(MENAFN- Arab Times) Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has made it his mission to wipe the smile off the face of Mercedes counterpart Toto Wolff next season but others fear Formula One is stuck in a rut.
With the sport facing a long list of challenges off the track, and the usual doom-laden headlines, the lack of competition is causing concern after two years of Mercedes domination.
The 'Silver Arrows' won 16 of 19 races, took 18 pole positions and a record 12 one-two finishes in 2015 with Britain's Lewis Hamilton collecting his third title and second in a row. Ferrari won the other three races, the same number that Red Bull managed to prise off Mercedes in 2014 when the champions also won the remaining 16 on their way to both titles.
"Crisis is a strong word but there are things that need sorting out for the future," said Red Bull principal Christian Horner, whose team have yet to announce what engine they will have next year after rivals refused to supply them, when considering the sport's state of health.
"Formula One ultimately has to be a show, it has to be entertainment and it has to appeal to a broad spectrum of fans and spectators."
Whether it has done that this season is dubious, with remarkably few overtakes for the lead and 11 races won from pole.
The last two seasons have been an internal battle between Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, and the German's main push this year was too little too late even if he closed off the year with three wins in a row and six successive poles.
Meanwhile, Sebastian Vettel finished 2015 with an eye-catching drive from 15th on the grid to finish fourth in Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and then forecast that Ferrari can overcome "beatable" Mercedes next year. The four-time champion German, who has enjoyed an impressive maiden season with the Italian team after moving from former champions Red Bull, said he was confident that Ferrari were ready to dominate again.
Vettel recovered from a bad qualifying session that left him 15th on the grid to finish behind his team-mate Finn Kimi Raikkonen at the Yas Marina circuit.
"We know there is still an awful lot to do and that Mercedes is very strong," he said. "But we can be better than them, they are beatable.
In a related story, Jackie Stewart, Britain's first and until this season only triple Formula One world champion, would like to see Germany's Nico Rosberg take the title off Mercedes team mate Lewis Hamilton in 2016.
Rosberg faces a crucial year after finishing runner-up to Hamilton, who can become Britain's first ever four times champion, for the past two campaigns.
The German must either rise to the challenge and follow in the footsteps of father Keke, Finland's 1982 world champion, or be written off as a number two.
"It would be good if he won the title. That would be very good," Stewart, 76, told Reuters at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix won by Rosberg.
"There is nothing to stop Rosberg winning. He is quick. We have seen him have so many pole positions. He is smoother (than Hamilton)," he added.
"Lewis is quite aggressive so therefore he has won more races because of that aggression, but sometimes that can bite you also."
Hamilton won 10 of this year's 19 races to Rosberg's six but the German came good at the end with a run of three in a row and six successive pole positions.
The challenge for Rosberg, who made his debut with Williams in 2006 and now has 14 career wins, is to show that he can also win when it matters most and not just when nothing is at stake.
"He is good, and there is no question about it. The trouble is you have to be very good and he has got to just step up that little bit extra," said Stewart.
The Scot's desire to see Rosberg succeed has nothing to do with any personal animosity towards Hamilton but more for Formula One to provide more excitement and to put on more of a show when one team is so utterly dominant.
If Mercedes are again racing on a different level next season, it will be more important than ever for Rosberg to take the fight to his team mate.
The closing races of 2015 offered hope for the future but just how much of a pointer they really are remains to be seen.
"There's been so much discussion about has he stepped up his game or has the car come towards him development-wise?" said Mercedes motorsport director Toto Wolff. "Or has Lewis unconsciously just taken it more easily?
"I don't know"I think we have to find out."
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