Categories: F1 News, Reports and Race ResultsFerrariSauber

Marciello: Arrivabene forced me out of Ferrari

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Italian driver Raffaele Marciello says he was forced out of the Ferrari stable by team principal Maurizio Arrivabene after the pair failed to get on.

"I didn't really have confidence from Maurizio," Marciello told Motorsport.com this week, after confirmation that he had ended his association with the Scuderia.

"We didn't work well together, so he decided that I was not the right person to be in Ferrari. I think he just didn't like me.

"He didn't want to let me be in Ferrari, and he pushed me out."

Marciello had been a leading member of the Ferrari Driver Academy development program, which had seen him compete in the GP2 feeder series first with Racing Engineering and then Trident. However in two seasons he has successfully claimed only one race victory, at Spa-Francorchamps in 2014.

The 21-year-old had his first taste of a Formula One car with Ferrari at the 2014 post-season test at Abu Dhabi. That saw him set the second fastest time of the session behind Mercedes test driver Pascal Wehrlein, which helped earn him the role of test and reserve driver for Sauber in 2015.

Marciello will not be able to remain in that position in 2016 following his split with Ferrari. Instead he will be back full-time in GP2, this time driving for former championship-winning team Russian Time.

"If you do a good season in GP2, maybe some doors can open - so I will try my best this year to get in Formula One next year."

If the loss of support from Ferrari does end up blocking his route into the Grand Prix paddock, Marciello said that he would start to look for options elsewhere. He's already had a test in DTM, and confirmed that he would be open to opportunities in the US competing in the IndyCar Series.

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.