Ferrari team principal Maurizio Arrivabene suggested some disapproval of the stewards decisions made during the controversial Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
During an action-packed race in Baku, both Ferrari and both Mercedes drivers made contact at different points, with the FIA favouring the current world champions on both occasions.
Firstly, Valtteri Bottas was unpunished despite colliding with Kimi Raikkonen at Turn 2 in what was deemed a speculative move by the Finn which would see him punted into the wall, damaging his car and dropping him down the field. Secondly, the now infamous bump between Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton awaiting a Safety Car restart, with the stewards ruling against the German’s claim of a brake test and awarding Vettel a 10-second stop and go penalty for his retaliatory banging of wheels for ‘dangerous driving’.
“I think that everything that happened today was clear to see for everyone,” Arrivabene said.
“We don’t want to get into an argument but I think I can say that some decisions that were not entirely clear, never worked in favour of our team. We fought hard even if the results don’t show it.”
The Italian would also bat away criticism by former Ferrari driver and now Mercedes non-executive chairman Niki Lauda who described Vettel’s actions as “crazy”
“Lauda can say whatever he wants,” he told Sky Italia. “Sometimes he speaks for himself, sometimes he even talks to us but as I said before, we are silent.
“We work and we let Lauda talk, he has his points of view, us ours and we’ll see you in Austria.
“He will continue to speak, we will continue to listen to it. Perfect. There are still 12 races to go.”
What did please Arrivabene was Ferrari’s performance in Baku and how the Scuderia dealt with issues was able to match Mercedes in the race, despite being over a second slower in qualifying.
“Today, our car was on the pace and that was clear to see,” he claimed.
“The team demonstrated its strengths, from changing the engine on Seb’s car on Saturday to the work done on Kimi’s when the race was red-flagged, to get it back out on the track, despite the damage it had suffered.
“That’s Ferrari for you. We let our actions speak for us.
“We will continue in that vein immediately, in preparation for the Austrian GP, with even more determination than before.”