Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene took the defense of Kimi Raikkonen after the Finn punted Valtteri Bottas out of the Russian Grand Prix, labeling the clash a “race incident”.
Having entered the final lap glued to the Williams’ gearbox, Raikkonen attempted a clumsy move for P3, which ended up sending his fellow countryman into a spin. While the 2007 world champion was able to bring his ailing Ferrari over the line in fifth, he was then handed a 30-second penalty that demoted him to eighth.
Asked to share his view on the contact, Arrivabene referred to a similar situation that had taken place in Monaco where Raikkonen had been on the receiving end of a clash with Daniel Ricciardo.
Despite tapping the Finn’s right rear at Mirabeau to gain a position, the Red Bull driver had been cleared by the stewards.
“It’s a race incident,” said Arrivabene of the Raikkonen/Bottas coming together. “If you look at Monaco for example, Ricciardo/Kimi was more or less the same and it was considered a race accident.
“So I don’t find any reason why this one can not be considered as it was considered in Monaco.”
Arrivabene could nonetheless find solace in the fact that Sebastian Vettel drove a strong race to finish P2 at Sochi, which promoted the German to the runner-up spot in the Drivers’ championship.
While naturally aware of the 66-point gap to Lewis Hamilton, Arrivabene says his team, which lost the Constructors’ title to Mercedes after Raikkonen’s sanction, will fight until it is mathematically over.
“The numbers are telling us that Seb can make it. Now, we need to be humble as always and to be concentrated race by race and we will see. But the numbers at the moment keep our hopes alive.”
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