TALKING POINT WHAT DID MARCHIONNE SAY?
F
errari F1 team chief Maurizio Arrivabene
thinks rumours predicting his demise were
designed to destabilise the Maranello outfit,
but admits that not winning in Spain was a wasted
opportunity..
In Barcelona, following president Sergio
Marchionne’s insistence that the Maranello team
immediately end its winning drought, reports
emerged in Italy suggesting that Ferrari was
contemplating ousting Arrivabene.
Marchionne, however, rubbished those
rumours when he appeared in the paddock ahead
of the Spanish Grand Prix, which was won by Red
Bull’s Max Verstappen.
“What exactly did Marchionne say?” Arrivabene
enquired.
Told by a reporter that the Fiat and Ferrari
president had expressed confidence in the
leadership team, the Italian added: “There’s your
answer. I don’t pay attention to all these rumours.
Those who create them have one goal — to create
a tense atmosphere in the team.
“Of course this is not helpful, but we have to keep
concentrated on what we are doing, without being
distracted by these rumours,” Arrivabene added.
However, the pressure on the ‘Marlboro Man’
did not ease, as even after Mercedes’ double-DNF,
it was a Red Bull rather than a Ferrari that won the
race.“Of course, congratulations to Red Bull and
Max Verstappen. But I see this not as a podium
for us but a wasted opportunity,” said Arrivabene,
after Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel finished
second and third.
“Our rivals Mercedes were out and we were not
there to exploit it. So our problem now is to solve the
mystery that in certain conditions of temperature
our car does not properly exploit the soft tyres in
qualifying.