Maurizio Arrivabene fully understands the task that he has been charged with in his role at Ferrari. He is the Team Principal of the most famous Formula 1 team in the history of the sport and his job is to restore the famous Prancing Horse to its former glory, vanquishing Mercedes in the process. Arrivabene understands that he carries not only the team, but also the hearts of Ferrari fans around the world, as he battles with Mercedes for the most prestigious championship in motorsports.
Ferrari’s fight to return to glory
It has been a long time since Ferrari sat on the top of the Formula 1 Constructor’s Championship.
In fact, the last time the team won was in 2007 with Kimi Raikkonen, who happens to be driving for them again alongside former World Champion Sebastian Vettel. The long dry spell in championships has left the team, especially Arrivabene, to be more determined than ever to return to their former glory. The biggest challenge for them is Mercedes, led by Toto Wolf and former World Champion Nikki Lauda. Mercedes' dominance of Formula 1 has been unquestionable for the last three years. Mercedes has managed to not only win the championship these last few years, but almost exclusively, every race.
Arrivabene is the man charged with changing that domination and returning Ferrari to its former glory.
The founder of Ferrari hand-picked Arrivabene himself without even speaking with him. On the day Ferrari and Arrivabene were to meet, Ferrari happened to see Arrivabene watching one of Enzo’s cars being rolled out of the garage as Arrivabene waited to meet Enzo. Ferrari knew the look on Arrivabene’s face, and could see the passion and appreciation for their cars, and they knew he was the right man to lead the team to victory.
Ferrari vs. Mercedes – a battle of epic proportions
Arrivabene has been zealous in his drive to take the fight to Mercedes and bring victory back to Ferrari. He started by putting a media ban on the team until after the race, stating that the media was a distraction to his team and would not be permitted in their pits until after the race.
In addition, Arrivabene has used laser-like focus in every aspect of the car’s engineering and has been devout in the details that can win or lose a race. He has drilled his crew unceasingly in their pit stops in an effort to minimize the mistakes that cost them victories and podiums in previous seasons.
The hard work paid off for Scuderia Ferrari and the team won both the first and third races of the season with Sebastian Vettel at the wheel. The bells in the churches of Maranello, Italy, which ring with every Ferrari victory, rang for the first time in a long time, spreading the word of wins. Arrivabene is pleased with the progress but knows the real prize is the championship, and he is firmly set on winning it for Ferrari.
Mercedes is not sitting on its laurels in this process and merely allowing Ferrari to step unchallenged into history. Toto Wolf, Nikki Lauda, and the entire Silver Arrow team, while welcoming the first real challenge in years, also are quite determined to retain their crown as champions. It has been Mercedes that has won the remainder of the races this season and their drivers are consistently in the front two rows during qualifying. Mercedes has, under no circumstances, given way to the will of Ferrari and have instead been pleased to have someone to actually race against. That being said, Mercedes still wants to win and will always answer the call against rival Ferrari.
Formula 1 will turn its eyes to Monaco for the most famous race on the circuit.
Maurizio Arrivabene knows the history of both the race and his team, at this legendary venue, and understands that he must keep his team engaged in the battle they are waging with Mercedes. A win at the Grand Prix of Monaco would go a long way in taking the fight to Mercedes, and it would, more importantly, go a long way toward returning the Prancing Horse to its former glory atop the Formula 1 World Championship.
