After seeing both of his drivers caught up in incidents with Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen at the Japanese Grand Prix while championship leader Lewis Hamilton romped home to victory, Scuderia Ferrari‘s Maurizio Arrivabene has admitted that it will be a struggle for the team in terms of the championship in the remaining races.
“After what happened in qualifying, today the team and the drivers fought back well.” said Arrivabene after the race.
“The podium could have been within our grasp, but unfortunately, damage on both cars, as a result of collisions in the race, affected the final result.
While the under fire Italian knows it will be an uphill struggle to remain in the championship battle, he believes the team can still achieve something if they regroup and head in the to the final four races with a positive frame of mind.
“Regardless of what is now a very difficult situation in terms of the championship, we will tackle the coming races giving them our best shot, maintaining concentration and determination.”
With 172 potential points left to score in the remaining races, Ferrari will be hoping to outscore rivals Mercedes, who are currently 78 points in the lead.
In the drivers championship Hamilton holds a 67 point lead over Vettel; a potential 100 points are left to be scored but Ferrari will have to rely on major problems for the Mercedes team for Vettel to overhaul the British driver.