
No penalty for Sebastian Vettel: the gearbox of his SF70H did not sustain damage in the surreal incident with Stroll after the checkered flag at Sepang. Following a careful analysis of the housing box, Ferrari engineers have given the green light for the use of the component, which will be installed Saturday morning before the third free practice session. If the gearbox had been damaged, Vettel would have had to replace it, incurring a five-grid position penalty. With five Grand Prix races remaining, there are still 125 points available for him to recover the 34-point gap from Lewis Hamilton. Sebastian Vettel still believes in his chances, although the hopes of seeing him as the World Champion again are quite slim.
"I believe we still have an opportunity, and I want to make sure we use it. We have analyzed the issues we've had with our cars, and I think the situation is quite clear, but the process is still ongoing to have a complete picture of what happened. We are pleased to know, in the meantime, that the gearbox should be fine after the incident in Sepang during the in-lap. In the last two years here in Japan, we haven't been competitive enough, but this year could be different. I believe anything can happen, but I'm confident that we have a good package here. There are still five races in the championship, and we are behind in the standings; the final result will also depend on what our competitors do".
His teammate Kimi Räikkönen echoes the sentiment, forced to watch the race from the pits in Malaysia.
"Suzuka is a challenging circuit, an old-style track. It's quite narrow, and the runoff areas, once gravel, have now been paved. A good setup is needed to push hard because you can lose a lot of time in the first sector. There are many high-speed corners, especially in the first part. Some of them were a bit tricky in the past, but maybe this year they will be easier to take at full throttle. We hope our car is at the level shown recently. In the last race, we had an unexpected problem, but a great job was done to understand what had failed. We'll see if it's enough to be first and second. The top three teams are very close to each other. Everything has to be done perfectly. Hopefully, the weather will hold tomorrow, so we can put together a good number of laps".
The directly involved Lewis Hamilton remains unfazed.
"The goal is to keep winning, even if I don't win every race from here to the end of the season, this is the path to follow. I'm still hunting; I'll chase the world title until the last checkered flag until I get it".
His teammate, Valtteri Bottas, is more disappointed.
"It's a complicated moment: the car is very good, has great potential, but I can't exploit it. Hamilton has managed better than me to find a better setup; it's also a matter of driving style. They are small things, but they make a difference in feeling comfortable behind the wheel".
In the recent races, Red Bull has proven to be reliable and competitive, but the title fight is no longer within the goals of the Austrian team. Daniel Ricciardo admits:
"We are much closer to Ferrari and Mercedes than we were in the early races. We surprised ourselves at Monza, in Singapore Vettel beat us by a few tenths. When we expect a result, it doesn't come, and vice versa: in Malaysia, we were very fast, but beating Ferrari would have been difficult".
For the next season, regardless of contractual developments, Ricciardo intends to be competitive:

"We want to start well right from the beginning. I don't know why it didn't happen in the last seasons, where we always had to find a way to recover. Ideally, we would bring into 2018 what we have learned this year to start well and grow further. If that doesn't happen, then it will be a problem to deal with. I aim to be competitive from the get-go; Mercedes has been winning for too long now".
Fernando Alonso, the samurai of F1 drivers, as the two-time World Champion likes to compare himself, risks arrest for causing traffic congestion in Tokyo, at the Shibuya intersection, where the statue dedicated to the famous dog Hachiko is located. The Spaniard is in the area to promote his Kimoa clothing line, drawing an impressive crowd to celebrate the event with a wave that should be immortalized in videos and photos. The presence of so many people could have created difficulties in traffic, and therefore, the police had warned the McLaren-Honda driver not to show up, even threatening arrest. Obviously, he did not do it for safety reasons as well. Alonso then greets the people from the window next to the Hachiko statue. From one World Champion to another, the focus shifts from the clothing line to the vegan diet to save the world and win the F1 World Championship. Unable to rely on the fastest car on the grid anymore, Lewis Hamilton focuses on philosophy. The reasoning is simple: make a difference outside the car to make a difference inside the car. Almost as if to emphasize with an ostentatiously zen attitude the recklessness mistakes of his opponent (Vettel this year, in terms of zen, with radio expletives, reactions, and awkward moves, had little). So, the leader of the World Championship arrives at Suzuka after giving a strange interview to the official F1 website, with forced intimate tones, announcing a turning point. From rebellious, capricious, aspiring rapper turned motorsports figure, Lewis tells himself as a mature, aware, socially engaged man. And vegan.
