Sergio Marchionne: 'Vettel has learned enough'

Subject to some bloodshed like in Mexico in 2016 or more recently in Azerbaijan this year, with its contact with Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) behind the safety car, Sebastian Vettel may have sometimes displayed a certain lack of control in his desire to replace Ferrari at the top of the hierarchy.

During the end-of-year meal in Maranello, Sergio Marchionne, president of Ferrari, believes that the former resident of Red Bull will have learned from his year 2017.

“Sebastian is a person who studies a lot, studies himself and is totally involved, so I think we will see less of his emotional side, estimates the Italian official. I think he has learned enough. »

What face for Ferrari in 2018?

After a first part of the season where the Ferrari-Vettel tandem showed itself capable of disrupting the domination of Mercedes, the machine stalled after the restart, with technical problems like in Japan, or even the collision at the start in Singapore.

Despite this failure, the Ferrari boss highlights the progress made by his team, and plans to see the Scuderia fight for the title again in 2018.

“Considering where we started in 2016, we have made immense progress, recognizes Marchionne. The second part of 2017 allowed us to build ourselves. We have learned a lot over the last six months, trying to move forward, and that is the most important thing.

We really thought we could do better, but in 2017, we were unable to achieve our objectives, recalls Sergio Marchionne. This also resulted in changes in the organization of Sports Management.

We can already see significant changes in terms of the team's production capacity. The important thing is to start 2018 with all this expertise and experience and manage this organization. I have no doubt that we will be competitive. »