It is the end of another era at Ferrari. Not only will reigning champion Michael Schumacher relinquish his title crown at the end of the season, but after five years Rubens Barrichello has decided to leave the Maranello-based outfit this year.
There could have been few in the paddock and amongst the motoring scribes who were taken by surprise at Barrichello's decision to quit.
The Brazilian has had enough and called time to playing second fiddle to the seven times world champion. Nine wins for the Italian Scuderia was in the end scant reward for the genial driver.
Barrichello, like his predecessor Eddie Irvine, rarely got a look in. Countless times it would appear that Barrichello was running an experimental car. If anything was going to go wrong, you could have put your home on the fact that it would have been Barrichello's car and not that of Michael SchumacherÂ’s.
Conspiracy theorists had a field day claiming Ferrari were running two individual cars during race weekends; a bullet proof version for Michael and a virtual test car for Rubens.
Coupled with the brilliance of the German ace, and his ability to get the most out of his package, it is no wonder Barrichello has called time on his Italian love affaire.
La Dolce Vita was something of a romance that was always going to turn sour, especially as the team were beginning to lose their grip on the championship and circumstances became that much more desperate.
Obviously the incident during the final lap at the Monaco Grand Prix illustrated the resolve of Schumacher to retain his stranglehold on his crown at whatever the cost, yet his brazen manoeuvre on his team-mate hammered home the final nail in the coffin that would bring Barrichello to his knees and subjugated the Brazilian to accept his role within the team.
Ever since Schumacher arrived at Ferrari, the team have been a one-man outfit. Just like their tyre supplier Bridgestone, who have put all their resources at FerrariÂ’s disposal, the reliance on the one driver or the one team to yield results may have worked in the past, but as their rivals reorganise and regroup, so the fruits of their labour begin to dwindle.
Bridgestone saw all their major teams like McLaren, BAR and Sauber desert them for Michelin, where the workload in relation to testing and development was spread equally.
Which is why Ferrari are so reluctant to adopt a restriction on testing. They simply have to garner more information than their rivals as they are virtually a one tyre testing machine.
The arrival of Felipe Massa as a replacement was not unexpected either. Massa is young enough and at the moment amenable to accept his role within the team. He will have a number of years to build a platform of experience and will no doubt achieve his goal of winning a grand prix race, something he will never do whilst at Sauber.
In time, he too will want to go that one extra step and begin to challenge for the title, but by then, Schumacher may well have decided to call time on his Formula One career. Officially, the German has another year to run on his contract, but it is understood that he has an open ticket to continue with Ferrari for as long as he wishes.
The next question of course is where will Barrichello be going?
The smart money is obviously on Barrichello moving to BAR-Honda. Some have suggested that he will be replacing Takuma Sato, but with Jenson Button contracted to Williams for next season, it seems inconceivable that Button will be able to extract himself from his contractual obligations.
At the very least, a move to BAR-Honda would provide Barrichello with an equal footing within the teamÂ’s pecking order and for the first time an opportunity to compete for the championship on equal terms.
As some old sage once said: "you have to be careful what you wish for". Whilst many young aspiring drivers may dream of one day driving for Ferrari, it is surprising how quickly their dreams soon turn to nightmares as they discover the realities of driving for a team built around one driver.
For whilst Schumacher remains in Formula One, few will ever be able to step outside his shadow and shine on their own terms on equal terms. Massa may have it lucky. Schumacher may decide to call it a day after 2006 or even the year after, in which case, the Brazilian driver may be in a prime position to take over his mantle.