Maurizio Arrivabene on the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix. Maurizio disappointed with the unfortunate events.

Scuderia Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene is perfectly aware of the fact that the Maranello team lost a huge opportunity at the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix, but expressed his satisfaction for an amazing team effort after a difficult qualifying sessions and the unfortunate events which compromised both drivers’ chances of fighting for the win at the Baku City Circuit.

Scuderia Ferrari lost important points in the fight with Mercedes for the Formula One World Constructors’ Championship due to the fact that Kimi Raikkonen was forced to retire after being hit by Valtteri Bottas and suffering severe damage to his car as result of a collision between Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez, but the Italian team can at least take some satisfaction from the fact that Sebastian Vettel added two points to his advantage over Lewis Hamilton in the Formula 1 Driver Standings, despite the fact that the German driver was given a ten-second stop-go penalty for having “steered into car 44” – the car of title rival Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian drove into the back of Hamilton under the safety car in what the German driver described as a “brake check”. Incensed by the contact, Vettel pulled alongside Hamilton, gesticulated, then drove into the Mercedes:

“I think that everything that happened today was clear to see for everyone, starting with the incident on the opening lap, with Kimi pushed into the barrier, then what happened to Sebastian on the restart lap after the Safety Car. We don’t want to get into an argument but I think I can say that some decisions that were not entirely clear, never worked in favour of our team. We fought hard even if the results don’t show it. Today, our car was on the pace and that was clear to see. The team demonstrated its strengths, from changing the engine on Seb’s car on Saturday to the work done on Kimi’s when the race was red flagged, to get it back out on track, despite the damage it had suffered. That’s Ferrari for you. We let our actions speak for us. We will continue in that vein immediately, in preparation for the remaining twelve races starting with the Austrian GP, with even more determination than before.” – Maurizio Arrivabene explained, as reported by the Italian media at the end of the 2017 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.