"We have to stop eating meat. Look at how we are treating this planet, how we treat animals... we have to learn to have more respect for the environment".
Obviously, it didn't come easy, and it took him a long time:
"Two years ago, I stopped eating red meat and became pescatarian. Now I've decided to cut out fish too".
Make no mistake: his choice is not only ethical. It's also professional. He does it, he says, to stay in shape and be more efficient in key moments:
"All the people I know who have decided to become vegan say it was the best decision of their life. I don't want to get cancer or have diabetes in twenty years, so I'm being preventive. I started, and so far, I don't miss anything".
He emphasizes that his decision is part of a radical change in his life philosophy. A change that affects everything, from his approach to music, his relationship with social networks, and even the chosen vacation destination:
"The best time of the year is Christmas when I go to Colorado with my family to ski. I like the evenings around the fireplace, but also the mornings when you wake up and make pancakes before going skiing. This year, however, I've set myself the goal of climbing Machu Picchu".
But above all, it concerns his role in the world:
"Each of us has to find a way to contribute to changing things".

This also explains his recent public stance - sometimes excessive in his statements - against Donald Trump. A result, he says, of an overall awareness:
"I've met too many people struggling to get by, I've been to the hospital to visit sick children. I've seen so much pain, so I decided to start living every day as if it were a blessing".
Of course, all of this does not distract him from his goal: to win.
"At the moment, the 2017 World Championship is at the top of my priority list. And now that the fight for the title is so intense, I like it even more".
Indeed, on Friday, October 6, 2017, the first day of practice is marked by Ferrari and Mercedes. At Suzuka, where the Japanese Grand Prix weekend opens, the fifth-to-last event of the World Championship, Sebastian Vettel dominates the first morning free practice session under dry track conditions with a time of 1’29"166. He is followed by Lewis Hamilton, 0.211 seconds behind, and Daniel Ricciardo, 0.375 seconds behind. Kimi Räikkönen’s Ferrari secures the fourth position, followed by Valtteri Bottas and Max Verstappen. At the end of the session, the Mercedes team is forced to replace the gearbox on Valtteri Bottas' car, resulting in a five-place grid penalty. Carlos Sainz crashes into the barriers after losing control of his car. Although the driver emerges unharmed, his car sustains serious damage. Additionally, Sainz will receive a 20-place grid penalty for replacing some engine components. Later, rain falls on Suzuka, and only five drivers take to the track. The best among them is Lewis Hamilton with a time of 1’48"719, nearly 20 seconds slower than Vettel's morning session. The Force Indias of Esteban Ocon and Sergio Perez, as well as the Williams of Felipe Massa and Lance Stroll, follow in the wet conditions. Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Räikkönen complete only one lap each, while several drivers, including Daniel Ricciardo, Romain Grosjean, Pierre Gasly, Kevin Magnussen, Max Verstappen, and Valtteri Bottas, stay in the pits. Fernando Alonso's McLaren undergoes a power unit replacement due to a hydraulic issue, resulting in a 35-place grid penalty for the Spanish driver. Jolyon Palmer is penalized 20 places for replacing the internal combustion engine, turbo, and MGU-H. At the end of the first day of practice, Sebastian Vettel expresses satisfaction but tempers enthusiasm, stating:
"It was a decent morning. We tried different things, but it was positive to get a first feeling, and the car behaved well from the beginning. It seems that everything is going in the right direction. In the afternoon, we wanted to run, but we knew that rain was coming. In the last few races, things haven't gone well, but we are strong, and I think we will eventually do well".
Kimi Räikkönen adds:
"It went quite well. We didn't do a lot of laps, but we got an idea, and overall, it's not too negative. On the contrary, it went rather well".
