Ferrari president and CEO Sergio Marchionne has paid tribute to the Italian marque’s Formula 1 team after Sebastian Vettel took his second win of the season in Sunday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Vettel charged from third on the grid to beat the Mercedes pair of Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas, moving back into the lead of the drivers’ championship in the process.
Ferrari also now sits atop the constructors’ standings, three points clear of Mercedes, much to Marchionne’s delight, who also believes the result proves that the win in Australia was no fluke.
“It is, of course, hugely satisfying to be back on the top step of the podium with Seb. More importantly, however, we are now completely confident that our victory in Melbourne wasn’t just a one-off and that we will be at the forefront of this world championship until the last,” Marchionne said.
“We finally have a competitive car to count on and it is important to recognize the speed with which we implemented the developments demanded for each new race.
“All this is the fruit of superb work at the track and in Maranello, so my compliments not just to Seb for his achievements in Bahrain, but also to the whole team. Congratulations to Kimi [Raikkonen] too on a good race.
“That said, we are well aware we have a long road ahead and know that if we want to get to the most important finish-line of all, we cannot stint on our commitment and focus for a second.”
