Scuderia Ferrari Team Principal Maurizio Arrivabene was impressed with the performance of both his drivers at this weekend’s Singapore Grand Prix, and stand’s by the strategy calls made for both Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel during the race.
Raikkonen’s overtake on Mercedes AMG PETRONAS driver Lewis Hamilton was a particular highlight for Arrivabene, who saw a touch of the Finn of old in that move.
Despite his good work getting passed the Brit however, Hamilton was able to jump back ahead of the Finn after the final round of pit stops, when the Maranello based squad deliberated perhaps a moment too long over whether to bring the 2007 world champion in or not.
In the end they did the former, a call that many questioned during and after the race, but one the Italian believes was the right decision.
“It’s fair to say that we drove an aggressive race today! Kimi’s move on Hamilton to pass him on track shows that he’s not a world champion by chance.
“Considering the distance to cover to the end of the race, and tyre degradation, it made sense to call him to box one more time to cover Mercedes’ strategy.”
Arrivabene praised Vettel’s efforts to climb up to fifth after starting from the back of the grid, and was quick to point out that the strategy employed for the German, worked to his advantage.
“As for Seb, it’s a shame that he was so penalized by his starting position, but he drove a fantastic race, supported by perfect strategy.”
It has not passed the Scuderia boss by that there are just six further rounds remaining on the calendar, and that the Maranello based squad are yet to taste victory.
The Italian acknowledges that each race from here on in will be important, and that they must now maximise their chances wherever possible, having not been able to make much progress on Red Bull Racing this weekend, for that much wanted second place in the Constructor’s Championship behind stand out leaders Mercedes.
“There are six more races to the end of the season, and all of them will be important.”
