Ferrari stoke up Mercedes rivalry ahead of battle on their home turf

Champions Mercedes are struggling to cope with being outperformed and beaten on the track, according to Ferrari team chief Maurizio Arrivabene.

Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Italian Grand Prix on his team’s home circuit, Arrivabene stoked up the rivalry between the two top teams.

His Ferrari team showed their comprehensive power and straight-line speed advantage when Sebastian Vettel stormed to victory in last Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, beating defending champion Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes into a distant second place by 11 seconds.

“They are not used to this,” Arrivabene said. “We were silent. We took punches left and right and we got up. We are used to it and they are not.”

His comments came in reference to Hamilton’s suggestion that Ferrari’s cars had “tricky” parts to assist their performance-setting speed. The Briton explained that he was not suggesting that there was anything illegal or irregular being used by Ferrari.

“I read many articles that talk about our guys who work so well on the car, but then, in the team, I remind everyone that we are not ahead [in the championship], that we are chasing and so we must keep our heads down.

On this weekend’s grand prix, Arrivabene added: “For us, it would be a dream and a gift to give to all of Italy. This year, we have more pressure, because we won the last race, but this is racing – we are used to it.

“And we are still a young team so I don’t guarantee anything for the rest of the season. I just know that everyone wants this.”