Daniel Ricciardo, third at the end of the first free practice session, acknowledges that Ferrari is more competitive than Red Bull.
"The session didn't go badly, but Vettel and Ferrari are still ahead. We don't have a specific problem, but we have to work to understand what kind of aerodynamic setup to choose. Today, I had much more downforce than Mercedes and Ferrari, and this choice allowed me to perform very well in corners, while I lost too much on the straight. So, we have to figure out what the best choice is to make".

Regardless of the weather, Ricciardo is optimistic about a podium finish:
"I'm ready for anything and hope to get into the top three. I have a really good feeling with my car, and I'm confident that I'll get the most out of it".
Niki Lauda watches the Japanese rain that floods the circuit with fascination. Even though Fuji is 400 km away (and more than forty years ago), it seems easy to guess his thoughts. But it's an illusion. Niki Lauda is not one to indulge in gratuitous nostalgia. Instead of reflecting on the distant day he retired from the race, he thinks about Sunday and sighs. Despite Hamilton's 34-point lead over Vettel, things haven't gone very well for his Mercedes.
"After the race in Malaysia, I was very worried. The car wasn't performing well, it was very hot, and it was difficult to drive. Ferrari and Red Bull, on the other hand, did a really fantastic job".
And how does this affect your chances in the World Championship?
"I don't know. I can't give an answer. I think we'll have to see how the performance level shifts from race to race".
How are things in Japan?
"Definitely better than in Malaysia. The car looks very promising. After the first practice sessions, I felt reassured".
It seems like Mercedes struggles a lot in the heat.
"Let's say it prefers the cool... I repeat: we'll have to see race by race what happens".
Will you have simulations?
"Here in Japan, we should be okay. And also in Austin. Less so in Mexico. We should be fine in Interlagos. Then Abu Dhabi: let's see how we get there".
Give a percentage: How likely is it for Hamilton to win the World Championship?
"I can't, really. Nothing is guaranteed. But let's say if we regain the form we had up to Monza, then I don't see any problems. And we'll know today".
However, something about the season can be said. For example, in Italy, many complain about Vettel: they say he made too many mistakes.
"So far, he has made three big mistakes: the reaction in Baku, the start in Singapore, and the incident with Stroll. Generally, these things can happen. But I must say that something like what happened in Sepang, I had never seen before. Unbelievable".

Hamilton, on the other hand...
"Hamilton is the best. And he keeps getting better. He is calm, relaxed. In Malaysia, he saved us, had an incredible race. Especially on Saturday, in qualifying".
Many young drivers debuted; who is the strongest?
"Verstappen. He's twenty years old and already has three years of experience".
Marcin Budkoswski, the former FIA engineer who resigned taking the secrets of all F1 cars with him, announces that he will work for Renault, although not from January as stated, but from April...
"It's a very serious matter. Marcin has technical emails sent from the teams to the FIA. It's something that has never happened before. For people who do that kind of work, there needs to be at least a year's break before they can work elsewhere".
Ferrari had reliability issues in Malaysia. How about Mercedes?
"We have a program on engine usage: we are sticking to it".
And speaking of Renault, on Saturday, October 7, 2017, just moments after Jolyon Palmer's announcement on Instagram that the Japanese Grand Prix would be his last with Renault, the French team officially confirmed the separation from the British driver, adding that Carlos Sainz Jr. would take his place from the United States Grand Prix in Austin. The Spanish driver had already signed an agreement for the next season with Renault, but now he will have the opportunity to get to know his new team in the last four races of the season. Carlos Sainz Jr. says:
"First of all, I would like to thank Toro Rosso for giving me the opportunity to finish the season with Renault. I would like to thank especially all my engineers and mechanics for their support and the great work we have done together over these years. On my part, I will do my best tomorrow because it is the best way to say goodbye. Competing in the last four races with Renault will give me a good opportunity to get to know the team and the car earlier than expected. I can't wait to start working with them".
