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Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene has said that the Scuderia needs to "avoid distractions" throughout the coming season if it wants to maintain momentum following Sebastian Vettel's victory in Melbourne on Sunday.
The win was the first for Ferrari and Vettel since Singapore 2015, and the speed of the SF70-H in qualifying and the race stirred excitement in many onlookers hoping for a closer title battle this year. Following the triumph, Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne declared that it had been a long time coming for a team that endured a winless campaign in 2016.
However, Ferrari is being very careful not to sit back and relax, being fully aware of the continuous threat from Mercedes, and Arrivabene says it must continue to work hard at every remaining Grand Prix: "This is only the first race of the championship: there are still 19 to go and we must maintain a high level of concentration at every Grand Prix, avoiding distractions and, already as from today, we are looking ahead to the next Grand Prix in China."
He believes that the victory in Australia demonstrated the hard work done by those back at base in Maranello as well as those at the race: "(It) was a good result that could have been a great one if we'd managed to get Kimi on the podium too. When we launched the SF70-H we referred to it as "Our Ferrari" and indeed the win reflects all the effort and hard work put in over the past few months, both in Maranello and at the track.
"As for Sebastian, he did a great job, as did the whole team in fact. It's a shame that Kimi struggled in the early stages to get into the right rhythm. Our car went very well on track: it was well-balanced and consistent performance from the tyres meant we were able to adopt an aggressive strategy."
Mason Hawker
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
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Replies (5)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Yeah, avoid distractions, Italian media and continue to upgrade. I dont know how well Red Bull should perform at a track like Melbourne's, but they and Mercedes will hardly stand still now that Ferrari appears to have such a good package.
mclarenfan1968
Posts: 1,027
More than the package as a whole it's the Vettel factor making the difference. One merc p.o.s was whining about grip when inf act his car seemed to show no real problems in outright pace, while the other driver kept the pressure and just stormed away once let loose.
You see, garbage always tends to reach an upper limit no matter what top car it drives. It was panic and inability doing the whining, not the car being slower, Vettel in the merc would won with an even bigger crushing margin over the rest.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Yeah, Vettel also made a significant difference. IMO he is the best driver on the grid as of now, so even in a car thats equal to Mercedes he'd likely win. As for Mercedes' situation: the fact that Bottas didnt complain as much about the tyres indicate that Ham-Ham strained his tyres too much, and if thats indicative of this season he'll have a hard time, since he has never excelled at tyre-management.
mclarenfan1968
Posts: 1,027
Yeah Bottas was holding station towards the end, he certainly had more pace to challenge whiner boy towards the end. Seems like team orders are in place before the race started which is why we didn't even hear a team radio for that one. Much like with only 15-20 laps to go no positions will be swapped or challenged. Who gets to stay in front is determined by turn 1 and/or the first half of the race, pretty scummy race strategy.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
Well, yeah, but it works in a pinch. Thing is, Im not sure if Bottas will keep to it, he is as much of a racer as Hamilton, minus the arrogance, and I think he will overtake Hamilton if the opportunity comes. Hamilton certainly wont back off if he get the opportunity, thats for sure.