The 2016 Formula One Championship season did not yield the results Ferrari had hoped for. While they thought that Mercedes would continue to dominate, which they did, the Italian marque had hoped to be closer to them and challenge for podium places and even victories on a regular basis.
Sadly however, this didn’t come to pass and they were beaten to second place by their rivals at Red Bull Racing, the only non-Mercedes team to take a win in 2016.
Speaking at Daytona recently, Sebastian Vettel, who finished fourth in the drivers’ championship behind the Red Bull of Daniel Ricciardo, admitted that they weren’t happy with the season panned out but he has full confidence that they will be able to fight back in 2017.
“We all felt bad about it,” he admitted. “We wanted to win, but we didn’t reach our goals. However, I have reasons to believe that in 2017, we will have a much stronger package.”
According to the Team Principal, the first steps on this comeback trail were taken a few months ago….
“Our 2017 began last August with the major change on the technical front” commented Maurizio. “People expect a lot from Ferrari, wins and success, therefore we will do our utmost to achieve that. Ever since the new structure was put in place, with a great engineer like Mattia Binotto in charge, we have seen positive signs, as in Japan and Abu Dhabi. I am not going to make any predictions, but I know the guys are working very hard and all pulling together.”
When it came to predictions for 2017, Kimi wasn’t prepared to commit himself either…
“There is a change to the regulations next year and it’s hard to say who will make the best of it. We have to concentrate on ourselves, because when you are called Ferrari, the expectations are very high.”
