The prancing horses limp towards the end of 2014

21 years ... That's how long it has been since Ferrari was last forced to endure through a winless Formula One season. It's quite a rare sight indeed. In 2014, their star driver Fernando Alonso has only managed to finish as high as second, doing so in the Hungarian Grand Prix.

It's not a lack of effort from the Spaniard

Their lack of victory champagne certainly can not be attributed to a lack of effort by Alonso, who has placed seventh or higher in every Grand Prix this season ... Every GP with the exception of one. He suffered a mechanical failure in the Italian GP of all events; Ferrari's backyard. The cruelty in that fact can not be understated.

Heads have rolled

Due to the poor performance from the F14 T, heads have rolled at Maranello. Stefano Domenicali and Luca Di Montezemolo are gone as the marque faces the second longest drought in the team's history. The loyal Tifosi are left to watch in agony as both World Champions battle for fourth and fifth on a weekly basis.

2014 has been lost, but there's still a chance to come out of this season with some pride. Race teams and drivers are defined, not by how they act while ruling the world, but how they persevere through time of struggle.

When the champagne tastes the sweetest

If Ferrari can beat the odds and somehow defeat Mercedes in one of the five chances they have left, it will be one of the defining victories in Ferrari history. It's bizarre to think of Ferrari as the underdogs, but that's how they stand in the era of the silver arrows.

When you can overcome such a deficit and claw your way to the top of the podium despite all the obstacles in your way, that is when the champagne tastes the sweetest.

If Ferrari can do this, then they can go into the off-season with some satisfaction; the satisfaction that they can still prevail over all, even in their darkest of times.