Ferrari F2005

The F2005 in qualifying at the controversial US Grand Prix

The Ferrari F2005 Formula One racing car was Ferrari's 2005 effort at the Formula One campaign of that year. After 6 straight seasons of Ferrari winning the constructors championship, and five straight drivers championships, the F2005 was not a successful car, and Ferrari scored their lowest result in the constructors since 1995. The general consensus was that the main reason for Ferraris lack of form was down to the Bridgestone tyres the team used, which were poor in comparison to the Michelin tyres that were used by the majority of teams that were competing for glory with Ferrari (Renault, McLaren, Toyota, Williams, BAR, Red Bull Racing and Sauber all had Michelin). The best result achieved all season was a first and second placed finish at the United States Grand Prix, where, due to Michelin claiming that there tyres were unsafe, only six cars competed (Ferrari, Jordan and Minardi all raced on Bridgestone tyres, the tyre they had been using all season). This was to be Ferraris and Michael Schumacher's only race win of the season, and Rubens Barrichello also equalled his best result of second.

The most competitive races for Ferrari where all twenty cars competed were at the San Marino and Hungarian Grand Prix'. At Imola, Michael Schumacher qualified thirteenth after making a mistake in the second qualifying session the day before, but on race day Bridgestone were at there most competitive, with Michael storming through the field to challenge eventual race winner Fernando Alonso, putting a huge amount of pressure on the 2005 World Champion, but being unable to find a way past. As for the Hungarian Grand Prix, Michael Schumacher started from pole position and led the race on a track where the Michelin tyre was expected to hold an advantage over their Japanese rivals. Michael had a light fuel load, and was eventually beaten by McLaren driver Kimi Raikkonen, who at the end of the day had a better pit stop strategy. Apart from those two races, Ferrari never often looked in contention for race victories, and eventually finished a distant third in the constructors championship, with Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello suffering their worst championship positions in recent memory.

Instead of being called the F2006, the next car was called the 248 F1, because of it's 2.4 liter V8 engine.

2005 was without a doubt a year to forget for Ferrari.