Jody Scheckter was the last Ferrari driver to win the World Drivers' Championship before Michael Schumacher. Scheckter captured the 1979 title in his Ferrari 312T4, securing Ferrari's first drivers' championship since Niki Lauda's 1977 triumph.
The South African joined Ferrari for 1979 alongside Gilles Villeneuve. His five victories included wins at Belgium, Monaco and Italy, where he clinched the championship at Monza with two races still remaining. Villeneuve finished second in the standings, giving Ferrari a memorable one-two.
Scheckter retired after the disappointing 1980 season, when Ferrari scored only eight points and he managed just two personally. Ferrari then endured a long wait for another drivers' champion. Alain Prost, Gilles Villeneuve and Niki Lauda are plausible distractors, but none was the last Ferrari champion before Schumacher: Lauda's most recent Ferrari title came in 1977, Villeneuve never won the drivers' crown, and Prost did not win a title for Ferrari.
Michael Schumacher finally ended the gap by winning the 2000 championship, his first with Ferrari and the team's first drivers' title in 21 years.