Frustration dominates at Ferrari

A fourth and fifth place under the checkered flag last Sunday in Singapore is not the result Ferrari was hoping for. On a route where the Team had pocketed his last victory to date in September 2015, Maurizio Arrivabene hoped to see his SF16-H come and scrap with the Mercedes and Red Bull.

But the mechanics almost ruined the chances of Sebastian Vettel in qualifying, forcing the German to start last, and begin a frantic chase between the walls of the Marina Bay Circuit. If the quadruple world champion animated the peloton and finally failed in fifth place, disappointment remains the predominant feeling for the former Red Bull Racing driver.

“In the last laps, we were far from the drivers who preceded us and who followed us, so I did not try to attack, commented Vettel. I know that patience is not a quality of Ferrari fans, and it is not mine either.

We are here to win and we won't be satisfied until we get there, but we are taking it step by step and one day I think it will pay off. I believe in the team, and I believe that in the future it will be better for us. »

In contention for the podium after clearing a time Lewis Hamilton, Kimi Räikkönen finally lost the opportunity for a top 3 during his last stop. The 2007 world champion, satisfied with having completed an overall solid race, admitted to being incomprehensible about this latest turnaround.

“We lost our position at that point, underlines the Finn. I don't know how or why they managed to get past us, and I don't know what would have happened if we hadn't returned. Now we have to analyze everything, see what happened and what we could have done better.

Today we moved up one place from where we started, but of course that's not the result we're looking for. We're trying to be in a position to win, but we need to make the car a little faster. »

On a track that many considered favorable to Scuderia Ferrari, and less to Mercedes, the world champion team and Nico Rosberg offered a five-star performance, as if in response to the failed Grand Prix of 2015. For its part, the team of Maranello missed a serious chance to win, while the end of the season is fast approaching.