Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene has rejected talk of “disarray” within by suggesting critics are “waiting to create controversy” about the Scuderia.
Much like 2017, the second half of the season has seen a championship bid fall apart for the Italian squad with Lewis Hamilton poised to win a fifth drivers’ title and Mercedes well ahead in the constructors’.
Errors both by Vettel and the team have led to questions about the atmosphere at Maranello and harsh words by the Italian media in particular, infuriating Arrivabene in the process.
“I had the impression that some people were waiting for this situation to criticise us,” he told Autosport in Austin.
“Since I’ve been at Ferrari, in the role of team principal, I always put my face first, and I will continue to do so.
“After three and a half years it was always going to happen one day that the horse would bolt from the barn – as probably happened at Suzuka.
“This gave rise to those who had been waiting to create controversy from nothing.”
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Arrivabene continued by admitting feelings were different than they had been earlier in the season, however, insisted improvements made by Mercedes are as much to blame for the current championship situation as Ferrari’s mistakes.
“When you are leading the world championship, just half a smile can convey the feeling of a team with great harmony, but if you slip into second place, it is normal to smile less,” he stated. “Maybe we should learn to smile more – if this helps to stop unfounded rumours.
“We are a team that is battling against a great rival like Mercedes and it is not something you can do with a team that is in disarray,” he claimed.
“In the last three races, we had a loss of form, we know that, but we have analysed the situation and hope to have solved the problems. We will have the proof here in Austin.
“But we must not forget that Mercedes has also grown [stronger] and the two things together have determined what we have seen in recent races.”