Almost 20 years have passed since Ferrari opened its last winning cycle in the Formula 1 championship, probably the most triumphant and the only one in recent history: it was the8 October of the 2000 when Michael Schumacher, still the undisputed idol of Ferrari fans despite his health conditions forcing his family not to broadcast news of him since 29 December 2013, won the Drivers' Championship at the wheel of the Ferrari. The German driver triumphed on the Japanese circuit of Suzuka, preceding his McLaren rival Mika Hakkinen and thus winning the title with one race to spare, at the end of an incredible comeback, which began in September with the victory in the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, after Hakkinen in the previous race in Belgium he had reached the maximum advantage in the standings over the Ferrari driver.
So 19 years have passed since that unforgettable victory and the previous wait had been even longer: if today the Cavallino already has some hope of a title with the young phenomenon Charles Leclerc (perhaps more in next season than this), then Maranello di he had to wait 21 years to return to winning a Drivers' title. The last Ferrari driver to take home the World Championship was in fact the South African Jody David Scheckter, in the now distant 1979. By winning at Suzuka on 8 October 2000 Schumacher not only brought Ferrari back to the top of the world, but also won his third personal title, after the two won in Benetton in 1994 and 1995. And in total then came to win 7, given that the 2000 was only the first in a series of five consecutive victories with the Cavallino, in an unforgettable epic under the technical guidance of Jean Todt.
The last triumph of the Schmacher-Ferrari pairing therefore dates back to 2004, and since then only one other time has Maranello led a driver to win the Formula 1 championship: in 2007, somewhat surprisingly, the Finn Kimi Raikkonen won, while at least a couple of times (once with Felipe Massa, the other with Fernando Alonso), Ferrari lost the title in the last race, starting from a favorable situation.
