Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene believes Sebastian Vettel is yet to be at his absolute best behind the wheel of a Ferrari.
The German has taken the fight to Lewis Hamilton for the championship over the past two seasons, however, both times, a number of errors have been made which have gifted the Briton the world title.
In 2018, a number of spins after contact only added to the frustration of crashing out while leading at Hockenheim and Arrivabene made light of those moments in comments quoted by PlanetF1.
“Maybe we will give Sebastian elbow pads to fight back better when things get tough with his rivals,” he said. “[But] no, seriously – we are pursuing the same goals as Seb.”
Should the mistakes be erased, the Italian also thinks that can be the difference to finally ending Mercedes’ run of success.
“Seb has to show his best at the wheel of a Ferrari. Of course, we have to give him the foundation, with a good car and impeccable work,” Arrivabene continued.
“If we can do that, and he does too, then I know that Vettel will get an extra portion of performance that will help us achieve big things.”
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Within the Scuderia there was also some lingering problems, as development slipped and a number of strategic errors played a part during this past year.
But the team also had to deal with some other internal problems during 2018.
“We had the incident involving our mechanic Cigarini [in Bahrain], then our president [Sergio Marchionne], who wanted me in Ferrari, passed away, leaving a big gap. Then on the eve of Austin, we lost one of our engineers,” Arrivabene told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
“So many things outside our control happened which went beyond racing. It is my wish that luck will help us a little more in the coming season.”
Maurizio also hopes a new arrival can bring fresh impetus for next year.
“In arranging the team going forward I am working more with a foil than a sword,” he added. “Even if focusing on a young man like [Charles] Leclerc is in itself a revolution.”