It's strange to write it now, but at the end of 2016 Ferrari was perceived to be in crisis. For a team with the richest history in F1 and one of the biggest budgets, winning just three races in three seasons (and none in 2016) was not good enough. Improvements in performance in 2015 were not sufficiently built on over the winter and Ferrari slipped behind Red Bull in the constructors' championship by the end of 2016. Lead driver Sebastian Vettel was in talks with Mercedes and technical director James Allison had already left the team for the reigning champions over the summer.
ESPN's 2017 F1 awards: Surprise of the year
