Arrivabene rues missed chances
Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene laments the missed opportunities in the Malaysian GP which turned out to be rather painful for the Italian team due to the first corner tangle between Sebastian Vettel and Nico Rosberg.
Ferrari hoped for good results on the Sepang International circuit which brought success to them last year when Sebastian Vettel claimed his maiden victory in red.
The Maranello-based squad’s drivers started the race from fifth and sixth positions, but were hopeful for a good result after the promising race simulation runs completed on Friday. Their hopes were curtailed right after the start when Sebastian Vettel tangled with Nico Rosberg which ended in fatal suspension damage for the German.
Maurizio Arrivabene was deeply disappointed by the incident which left his team with only one car in the tactical fight.
“Clearly, this was not the result we had wanted. In a very tactical race like the one we had today, having both cars on track would have been of fundamental importance. So, seeing what had happened to Seb, we planned a very aggressive strategy for Kimi, but then everybody else did the same.”
The charismatic Italian was unhappy with the misfortunes of Kimi Räikkönen. The Finn was hampered by different technical problems. Firstly, a piece of rubber got stuck in his rear wing, then Nico Rosberg crashed into his car which caused some damage to his chassis.
“It’s a pity that some damage affected Kimi’s performance today: first, a piece of rubber got stuck in the rear wing profiles, causing the wing to stall and then there was the collision with Rosberg which caused further damage to the bodywork.
Sebastian Vettel was penalized after the race for inducing a race incident. The German has to take a three-place grid drop in the forthcoming Japanese GP which Arrivabene refused to comment.
“As for Seb’s incident at the start, I talked to him and I’d rather not comment on the stewards’ decision.”
