When last year’s hapless also-rans become this season’s threat to Formula One’s front runners, some motivating influence behind the scenes must have surfaced from under the groundswell of failure.

And that is the case at Ferrari, the legends who lapsed and were in danger of complete collapse as a grand prix force to be respected and reckoned with until the timely arrival of guiding light Maurizio Arrivabene, a beacon of fresh thinking, planning and organisation.

The tough and uncompromising Italian, who leaves no room for argument when he dictates a policy for triumph after too long a run of failure by the Prancing Horse outfit, has transformed his new charges to such a degree that championship runaways Mercedes are now looking anxiously over their shoulders.

The resurgence of Ferrari, almost expected in the shape of incoming genius driver Sebastian Vettel, has taken on an even stronger promise with the revitalisation of Kimi Raikkonen, who demonstrated last Sunday in Bahrain that he is now looking like a win waiting to happen.

After a long spell of indifference, the enigmatic Finn, in the last year of his contract, has woken himself up to the need to mix it with the championship pacemakers and give leader Lewis Hamilton something else to worry about other than his Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg and four-time champion Vettel.

Raikkonen, the world champion in 2007 on a previous outing with Ferrari, had slumped into virtual anonymity on his second stay with the Italians — but in a last flash of his old self he snatched second place in the desert duel, his first podium for Ferrari since winning the title with them eight years ago.

So what, or who, has created this crucial change of attitude and advancement of ambition? Arrivabene, that’s who. And he has played telling mind games with Raikkonen.

The new team chief, a close-season replacement for the utterly ineffectual Marco Mattiacci, knew he did not have to work too hard to stir Vettel, provided he got a car that matched his ability. But Raikkonen, who sank in the shadow of the now-departed Fernando Alonso, needed a kick up the backside.

Not only that, but the astute new boss opted to keep Raikkonen on edge by refusing to readily re-sign him for an extended term.

The result, as we saw in Bahrain, was a full flow of action from the Finn, a performance way beyond any we had seen for at least the last two uneventful years.

Rumours abounded that he would be kicked out, as a whole host of names were conjured up as eager applicants for his job.

Arrivabene took him to one side and emphasised his demands and this week, following on the Raikkonen’s overdue podium return, he revealed: “I am happy with my drivers — but that does not mean that I am going to re-sign Kim tomorrow.

“We are very clear, and I repeat again, I reminded Kimi that it all depends on his performances — and he has demonstrated that he is a great driver when he puts his mind to it.

“So, if you ask me now does he deserve to have his option renewed, I am going to say yes. But if I am to say yes, I don’t want him to fall asleep. So I want to keep him awake.

“Kimi gives his best when he is in a bit of trouble. So mine is a psychological approach. The contract paper at the moment is white. Sometimes I have to take the pen — then take it back. I have told him, we need to have him on the podium and then I’ll give him the pen.

“He has shown what a race animal he can be and we want him to put pressure on Mercedes. That will be good for Ferrari and his future with us.”

Arrivabene’s mantra leaves no room for any Raikkonen hesitance in hitting his long-lost world title winning form again.

 

— The writer is a freelance journalist and motorsport expert