SCUDERIA FERRARI F1 2018

01.10.2018 OFF THE PACE FERRARI LOSE MORE GROUND IN TITLE BATTLE IN RUSSIA

SCUDERIA FERRARI - RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX, SOCHI 2018
SCUDERIA FERRARI - RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX, SOCHI 2018
SCUDERIA FERRARI - RUSSIAN GRAND PRIX, SOCHI 2018

Ferrari lost more ground in the championship battle during yesterday’s Russian Grand Prix after Sebastien Vettel (top) only managed to finish third and Kimi Raikkonen (middle and bottom) fourth, the positions they started from, the red cars eclipsed for pace by the two Mercedes while crucial extra points were grabbed by Lewis Hamilton as a result of team orders being imposed.

Ferrari lost more ground in the F1 World Championship battle during yesterday’s Russian Grand Prix after Sebastien Vettel only managed to finish third and Kimi Raikkonen fourth, the positions they started from on the grid, the red cars eclipsed for pace by the two Mercedes while crucial extra points were grabbed by Lewis Hamilton as a result of team orders being imposed.

Rain before the start caught everyone’s attention, as a few drops fell on the grid, while the sun still shone. The thermometer indicated that air temperature was 24 and the track was at 27. The first four started on Ultrasoft tyres, with the SF71Hs both on the second row.

Vettel tucked into Hamilton’s slipstream, getting alongside at Turn 1, but he was unable to get past as they hit the braking area. Raikkonen was right behind. The pace settled down in the first stint prior to the pit stops.

Bottas came in early on lap 13. After a series of strategy blunders in recent races Ferrari called this situation very well, reacting and bringing Vettel the next time round for a set of yellow Softs. The number 5 car came out in clear air behind Bottas.

Vettel gave it his all and when Hamilton, who had to cover the Ferrari move, came out of the pits, he found the red car ahead of him. The two drivers engaged in battle, but the Mercedes car had clear power superiority and quickly managed to retake second place. The race director announced an investigation into Vettel’s first defensive move, but it was deemed that no offence had been committed.

All this left Raikkonen in the lead and he tried to get out ahead of Daniel Ricciardo. He pulled it off and everyone on track was now using the harder tyre. Both Ferraris posted fastest race laps. Max Verstappen was leading, but he had yet to pit and the others were lined up behind him.

On lap 25, Bottas slowed and let his team-mate through. Vettel continued to force the pace, setting the fastest lap on lap 32, followed by Raikkonen. In terms of race pace, the Ferrari seemed more competitive than in qualifying. Raikkonen did what he had to fend off Verstappen, who only changed tyres in the closing stages. Vettel was slowed by backmarkers and that’s how the race ended.

Maurizio Arrivabene: “Right from Friday, the Sochi weekend was rather a difficult one for us. Despite all our efforts to find the ideal set-up, neither on Saturday nor in the race were we competitive enough to worry our closest rivals. Compared to the way we performed at other circuits, something was missing here and so we were unable to reduce the points gap. On paper, the next race in Japan should have very similar characteristics to the one at Silverstone, so in Suzuka, we will get a more precise indication as to the potential of our car. If it goes well, we will know that, despite the difficult situation in terms of the classification, we still have the right tools with which to fight all the way to the very end.”

Sebastian Vettel: “Today the feeling with the car was very good and I was able to push, but I just wasn’t as fast as the others. Obviously, today it was better than yesterday in terms of pace, but it wasn’t enough to put pressure on our competitors. We tried everything and I am happy that we got a podium finish, but obviously this is not the result we were looking for. My start was good, but there wasn’t much track space for me and I could go nowhere. After pit stop we were able to overcome Lewis, but he could pull ahead more than us and at the end there was nothing to do. We lost some points during the two last races and it doesn’t help, but we have our plan to follow and hopefully we can make some progress in the races to come. Maybe the next couple of tracks are better suited for us, we will know when we get there. We need to keep pushing and try; who knows what will happen in the next races.”

Kimi Raikkonen: “Not much happened in my race today, I was most of the time on my own. Unfortunately, this is what we kind of expected to happen. The feeling with the car was pretty good; with the first set of tires we suffered a bit with the front left, but then on the Softs the car was very nice to drive. Unfortunately, yesterday in qualifying we were not fast enough and obviously today in the race it was very difficult to overtake.”

Photos: Scuderia Ferrari - 2018 FIA Formula 1 World Championship

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Photos: Scuderia Ferrari / © 2018 Interfuture Media/Italiaspeed