Arrivabene not interested in being 'winter champions'; Italian says atmosphere at team has improved; Reveals Marchionne phone call convinced Vettel to join; Ferrari agree to supply Manor 2014 engine
Monday 16 March 2015 14:29, UK
New Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene sees no reason to revise the team’s 2015 targets despite the Scuderia's eye-catching start to pre-season testing.
On the back of their worst campaign in two decades and a host of senior managerial departures, Ferrari have made a surprisingly strong start with their new SF15-T in 2015 with the team having finished either first or second on the end-of-day timesheets so far.
Ferrari, F1’s most successful outfit, became accustomed to finishing races often up to a minute or more behind the dominant Mercedes’ last season and the Scuderia were little fancied for this year either before testing commenced at the start of the month.
But while the team’s impressive pace has since caught the eye of experts and rival teams, Arrivabene has sought to downplay the early story of testing.
“I don’t believe in the winter champion,” Arrivabene told reporters in a press conference at the Barcelona test.
“Yes, we’ve had some progress from last year and this is quite clear, but I’m not going to tell you we will fight for the championship.
“I’m not out of [my] mind to tell you ‘we’re going to beat our competitors, especially Mercedes’. I’m still with my feet on my ground. We are looking for progression. All the team is working together and the spirit is good – that is very, very important for me.”
Arrivabene, who was drafted in to replace Marco Mattiacci immediately after the last race of Ferrari's forgettable 2014, said at the launch of the new car in late January that the team were targeting a minimum of two race victories this year. And despite events of recent weeks, the Italian isn’t about to get ahead of himself.
“The objective is still the same. If we are able to win two races it’s more than fine, three or would be perfect,” he said.
“The drivers are looking to win every race, this is their job and what they are paid for. I want to keep the feet on the ground and be realistic.”
The Ferrari chief, who dismissed talk about whether the SF15-T should be considered “the car of Arrivabene or the car of Mattiacci”, said he was pleased with how the atmosphere at the team had improved in recent months - even revealing that the famously impassive Kimi Raikkonen was in good spirits.
“The changes we were making step-by-step made a lot of sense. They were helping people express themselves in their professional skills and to be liberated somehow. That was the main change,” he explained.
“The second one is not really a change, but was a clear objective – put the team together without any politics. Now we are looking forward in the same direction and I’m quite proud of this.
“If you go into the [pit] box now you’ll see that the atmosphere is different. I saw Kimi smiling and talking yesterday – this is a big scoop! At one stage I was looking at Kimi and said ‘this is not Kimi!’ I said ‘Kimi are you okay?’ and he said ‘yes, I’m okay!’”
Raikkonen himself alluded to an improved atmosphere in the team during the Jerez test, with the Finn also revealing he was enjoying working with new team-mate Sebastian Vettel.
To the surprise of F1 last September, Vettel enacted a previously unknown escape clause in his Red Bull contract to join Ferrari on a three-year deal from 2015. While at the time still in his long-held commercial role at Ferrari’s main sponsor, tobacco giants Philip Morris, Arrivabene revealed how two telephone conversations proved pivotal in Vettel's decision to quit Red Bull.
“Normally Philip Morris was never involved into the driver choice and in the case of Vettel we were involved,” he said.
“When we were informed that Fernando [Alonso] was officially leaving the team, the name of Vettel was going around. The situation was unclear so I gave a phone call to a person who I know knew Seb very well and I knew very well. It was Sabine Kehm, the manager of Michael [Schumacher]. Sabine called Sebastian.
“Sebastian had some doubts. He was asking ‘what about Ferrari? ‘I don’t know the team, I don’t know the approach’ and Sabine simply described the atmosphere that she found at the time of Michael and said it’s a great team and like a family.
“Seb was listening and he said ‘okay’. The phone call that made the difference came, after this information, from [Ferrari president] Sergio Marchionne. Without that phone call, Seb would probably have not come to work with us. This is the truth.”
Arrivabene, meanwhile, also confirmed that Ferrari had informally agreed for Manor to use their 2014 engine in the new season should the team formerly known as Marussia succeed in returning to the grid.
Manor's hopes of an 11th-hour return were increased when they agreed a deal with their creditors - which included Ferrari - to come out of administration on Thursday.
"We said to them yesterday that we are going to supply them with the 2014 engine. There is nothing in written at the moment, but our answer at the moment is yes," Arrivabene added.
