Maurizio Arrivabene insists Ferrari must keep its eye on the goal of winning the 2016 world championship. Amid reliability troubles and recent race incidents for Sebastian Vettel, some suggest the pace and points gap to Mercedes is already looking insurmountable.
Team boss Arrivabene, however, is staying upbeat. "Everyone was aware before the season that an enormous task was in front of us," he told Italian media after the Russian grand prix. "For the world title, Ferrari must not give up and I will not allow it," Arrivabene insisted. "We have 17 race weekends still ahead of us and I am not convinced that the championship train is pulling out of the station."
However, the Vettel-Daniil Kvyat crashes aside, Sochi was not a good weekend for Ferrari in terms of pace. Arrivabene said: "Yes, but due to the circuit characteristics of Sochi we also expected this. It must not happen again but I am convinced that we will be much stronger in the next circuits compared to here. Firstly because these circuits suit our car better and because the recent developments on the engine are more of an advantage on circuits like Barcelona."
He is quoted by La Gazzetta dello Sport: "Ferrari has the human, technical and financial resources to stay in the race and reverse the current trend of the championship." (GMM)
Replies (3)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Yes, Spain should definitely suit Ferrari's car better. Im not sure if its the best track for them on the calendar though... Methinks Suzuka? That Dunlop corner should fit the Ferrari very well. Or maybe Spa?
Vet5
Posts: 225
Yeah Spain should definitely suit the cars capabilities, but remember that Merc is taking a new aero package to Spain so might be Ferrari trying to catch them again. Suzuka I would say suits the Redbulls better, and Spa is definitely a Mercedes track. From what we have all seen, I'd say the tracks that could pose a threat to Mercedes from Ferrari are;
Spain, Europe, Silverstone, Hungary, Singapore, Malaysia, US, & Brazil
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Yeah, we'll have to see how that turns out. Luckily Spain is a tyre-intense track if memory serves me well, so it should benefit Ferrari.
Im actually not sure whether Red Bull is the best car for Suzuka or not. Which car is fastest in high-speed corners at the moment? The Dunlop corner is basically a full-throttle corner, so you need good aero and oompf for it. But it will definitely be a good track for them. I expect Williams and Force India to fall back there. Mercedes tend to be very strong there, not sure they'll be as strong there this year, but we'll have to see!
I agree with most of your list! However Im not sure US is a bad track for Mercedes though, that long straight is right up their alley.