Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene believes his calm, cool persona has had a galvanising effect on his organisation in the wake of a shock victory in Malaysia.
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Arrivabene was handed the reins in November – the day after the final race of last season in Abu Dhabi – becoming Ferrari’s third team boss in eight months after the sackings of Stefano Domenicali and Marco Mattiacci.
The 58-year-old was taken on board by new Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne given his “thorough understanding, not just of Ferrari, but also of the governance mechanisms and requirements of the sport”.
Has ever a sports boss’ name carried a better omen than the Ferrari chief’s? Maurizio Arrivabene = arrive in good shape.
— Tom Collomosse (@TomCStandard) March 29, 2015
Marchionne certainly has a handle on Ferrari and F1, and his steady guiding hand has been influential in the team’s resurgence.
Asked whether his calmness had been key to success, Arrivabene said: “When you are focused on your objectives you are very calm, but then the real objective is to try to transmit that to the team.
‘Ferrari is back! Ferrari is back!!’listen to the amazing team radio with #Seb5 screaming http://t.co/yxRTfa0ekH #redseason #MalGP
— Scuderia Ferrari (@ScuderiaFerrari) March 29, 2015
“On Friday you may have noticed I was jumping from one car to the other all the time, looking at the guys and ensuring everything was fine, but especially to show I was near them. Then during the race my job was to look at the overall story, and if I started to scream or shake the whole team would start screaming and shaking.”
Arrivabene also suggested his arrival now meant the team was running like clockwork, playing its part in not only Vettel’s victory, but also a superb drive from team-mate Kimi Raikkonen.
The Finn could have joined Vettel on the podium but for a lap-one puncture that relegated him to the back of the field, and instead had to console himself with fourth.
“I have to say the discipline of the guys was amazing and the job done by Seb was unbelievable,” Arrivabene said. “I also have to congratulate Kimi because he caught bad luck, but still, from last position, was able to do a good job.
“During the race I was looking at the discipline of the guys, drivers, engineers, and how they were working like a Swiss watch. But in this case it was a perfect Italian watch!”
