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Two former F1 luminaries have put the brakes on Ferrari's optimism after Sebastian Vettel won in Brazil. Although the Maranello marque lost the 2017 title, Vettel was at least able to beat Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas to the chequered flag at the weekend. "Brazil was a great day for us," Vettel told Italian radio Rai. "Now I hope we can look good in Abu Dhabi and then win the world title next year."
But two F1 figures are warning that, despite Vettel's Interlagos win, Mercedes remains a major hurdle for Ferrari in 2018. "I am delighted with Ferrari's victory," said former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo, who when he left office clashed spectacularly with his successor Sergio Marchionne. Unlike finance and economics, sport is not an exact science," he told Radio Capital. "It is easy to talk but much more difficult to win."
"Ferrari had a good season, but unfortunately did not win the title. And I think that in Brazil Hamilton would have won if he had started from pole," Montezemolo added. Fellow Italian Flavio Briatore agrees: "We are all happy with Ferrari's victory, but we must not forget that the protagonist (Hamilton) was out. And we all saw his comeback." (GMM)
Grand Prix of Belgium
C. Sainz jr
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Replies (6)
Login to replyf1ski
Posts: 726
Mercedes has a dramatic HP advantage that they choose to only exploit as needed. Hamilton seems to be able to set up the car to take advantage of the added HP that bottas cannot
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
Still shocked by how they outed Montezemolo. I hated the guy's persona, but he was such a valuable character in Formula 1. He was the absolute personification of the Ferrari brand. Marchionne on the other hand... he's more like a Fiat.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
I fear that Ferrari might've overextended their season, like they did in 2015. Mercedes could afford putting resources into their 2018 car, even if Ferrari has kept them honest. but Ferrari has been pushing constantly. And the 2018 rules without a sharkfin, powered by McLaren's last braincell, benefit Mercedes, since their current car doesnt have a full sharkfin and thus already meeting the aero regulations.
ajpennypacker
Posts: 2,475
I think the sharkfin is pretty insignificant stuff except for the effect of aesthetics, which is massive. Regarding Ferrari next year... I am certain that they will not be at the same level as this year. If Renault produce a decent engine, I expect Red Bull to take 2nd place from Ferrari. I also expect Ferrari to lose the constructor's 2nd place, mainly due to mediocre Raikkonen and outstanding Ricciardo/Verstappen pairing.
Pauli
Posts: 140
RB can overtake Ferrari in speed. I doubt Renault can delivery required reliability which would lead to a close battle between Ferrari and RB. That leaves everything to depend on Räikkönen who seems to make too make small driving errors to challenge other top drivers.
calle.itw
Posts: 8,527
This is though: it could very well be. The rest of the car is built to rely on the sharkfin. If you have to remove it, the rest of the car needs to be redesigned, however slightly, and that takes precious time from other things. Renault will be better next year, Im sure of that, but will they catch Ferrari? I think Red Bull has the capacity to build a top 3 chassis next year, but we'll see. And sadly I have to agree on Kimi, it would've been nicer to him to replace him.