Arrivabene:Second best not enough, we have to aim higher!!!

[PURE PASSION]

In preseason testing Ferrari showed signs of a revival with their new SF15-T and at the season opening Australian Grand Prix it came to pass that the Reds had made a significant step forward in the Formula 1 pecking order, but team chief Maurizio Arrivabene says second best is not enough for the Maranello outfit.

Arrivabene said, “I’m only half happy today, because the real joy comes when you win. I am happy about the podium and for Seb, but above all I am pleased for the team, because this is a good starting point, although it’s definitely not the end of the road.”

Sebastian Vettel finished third, which was the team’s first podium since Hungary last year, while Kimi Raikkonen also showed strongly in the race and appeared heading for fourth place until a stubborn wheelnut forced him to retire. But the message was clear: Ferrari were bettered only by Mercedes.
“I am sorry for Kimi, because everyone could see how strong he was in the race,” reflected Arrivabene. “But at the second pit stop, there was a problem with a wheelnut on which the threads had already been crossed during the first one.”

“We realised there was a possible problem and we decided to stop the car immediately, because safety is the number one priority.”

“Looking to Malaysia, we will keep our feet on the ground, because the Albert Park is a rather unusual track. If the second Williams had also been racing today,there would have been a clearer picture of the opposition we face.”

“But now we have realised we can do well, we must begin to stop thinking about being second best and start aiming higher,” declared Arrivabene.
I'm thinking that so far these guys(our new tem)have not fail us and everything they said pre testing and in tests,they where truly sincere!!!
So now im confident that to say such thing they must have seing that we have a lot of potential to aim higher!!!
I dare to say, next target -> The Mercs!!!!!!!!!

[Nero Horse]

Yes, we did really well in Melbourne, had a good pace throughout the weekend and got a nice podium in the end. But the question still remains...how much more speed do the Mercs have in reserve when they really need to push to the maximum? I'm pretty sure neither of them were pushing to the max in Melbourne, so the question of their real capabilities is still a concern. But for now we can be happy with where we are. The team has done a great job over the winter and deserve to be commended for their efforts.

[Brembo]

I hope everyone here reads that and stops talking about 2016, like only then will we have a shot. All winter long that's all folks here seemed to believe. A podium first race !! Great driving , great team.

[darkchild]

Yes, we did really well in Melbourne, had a good pace throughout the weekend and got a nice podium in the end. But the question still remains...how much more speed do the Mercs have in reserve when they really need to push to the maximum? I'm pretty sure neither of them were pushing to the max in Melbourne, so the question of their real capabilities is still a concern. But for now we can be happy with where we are. The team has done a great job over the winter and deserve to be commended for their efforts.
Not sure about no pushing...I mean, is Rosberg going to be just a passanger on the track? Did they tell them to save the fuel because it looks better on big screen or? They have more performance, but this thinking they have 2 seconds in their pocket is 100% bs.

[mirafiori]

Yes, we did really well in Melbourne, had a good pace throughout the weekend and got a nice podium in the end. But the question still remains...how much more speed do the Mercs have in reserve when they really need to push to the maximum? I'm pretty sure neither of them were pushing to the max in Melbourne, so the question of their real capabilities is still a concern. But for now we can be happy with where we are. The team has done a great job over the winter and deserve to be commended for their efforts.

I do believe both Mercedes drivers were driving the car to the allowed maximum but the big question is was the engine of both Merc cars only running at say 90%.

[NenoX]

I'm liking how he handles the Kimi incident with the mechanics ans with Kimi as well (if true). That I believe is how a true team principal should act.

[RedRebel40]

Maybe they were taking it easy on the engine and they have a full second on the engine in reserve. You cant overtake on the melbourne track and hamiltom said he was controlling the situation and not pushing much. We dont know how fast the merc really is and how fast we are in comparison to williams after 1 GP.

[darkchild]

They might not be pushing, but neither was Vettel. He was 3rd with no problems containing Massa, he had no need to go faster.

The thing is we dont know, but our team knows. They have exact figures of their PU performance, ~1% delta. Dont remember when was the last time team was so confident. Remember Jerez and Barca? Arrivabene was very conservative back then, this sort of confident "outburst" must mean we have something in our sleves. I'm not saying we are going to contend for title, but we are gonna close the gap massively. Allison was so content after the race, he looked like we won the race.

[Dino]

Maybe they were taking it easy on the engine and they have a full second on the engine in reserve. You cant overtake on the melbourne track and hamiltom said he was controlling the situation and not pushing much. We dont know how fast the merc really is and how fast we are in comparison to williams after 1 GP.

