The two biggest names in Formula One, Ferrari and McLaren, seem to be struggling in recent times, with neither of them winning a Championship of any sort since 2008, what's happened to the legendary teams?
Ferrari have been in Formula One since it's inception in 1950, and are easily the most successful team in the sport. The Italian team have always been at the top and for some eras they have utterly dominated the sport, e.g. Michael Schumacher's dominance from 2000-2004. Since 'Schumi' left the Scuderia in 2006, Ferrari have never quite been the same team, with Kimi Raikkonen being the last Ferrari driver to win the World Driver's Championship in 2007, and 2008 being the last time they won the Constructors Championship.
Since then it has been a string of mediocre finishes and barely any success of any kind. Spaniard Fernando Alonso almost changed this in 2012 when he lost out in the World Drivers Championship to Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel at the final race of the season in Brazil. Alonso's long term team mate, Felipe Massa, was a strong driver until his near fatal crash in Hungary in 2009 when a loose part from Rubens Barrichello's car struck Massa's helmet, knocking him out and causing him to crash at 180mph. Since then he has never quite shown the same pace, and departed this year to Williams.
The Scuderia rehired Kimi Raikkonen in a bid to reverse their fortunes, and with an all Champion driver lineup. On paper it seems unstoppable, but with Ferrari struggling to adapt to the new rule changes, they've been left behind by their Mercedes powered rivals. Alonso has consistently scored points while Raikkonen hasn't quite had the best of seasons, languishing down in 12th place in the Championship.
McLaren are another team that are down on it's luck. Without a title since Lewis Hamilton's title win in 2008. McLaren were most dominant in the late 1980's, with the dream team combination of Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost. Winning four Drivers Championships from 1988-1991, Senna winning three and Prost winning one, McLaren were unstoppable. Since then they've been perennial title challengers, with Mika Hakkinen and Lewis Hamilton winning the Championship in 1998,1999 and 2008.
Although recently the Woking based team have suffered something of a fall from grace, with 2013 being their worst year in Formula One in decades, not reaching the podium all year, Jenson Button finishing 4th being the closest they came. 2014 seems to be worse, with a poor car and like Ferrari, they've not adapted to the new rules well, despite having arguably the best engine package, from long term suppliers Mercedes. With a return to Honda engines for 2015, perhaps McLaren can reignite their successful years from their previous relationship with the Japanese engine supplier.
The unfortunate thing for McLaren is that with Honda's first foray into F1 since 2008, it's inevitable the engine would suffer from teething problems, so it could be even longer until Ron Dennis and co. are fighting at the top with Mercedes and Red Bull. Also, it's probable McLaren will alter their driver lineup, with fan favourite Jenson Button likely to be relieved of his duties and replaced with a younger driver. Although Button could be retained, as he will have valuable information to offer the team, having previously worked with Honda from his BAR days.
So when will we see a return to the top for Ferrari and McLaren? changes are required at both teams. Ferrari need a true leader of the team, a Jean Todt-esque figure to lead the team to success. McLaren on the other hand need a stable car with a strong young challenger like Lewis Hamilton to deliver the results. Also, talk has been mentioned of Fernando Alonso making a return to Woking, despite his acrimonious season with them in 2007.