5 Things Ferrari Must Do to Return to the Top of Formula 1 in 2015

Between 2000 and 2008, Ferrari won seven constructors' championships, six drivers' championships and 76 grands prix.

From 2009 to the present day, they've won no championships and just 12 races. The 2014 season looks like it'll be their first winless campaign since 1993.

The fall from grace is as staggering as it is depressing for those who love the red cars, and finally some meaningful change is coming to Maranello. Luca di Montezemolo has stepped down as president, following former team principal Stefano Domenicali out of the Ferrari door.

New team boss Marco Mattiacci is attempting to restructure the Scuderia, and technical director James Allison thinks he sees where part of the problem lies.

But the path back to success won't be an easy one, and some very tough decisions will need to be made along the way.

Fernando Alonso is the only reason Ferrari have looked anywhere near respectable for the last five years. A look at his contributions in points terms since 2010 tells the story.

Alonso is the best all-round driver currently on the grid. He knows the people and environment at Ferrari and can wring every ounce of performance out of whatever he is given to drive.

The 2012 season proved that having him around means they don't necessary need to build the best car—a close second- or third-best may do.

His presence is hugely important.

Ferrari need to establish some sort of strategy for the future, because there's a chance they could head into the second half of next year with two drivers heading for the exit.

Kimi Raikkonen definitely plans to leave at the end of 2015, and Fernando Alonso might be gone by then too.

Uncertainty and a lack of continuity is never good in a top team—Ferrari need a plan for 2016. But their primary internal hope, Jules Bianchi, is wasting away at Marussia.

Being at a backmarker isn't like being with a midfield team. In the midfield you fight a variety of opponents, often race in tight packs and test yourself against some very good drivers.

As a backmarker, you fight the same three guys over and over, rarely more than one at a time (if at all) and are usually pitted against mediocre pay drivers.

He's becoming an exceptional time-triallist, but doing very little wheel-to-wheel action.

Bianchi needs to be moved to a bigger team for 2015 to re-familiarise himself with actual racing. The trouble is, the only realistic option would be Sauber—and they'd need a significant financial contribution.

The Scuderia will have to dig deep into their pockets to supply them with that.

Alternatively, Ferrari could spend that cash on paying off Raikkonen's contract and bringing in Bianchi to replace him.

That way, the Frenchman would definitely be ready for 2016.

Ferrari's senior management currently consists of president Sergio Marchionne and team principal Marco Mattiacci.

Between them, they have approximately five months' experience inside F1. Great businessmen they may be, but they're not currently equipped to guide the sport's oldest and most famous team.

Ferrari have two choices here. One is to wait and see if the combination blossoms into a beautiful flower of success.

The other is to act now and bring in an experienced leader as team principal to help push the team forward.

The latter seems more likely to produce a positive result.

Ross Brawn would be the ideal choice, with Mattiacci moving "upstairs." But in a recent interview with German publication Auto Motor und Sport (h/t NBC for English reporting), Brawn distanced himself from a full-time return to the paddock.

A more than capable alternative would be Bob Bell. Less well-known than Brawn, he has a long career behind him and has held senior roles at Renault and Mercedes.

When credit is being given out for this year's dominant W05, Bell deserves a large slice.

He resigned as the team's technical director last December, and is free of his contract at the end of the current season.

One, or even both, would do nicely.

In May this year, Ferrari's recently recruited technical director James Allison made a very public, blunt statement about what he clearly saw as a major issue for the team.

He told press at Monaco (h/t BBC Sport):

There is a wealth of talent at Ferrari, the experience and quality of the people on the technical side is a match for any team.

It is a question of giving them the encouragement to actually go off and do more unusual things and then have the time to look at them and know that if they fail it's OK because there's still time to put a back-up plan in place and for that to work.

Creativity and originality will only come if you set out to allow the engineers in your organisation the space and the time to do that.

If you force them to operate with their back against the wall, up against deadlines that are very tight, then there is no time for them to think about how they might approach something differently.

A few months later, team principal Marco Mattiacci gave an interview to Autosport, in which he said broadly the same thing. He also said he wanted an end to the finger-pointing and blame culture within the team.

That culture came about because the top management were a little trigger-happy with firings.

They need to do exactly what Allison said and give technical staff the freedom and licence to do the creative and different things which could give the team an advantage over the competition.

And most importantly, those staff need the assurance they won't be unfairly scapegoated if something doesn't go quite as well as they'd hoped.

Ferrari could keep Fernando Alonso, free up the technical side, develop Jules Bianchi and hire a 1,000 Ross Brawns—but with a poor powertrain, they'll still be lagging behind.

They can't throw the whole thing out, or swap everything—the engine freeze rules mean certain components cannot be changed.

But technical director James Allison believes substantial improvements can still be found. He told the team website:

It’s true you can’t change every part of the engine, but the regulations say the majority of parts that can make a difference in terms of performance on the engine are still free.

In fact, our problem is not the rules, it’s the time needed to close such a big gap. Therefore we must make the most of every available minute from now to the final moment before the homologation date, which is 28 February 2015.

No doubt work is ongoing.

If Ferrari can at least bring their power output and energy efficiency up to a level somewhere near the class-leading Mercedes, they have a chance.

But if not, they'll spend another year among the also-rans.