Arrivabene: there is still no number 1 driver at Ferrari
Since the start of the season, Sebastian Vettel has taken the upper hand over Kimi Räikkönen at Ferrari. However, team director Maurizio Arrivabene rules out any official hierarchy within the Scuderia.
During the great Schumacher years, the hierarchy was clearly established: the German World Champion was the number 1 driver, while the Kaiser’s teammates, whether they were named Eddie Irvine, Rubens Barrichello, or finally Felipe Massa, had to respect their role as the brilliant second.
This season, at Ferrari, the philosophy has changed significantly: according to team principal Maurizio Arrivabene, the two drivers are treated equally for the moment, even if Sebastian Vettel seems to be performing at a level above Kimi Räikkönen: « We stated clearly before the start of the season: both drivers are free to race as they see fit ».
The strongman of the Scuderia thus assured that he had never thought of giving team orders during the Canadian Grand Prix: « No, no, not at all, we didn’t even talk about that ». However, Kimi Räikkönen’s spin still seems to stick in the Italian’s throat: « We wasted a podium, that is the truth. There are no excuses ».
Maurizio Arrivabene is fortunately not a dogmatic man and made it clear that if Ferrari had the opportunity to truly win the title against Mercedes, the Scuderia would consider revising its approach. But such changes are clearly not yet on the agenda: « We had said that if we won twice this year, then we could be satisfied. We must not forget where we come from – we never talked about the world title ».
To close the gap with Mercedes, Ferrari was able to rely on a power unit upgrade in Montreal. Did it really work? Maurizio Arrivabene answered the critics: « Yes. We have reached our objectives. We must admit that Mercedes is simply stronger than us at the moment. It is not realistic to say that we have closed the gap with them, but we are on the right track ».
Kimi Räikkönen echoes the views of his team principal. The 2007 World Champion reiterates that the Ferrari is still far from being the best car on the grid: “We need to improve in all areas,” explained the Finn. “The car is really very nice, but we had to limit our fuel consumption a little. We have come a long way since last year, but as we can see, we still have a long road ahead.”