On their part, Scuderia Toro Rosso recalls Daniil Kvyat, who had been replaced by rookie Pierre Gasly in the last two races, and Gasly is confirmed for the upcoming events as well. It will be interesting to see the repercussions of these changes in the fight for the fifth position in the Constructors' World Championship standings (currently held by Williams), as Toro Rosso is currently sixth with 52 points, 10 points ahead of Renault, with the majority of their points earned by Carlos Sainz Jr.. During the third and final free practice session, Valtteri Bottas, on Soft tires, sets the fastest time, just 0.014 seconds ahead of Lewis Hamilton. However, Bottas, with SuperSoft tires, goes off track at Spoon, causing a red flag and session interruption. Due to a damaged suspension, Bottas cannot return to the track. Sebastian Vettel finishes the practice with the third-best time, over 0.3 seconds behind the leader. Kimi Räikkönen also experiences an off-track excursion, leading to a session stoppage. In this case, the driver has to halt the practice, and mechanics must repair the car for him to participate in qualifying. A few hours later, qualifying takes place under an extremely cloudy sky but without precipitation.

In Q1, Kimi Räikkönen's car is ready with just over eleven minutes remaining in the session; however, he has no issues returning among the qualified drivers, even though the repair involves a gearbox replacement, resulting in a five-grid penalty. Lewis Hamilton tops the time chart in Q1, followed by Sebastian Vettel, while Valtteri Bottas is at risk of an incident, going off track at Degner. Q1 is interrupted with just over a minute remaining due to Romain Grosjean's crash at the S curves. The remaining time does not allow the drivers to improve their times. Eliminated are the two Saubers of Marcus Ericsson and Pascal Wehrlein, along with Lance Stroll, Pierre Gasly, and Grosjean. In Q2, everyone opts for the use of SuperSoft tires, except for Kimi Räikkönen and Valtteri Bottas, who choose Soft tires, knowing they will both receive five-grid penalties for the gearbox replacement. The tire used in this session is the one the drivers must start the race with. Despite the harder compound, both manage to qualify for Q3, although with a considerable gap from Lewis Hamilton's best time. Renault drivers, along with Stoffel Vandoorne, Kevin Magnussen, and Carlos Sainz Jr., are eliminated. In the final and decisive phase, the British Mercedes driver sets a new track record, beating Sebastian Vettel by 0.5 seconds. The two Red Bull Racing cars are further behind, while Räikkönen, due to a driving error, has to abort his first attempt. Hamilton improves his time in the last attempt, securing his 71st career pole position, the first at Suzuka. Valtteri Bottas is second, but due to the penalty, he drops to sixth place, and the front row is completed by Sebastian Vettel.
"It was a fantastic pole, everything worked perfectly, and I didn't make a single mistake. Racing at Suzuka with this car is breathtaking; it's an insane circuit. The way you can handle the Mercedes here gives you incredible emotions".
If Hamilton were to win, recovering any chance of championship triumph for Sebastian Vettel would be practically impossible. The German Ferrari driver sets the third-best time but will start from second place due to the penalty imposed on Valtteri Bottas, who had to replace the gearbox.
"The qualifying was quite good; I'm pretty satisfied. Our car should perform better in the race; the gap to the Mercedes was significant, and I lacked a bit of balance. Tomorrow, I'll start from the front row, and we'll see. We think we can be with them, and we'll see what we can do".
Vettel knows well that after the mistakes in Malaysia and Singapore, in Japan, he has only one useful result to continue hoping: victory. However, at the test of the track, he couldn't do more than that. He drove very well in a Ferrari once again very fast. But Mercedes' supremacy on this track - with significantly cooler air and asphalt than in previous occasions - was overwhelming. Now, Ferrari will need a super race. Since there was no chance on the dry lap, it's clear that the main weapon Ferrari will have to rely on for Sunday will be race pace. In the third qualifying session, from what could be seen, Vettel's car stands up to the competition. Therefore, the goal will be to start at the maximum and take advantage of any opportunities that may arise during the race. Hamilton has a 34-point advantage if he extends it further, with only four races left, theoretically favorable to Ferrari; a comeback would be really tough. However, the Japanese qualifiers did not only tell the story of Hamilton and his Mercedes' resurgence. It also marked the definitive disappearance from the racing world's radar of Kimi Räikkönen. The Finnish driver's performance was once again disappointing. Considering the delicacy of the moment, this is doubly serious. Kimi wrecked the car in free practice, forcing the team to install a new gearbox (also a five-grid penalty for him). Then he returned to the track and risked wrecking it again, all to achieve a poor sixth time: six-tenths behind his teammate and one second behind Hamilton. He will start eleventh. We are sure that sooner or later - if only for the statistics - he will do something good as well.
