Maurizio Arrivabene praised both car and driver after Sebastian Vettel gave Scuderia Ferrari their first victory at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve since Michael Schumacher triumphed in 2004, with the German also taking back the lead in the Drivers’ Championship standings as a result.
Vettel led every lap from pole position in Canada for his third win of 2018 to jump Lewis Hamilton by a point at the top of the standings, although team-mate Kimi Räikkönen ended down in sixth after a mistake in Qualifying left him with too much work to do, with a strategy gamble failing to pay off.
Arrivabene, team principal of Ferrari, was delighted with the outcome at the Montreal-based circuit, and it showed just how hard the team are working in order to challenge for the honours every race weekend, particularly as both Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport and Aston Martin Red Bull Racing are also looking like being in contention.
“Without a doubt, today’s win is down to a very good car and a great drive from Seb,” said Arrivabene. “The team, both at the track and back in Maranello, has worked hard and methodically, preparing the car, which right from Saturday’s qualifying proved to be very quick.
The tyres responded very well to the strategies we devised. It’s a shame that Kimi’s mistake in qualifying affected his whole race.”
Despite the victory, there is still a long way to go in the championship, and Arrivabene knows Ferrari will have to give it everything if they want to defeat their rivals to bring a championship or two back to their Maranello base.
“There is still a long way to go in the championship and we have to continue giving it our all,” added Arrivabene. “I take this opportunity to thank our fans and customers who never fail to show us their support and our sponsors and technical partners, especially Shell, for their support in our development programme.”
