It was midway through August when Ferrari managed to get their hands on the 2004 Constructor’s Championship, an obscenely early title victory completed by a win for Michael Schumacher at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

The championship victory was Ferrari’s sixth consecutive title, with Schumacher’s race win the twelfth of the season so far. In fact, the Hungarian GP was the 13th event, meaning that Michael had missed out on only one win in an incredible show of dominance. Let’s hammer that point home with another statistic - in that same race, Rubens Barrichello came in second to Schumacher, for the team’s seventh 1-2 finish of the season.

Speaking after the Grand Prix, as the celebrations were ongoing, Schumacher was understandably jubilant, “It’s the way we did it, already again so dominant, just so perfect. It’s great to live in that time and to be a part of that period and that success. We just enjoy it as long as we can.”

A further two constructor championships awaited Ferrari with the partnership of Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa

It is lucky that the team were enjoying it while the success lasted, because it was the last superbly dominant display they put on to this day. Their F1 crown was knocked clean off by Fernando Alonso, at the time racing for the blue and yellow Renault squad.

While a further two constructor championships awaited Ferrari with the partnership of Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa, the team's results were far from their dominant form of the early 2000s.

The Scuderia find themselves today keeping up the championship challenge but never quite close enough to get their hands on either of the trophies available. This season has so far been particularly troublesome and they find themselves with just two wins, sitting third in the title hunt.

Part of their trouble has been the incredible form that Red Bull has shown. The Milton Keynes-based squad have taken over the dominant role, with three constructor’s championships in a row, and a fourth looking increasingly likely. In 2011, Red Bull's most successful year, Sebastian Vettel finished on the podium for all but two of the nineteen races, and his win tally was in double figures. As a team, they managed to score more than 150 points over second place McLaren by the time the season was finished.

But as prominently displayed by the sharp turn of form that befell Ferrari, these things come and go in cycles. Ferrari were unbeatable for several seasons, but are now scrabbling to regain their previous heights. Red Bull have been the leaders of the pack for three, perhaps four years now, but things are already starting to look more difficult. A change of regulations next year could turn the order upside down once again.

The only remaining question is, who will play the part of Alonso and Renault during this decade, stepping in to steal the F1 crown from the firm grasp of Red Bull Racing?