I think [and hope] Maurizio Arrivabene is right but i would never have said that after just one race, [especially Melbourne!]
And we have not raced Bottas yet.
Still for him to say all that Ferrari must have some solid data.:thumb

[wickedf1]

I don't read nothing into his words. The right thing is always chase #1. If you chase "best of rest" then you are chasing the first loser position. So he is thinking, leading and saying the right thing. This does not mean we have some big reserves, just the same potential we always have to develop the engine and to develop the car.

Remember, Australia GP is weird and the results there do not show what the results are like at most of the racing centers. So you have to wait to see how it goes in other races. Still, it is the positive start and so good celebrations. But Williams might be better in the races at other centers like last season. They were not so good in Australia but were good in other tracks and Ferrari will be good in its tracks so we just have to wait and have more information.

[mkable1370]

I think [and hope] Maurizio Arrivabene is right but i would never have said that after just one race, [especially Melbourne!]
And we have not raced Bottas yet.
Still for him to say all that Ferrari must have some solid data.:thumb

I think that once Ferrari realized they could lap consistently with Williams during the race, they opted for the safer pass of MAS in the pits rather than having to execute a potentially tricky pass on-track. After completing the pass, the differential to Mercedes was already too great, so no reason to even try pushing the engine to try to reel-in the Mercedes, in what would undoubtedly been a futile effort. I strongly suspect Ferrari went into cruise mode and were strictly trying to maintain 3rd position with a safe margin over Massa, finish the race, and ensure the podium finish. Ferrari being ahead of the Williams were in an excellent position to gauge the performance of the SF-15T vs. the Williams, hence Arrivabene and Allison's apparent confidence.

Any chance we see any aero or other development bits in the next couple fly-away races?

Can't wait to see the results of the 10 remaining development tokens Ferrari have left to use. I'm very eagerly awaiting engine upgrades for (hopefully) Spain so we can maybe take the fight to the Mercedes boys.

[Nero Horse]

Maybe they were taking it easy on the engine and they have a full second on the engine in reserve. You cant overtake on the melbourne track and hamiltom said he was controlling the situation and not pushing much. We dont know how fast the merc really is and how fast we are in comparison to williams after 1 GP.

Doubt they have a full second in hand on race pace, but around 0,5 sec. is likely. Then again we don't really know how much we have in reserve either. We'll just have to wait and see how things go in the next race to get a clearer picture of where we stand.

[PURE PASSION]

Again here!!!!
http://www1.skysports.com/f1/news/12433/9762016/ferrari-should-now-target-mercedes-says-maurizio-arrivabene

[fmatiasii]

I remember back in the days when a 3rd place finish for Ferrari was considered a disaster, and now we are actually rejoicing over a 3rd best finish.:-G

[PAL]

I remember back in the days when a 3rd place finish for Ferrari was considered a disaster, and now we are actually rejoicing over a 3rd best finish.:-G

+1

[evo_spook]

I think that once Ferrari realized they could lap consistently with Williams during the race, they opted for the safer pass of MAS in the pits rather than having to execute a potentially tricky pass on-track. .

I disagree with that, I think the only reason they didn't pass on track was because they couldn't not cause they opted for a safer pass in the pits, I don't think the speed differential was enough and I think the new noses make following in the slipstream a lot harder.

[Nero Horse]

I remember back in the days when a 3rd place finish for Ferrari was considered a disaster, and now we are actually rejoicing over a 3rd best finish.:-G

You're absolutely right. I remember those days very well.....bhoy, things sure have changed a lot since then.

[doublesixes]

It's crucial that our cars at least take the second row in quali. Big-time trouble could be avoided that way. Kimi could have brought points if not getting hammered at the start.

[Tony]

I remember back in the days when a 3rd place finish for Ferrari was considered a disaster, and now we are actually rejoicing over a 3rd best finish.:-G

Lol I remember a 20 year period where the only way Ferrari fans could even hope for a podium was several cars retiring ahead of them... it's all relative ;)

[Nero Horse]

Lol I remember a 20 year period where the only way Ferrari fans could even hope for a podium was several cars retiring ahead of them... it's all relative ;)

That's a bit of an exaggeration actually. There were better times during that 20 year period as well. Sometimes only bad luck stopped Ferrari from winning titles.

[aroutis]

I remember back in the days when a 3rd place finish for Ferrari was considered a disaster, and now we are actually rejoicing over a 3rd best finish.:-G

I remember back in the days when we had problems ending a race. I remember when Todt then Schumacher came and Rorry and Brawn, and the glory days came, then I remember the days that came after.

Times come and go, right now we're in an uphill battle; it's not a case of lowering standards; rather it's pushing forward and taking things a day at a time.

[aroutis]

Lol I remember a 20 year period where the only way Ferrari fans could even hope for a podium was several cars retiring ahead of them... it's all relative ;)

Amen... ;)