Feature: Ferrari Put Italian Hopes on Hold

Italy's hopes of seeing an Italian challenging for the Formula One World Championship in an Italian car will have to wait.

Ferrari's announcement on Wednesday that Brazilian Rubens Barrichello had extended his contract to the end of 2006 can only have soured Giancarlo Fisichella's 31st birthday celebrations.

Only last Monday the little Roman had told reporters of his dreams, holding out a Ferrari test later in the year and his drive for Ferrari-powered Sauber this season as possible stepping stones to the scarlet scuderia.

Ferrari's news offered little in the way of a gift to Fisichella, whose hopes of joining a top team in 2005 must now focus mainly on Williams unless Michael Schumacher drops a retirement bombshell. Williams are now the only team among the top three with an acknowledged vacancy for 2005.

Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya is leaving for McLaren at the end of the year, almost certainly as teammate to Finland's 2003 runner-up Kimi Raikkonen. That will leave Briton David Coulthard, now the most successful driver since Stirling Moss - in terms of race wins - not to have won the title, also looking for a job.

Barrichello's confirmation at a team that has brought the last five constructors' titles home to Maranello along with four successive drivers' titles for Schumacher, is significant on many levels.

Formula One contracts always have escape clauses but the decision to stick with the loyal number two, who has faithfully supported Schumacher since he joined from Stewart in 2000, shows how much Ferrari value continuity.

Ferrari Family

Team boss Jean Todt, technical director Ross Brawn, designer Rory Byrne and engine expert Paolo Martinelli are now contracted to stay together as the 'family' around Schumacher and Barrichello for the next three years.

Brazilian Felipe Massa, the 2003 Ferrari test driver managed by Todt's son and seen as a possible heir to Schumacher despite his lack of race experience, can also expect to stay at Sauber for the next couple of years.

Those who had expected Ferrari to wait and see how Massa fared at Sauber alongside Fisichella before deciding Barrichello's future have been wrong-footed. The great imponderable, and the only glimmer of hope for Fisichella and all the other would-be Ferrari drivers, is Schumacher himself.

The German is 35 years old and has achieved almost everything there is to achieve in the sport. He is the only man to have won six titles and has more race wins and more money than any other driver in Formula One history.

However much it irritates him, there is persistent speculation about when he might retire and whether he will indeed be around in 2006. He says he intends to stay for as long as he remains competitive, while Ferrari insist he is still at the peak of his powers.

"The Michael Schumacher we see next year will be the best Michael Schumacher ever," Todt declared last month. "He's as motivated as he has ever been."

Whether he will stay that way if Ferrari's rivals start beating them regularly remains to be seen. Some observers thought his record-breaking sixth title last season might have been the time to go.

By extending Barrichello's contract Ferrari have an insurance policy, an experienced driver capable of supporting Schumacher or leading a new and younger talent should the German call it a day at the end of this year or next.

Otherwise, with the likes of Raikkonen, Montoya and Spain's Fernando Alonso firmly under contract to rivals, Ferrari have effectively said that they are happy to leave their future in the hands of the men they know.