Ferrari still working hard to close Mercedes gap

Omnisports

June 20, 2016 4:59 AM

Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene is happy with the step forward made in Baku, but concedes there is still a considerable gap to rivals Mercedes.

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Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene is happy with the step forward made in Baku, but concedes there is still a considerable gap to rivals Mercedes.

Sebastian Vettel has finished second in back-to-back races in Azerbaijan and Canada after Ferrari missed out on the podium in Monaco.

While Ferrari have not won a race all season, Arrivabene believes the team are getting closer to their first triumph in 2016, especially after their showing at the Baku City Circuit.

"If we look at where we were on Friday, we can be happy with the step forward that has been made during the weekend," he said.

"Today our race pace was good, albeit not quite as good as it should be. We saw a very good performance by both our drivers, so as our president [Sergio Marchionne] says, we must work hard to provide them with a better car.

"As we had seen already in Canada, the engine seems to be our strength, while we still need to work on the other areas, because this car has proven to be very sensitive to set-up changes."

Kimi Raikkonen could have joined team-mate Vettel on the podium in Baku, but a lapse in concentration saw him receive a penalty for crossing the pit-lane entry.

"I have no complaints for Kimi’s penalty. He was racing hard and overtook a lot of cars. When he realised he was being penalised, he then proved to be a very good team-mate to Seb," Arrivabene added.

"The gap to our main competitors is still there so we have to work hard to improve in the areas where we are still weak and keep focusing on this year, because there’s still a long way to go to the end of the season.

"Congratulations to Seb for a second place which, once again, shows what a talented driver he is."

Omnisports