Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene has admitted the Italian manufacturer is still struggling to get the best performance out of the Pirelli tyres in hot conditions which hampered the team’s performance at the Mexican Grand Prix.
During the race both Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen looked to have similar race pace to Red Bull and even at times Mercedes, unfortunately for them though a poor showing in qualifying meant they could never challenge for the win.
After investigating the drop off in performance from practice to qualifying, Arrivabene revealed they once again suffered when the track temperature rose dramatically. An issue they have suffered from all season long, particularly in Baku and Spain.
“It is the endemic problem that we have all year long,” he said when asked by Motorsport.com what went wrong.
“You remember in Baku, Spain and Monaco – when the temperature is going up to the sky, normally we are going to have problems.
“We are making an analysis on that and now it is quite clear the reason why – so we are working on that.”
Despite ending the Mexican Grand Prix weekend fifth and sixth, after the penalties had been applied, Arrivabene is happy Ferrari continue to work hard and is improving race on race even at this late stage of the season.
“I think the most important thing is that the team is reacting really well,” he said.
“I am not happy because we were not winning the race, but today we demonstrate the character of the team and on top, that something is moving and this for me is something important.
“The guys – I am receiving via radio all the communication, which is the reason why sometimes I am going mad because I am hearing everybody – everybody, they were doing their job, concentrated.
“The guys on the pit stop were perfect, not incredibly quick but perfect in the way they were doing what we asked them to do. And the team demonstrated that they were fighters. This is what I am asking for.”
