[ad_1]
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Ferrari boss Maurizio Arrivabene saw his red cars slide on a wet circuit in the Americas, while Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes made the best lap of the Grand American price.
A few minutes later, Arrivabene measured the task in front of Ferrari and his driver Sebastian Vettel: win Sunday or stay close enough to Hamilton to keep alive their hopes of winning the championship of the season.
"We are here to compete with an impossible mission," Arrivabene said Friday. "I know all the numbers are against us … our job is to get to the track without giving up."
It's a good summary of Ferrari's chances of losing its title on a Texas race circuit about an hour north of the Alamo.
With a 67-point lead and only four races, Hamilton can win the Sunday championship with any result that gives him eight points ahead of Vettel. If Hamilton wins, which he has done here five out of the last six years, Vettel must not finish worse than second to extend the championship until next week in Mexico.
Even though it was getting hard to do on Friday, when the premature tests ended in Ferrari's new mistake implicit in a busy season. Vettel was seen imposing a three-seater starting penalty on the starting grid for not having slowed down quite quickly under a red flag. This means that he can not start higher than the fourth Sunday.
"We must not look at the past, we can not change it," Vettel said at the arrival of Ferrari in Texas. "We have to concentrate and wait for the next four races with impatience. We will always try to do our best and we will see what happens. "
At Ferrari, nobody wants to look at the last eight months. They would see only another collapse for the most famous race teams.
Ferrari has not won the F1 title since 2007. This season, it is expected to be the season of drought.
Vettel unleashed a potentially delicious duel with Hamilton by winning the first two races. It was for a few months, as the two quadruple champions were looking for a fifth title to tie Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio. Only Germany's Michael Schumacher has more (seven).
And at the beginning, even Hamilton had to admit that Ferrari had the best car.
But Ferrari's problems began to take shape in the form of self-inflicted errors by the drivers, crews, and management, while Hamilton was getting better and better in the second half.
The leg of a mechanic from the Ferrari team was broken when Kimi Raikkonen's car was released too early from a pit stop in Bahrain (a race won by Vettel). Vettel escaped from the head late in the rainy Germany Grand Prix, allowing Hamilton to prevail.
A week later, in Hungary, Vettel was eliminated in qualifying. In Japan, a bet on the team resulted in poor tire selection, which cost Vettel dearly.
The tragedy struck Ferrari when Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne died of complications after surgery in July.
The last Vettel victory was won in Belgium on August 26th. He has not finished better than third place since. He did not even make the podium of the Ferrari home race in Italy.
Hamilton defeated Italy and Vettel was pissed off at a first-round collision between his rivals. Most participants saw it as a good gesture from Hamilton in the wheel to wheel races.
Vettel was the target of criticisms pointed for his mistakes. Hamilton, who regularly stifles the championship with six wins in the last seven races, defended Vettel on social media this week. Hamilton demanded "more respect for Sebastian" from the media and fans.
"As a four-time world champion, it's the most intense year we've had," Hamilton said in Texas. "Every hiccup is magnified … But there have been several or more times that I found myself on the shooting range and Seb has always been very respectful and supported me, so I thought that It was enough to do the same. "
Arrivabene also defended Vettel.
"Sebastian's criticism does not come from the team. I've said many times that we win and lose together, "said Arrivabene.
Changes are coming in 2019, some for some, other rumors.
Raikkonen, the latest Ferrari driver to win a championship, is going away. He will be replaced by Charles Leclerc de Sauber. Ironically, Leclerc is the pilot whose Friday lap triggered the red flag that led to Vettel's critical penalty.
Leclerc has shown great skill and impressive results this season with an over-sized car, suggesting he might challenge Vettel once on a Ferrari.
The Italian media have associated Arrivabene with a possible transition to the management of the football club Juventus. Arrivabene was named principal by Marchionne Ferrari at the end of 2014 in the hope of being able to win an elusive championship.
"I said that my future was at Ferrari, but that it is the senior executives who must give me their last blessing," said Arrivabene.
[ad_2]
Source link
