2018 Austrian GP: Maurizio Arrivabene comments on the race. Sebastian Vettel had started from sixth after a grid penalty.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen secured his first victory of the season at the team’s home race, the Austrian Grand Prix, but Scuderia Ferrari can be happy with the outcome of the event, as the race turned from frustration to disaster for Lewis Hamilton, who was forced to retire on lap 63 with a fuel pressure problem. With the Ferraris of Kimi Räikkönen and Sebastian Vettel in second and third, Hamilton has lost his title lead, with a 15-point swing in favour of the German, who now leads by a single point.

Sebastian Vettel had started from sixth after a grid penalty and will be exceptionally pleased that what had begun as damage limitation turned into a major advantage over his title rival. Kimi Räikkönen too was superb, also running his tyres well and charging after Verstappen at the end, but he was just unable to catch the Dutch driver.

“The real story today is that there are six Ferrari power units in the top ten on the race result sheet. And, apart from that, we are leading both the Drivers’ and Constructors’ championships. Today’s result was not ideal, but it is definitely useful. The team did a great job, at every level, to make up for a difficult Saturday. During the race, the handling of the car, the perfect management of the tyres, the strategy and reliability, all made the difference. On paper, next weekend at Silverstone looks difficult for us, partly because it’s a home race for our main rivals. But we will tackle it with our usual level headedness and determination.” – Maurizio Arrivabene, the current team principal of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula One team, concluded at the end of the 2018 Austrian Grand Prix.