Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene says the revered Italian outfit has become “the team that I want”, despite experiencing a tough Belgian Grand Prix weekend.
Having secured its second win of the season in Hungary just before the summer break, Ferrari arrived at Spa-Francorchamps with high ambitions but ended up on the back foot in the Ardennes.
Kimi Raikkonen was forced to change his gearbox and take a grid penalty following a technical issue in qualifying, while team-mate Sebastian Vettel’s race came to a dramatic conclusion when his rear right tyre suddenly went on the penultimate lap.
Despite Ferrari’s setbacks and lowest-scoring outing in 2015, Arrivabene heaps praise on his squad.
“The beauty, if you want to call it beauty, of this race is that I saw a great team during all this weekend,” he said. “On Friday and Saturday we had a lot of problems and they dealt with them in a fantastic way. This is the team that I want. That’s the first point.
“The second point is that the two drivers were really doing their job. Seb was fighting like a lion and this is the type of driver that I like to have in my team. Kimi as well, with his race from the back of the grid, he was gaining positions and he finished in seventh place.
“If I have to be positive, I think the good signal is that the team was growing and now it is here. I’m proud of the work these guys have done in terms of reaction in front of many issues.
“The first signal was in Hungary – it’s true that my press conference in Hungary was with a bit more smile on the face – but even there on Friday we were really struggling and the work they have done was unbelievable.”
Arrivabene replaced Marco Mattiaci as Ferrari team principal last November amidst a major overhaul in the senior management at Maranello. Since then, his charismatic demeanour and tongue-in-cheek comments have rapidly made him one of the most popular figures in the paddock.
Click here for a lighter look at the Belgian Grand Prix, courtesy of F1i special contributor Eric Silbermann.
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