Maurizio Arrivabene was pleased to see Scuderia Ferrari disprove their fears that the Spa-Francorchamps circuit would not suit their SF70H’s after watching Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finish second and fourth on Sunday.
The team principal of the Maranello-based squad was delighted with the performance from both drivers, with Vettel in particular able to keep the pressure on Lewis Hamilton throughout the forty-four lap race, while Raikkonen was able to recover from a stop and go penalty to reclaim fourth with a great pass of Valtteri Bottas on the restart following a safety car period.
Despite the strong performance in Belgium, Arrivabene knows there is still room to improve, and they are aiming for better at their home Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale Monza next weekend.
“Going into this race, on paper at least, it didn’t seem like one that would suit us particularly well,” admitted Arrivabene. “Despite that, we proved able to fight for the win right down to the final lap.
“Seb drove a great race and at the restart after the Safety Car, it really came very close. It’s a shame Kimi had to take a penalty, which cost him almost half a minute, but he managed to recover with a nice passing move at the restart.
“The SF70H proved to be very competitive and the team, both at the track and in Maranello, worked with concentration and determination. However, we still need to improve. The next GP will be in Monza where we will be meeting up with all our fans.”
