferrari from here. If there is one, it looks like being a long, hard road.