Against the benchmark of 2015, Ferrari have had a bad season. Without a win in 2016, the team are under pressure to deliver some strong results against Red Bull for the sake of ending the season on a high.
The team will be hoping for a better Mexican Grand Prix than last year’s offerings – the first Ferrari double DNF since 2006. This time last year, after the Mexican Gran Prix, Arrivabene was optimistic that Ferrari would learn and develop into a force to be reckoned with this year. He said,
“During the course of this season we have touched the sky; today we touched the bottom. This is a good lesson for all of us, preparing ourselves and the character of the team for next year.”
– Maurizio Arrivabene
Roll on 12 months and the team have fallen behind Red Bull and are looking for their 10th podium of the season. It would take something spectacular from Ferrari or diabolical from Red Bull for the former to catch the latter in the standings. Red Bull’s silver medal this season is 53-points to the good and Ferrari haven’t gained more points than Red Bull over a race weekend since the Italian Grand Prix.
Ahead of the weekend, Vettel said,
“We know we are not the favorites coming into this weekend, but we sure are here to fight and grab every opportunity of a win or a podium finish. Last year we didn’t have the best of results here, so obviously we’ll try to improve on that. Many things can happen, this is a track were nobody really has much experience, as it is only the second edition of this Grand Prix.”
– Sebastian Vettel
Wielding one of the best driver line-ups on the grid, Ferrari will yet again be expected to turn up in 2017 with a package that can win races. Meanwhile, the German four-time World Champion will have to find his motivation in beating Raikkonen in the Driver Standings and trying to keep the charging Max Verstappen behind too.
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