"At the end of the day, in the end, Hamilton will win the championship anyway".
The statement, as much as it is supported by an objective ranking situation, is one of those unsettling ones.

Not so much for its content, but for the author: Max Verstappen. Yes, Mad Max, the Dutchman who was the protagonist of the incident at the start of the Singapore Grand Prix and engaged in a thousand battles with Vettel and Räikkönen. The new dynamics of F1, as seen between Malaysia and Japan, tell of a finale so fiercely contested that it might be Red Bull, between the two contenders, Hamilton and Vettel, playing the role of referee by taking precious points away from the weaker of the two. The role of Red Bull is so crucial that, crossing paths with a group of Italian journalists, the team principal of Milton Keynes, Christian Horner, enjoys provoking:
"No need for them to try so hard. The winner will be the one we decide..."
Of course, he's joking. But it's true that after regaining some performance, the two blue and yellow cars could tip the balance. This was evident in Sepang, where Red Bull was a second per lap faster than Mercedes. If this situation were to be repeated, Ferrari could count on a very useful ally who could take away crucial points from Hamilton for the final victory. But according to the Red Bull team, this will not happen.
"I have the impression that Ferrari is really close in terms of performance, but the trend in this phase of the season seems to favor Hamilton".
To be honest, Horner doesn't seem all that convinced that Red Bull can really interfere with the World Championship:
"On circuits like Japan, we lose too much ground on the straight, while in the curves, we are the fastest".
However, Ferrari is counting on it. And this is where the message sent by Verstappen comes into play.
"The fact is that I think Lewis can rely on a car that is slightly better and faster than the Ferrari. If we take the average of each circuit, you can see that the Mercedes performs a bit better. The same goes for the circuits that await us until the end; in my opinion, Mercedes should be faster".
On October 8, 2017, just minutes before the start of the Japanese Grand Prix, the technicians of the Ferrari team were working on Sebastian Vettel's car due to a spark plug issue. The car was eventually placed on the starting grid. As the race began, Lewis Hamilton maintained the lead, followed by Sebastian Vettel. Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo initially lost a position to Max Verstappen and then to Esteban Ocon. Valtteri Bottas, Sergio Pérez, and Felipe Massa followed. Carlos Sainz Jr. retired immediately after the start in the early corners. During the first lap, Verstappen overtook Vettel to take the second position, while Kimi Räikkönen narrowly avoided contact with Nico Hülkenberg, finding himself in fifteenth place. Vettel's car experienced issues, allowing Ocon, Ricciardo, and Bottas to pass. The race officials deployed the Safety Car to allow the track to be cleared of debris from Sainz Jr.'s crashed car. On the restart on the fourth lap, Vettel retired. The other Ferrari driver, Kimi Räikkönen, began a quick recovery, reaching the top ten by the seventh lap. On lap 8, Marcus Ericsson went off track at Degner, leading to the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car. Meanwhile, Räikkönen, who overtook Hülkenberg, moved up to eighth. On lap 11, the VSC ended, and Ocon relinquished the third position to Ricciardo and then to Bottas. By lap 14, Räikkönen had moved up to seventh after overtaking Felipe Massa. Six more laps and the Finn passed Pérez. Räikkönen gained another position on lap 21, taking advantage of Ocon's pit stop. On lap 22, Max Verstappen made his pit stop and re-entered the track ahead of Kimi Räikkönen. In response to Verstappen's move, Mercedes called Lewis Hamilton to the pits, allowing him to rejoin the track ahead of the Red Bull driver. Daniel Ricciardo took the lead and held it until his pit stop.

Later, Valtteri Bottas took the lead, but he let Lewis Hamilton pass, closely followed by Max Verstappen. After his pit stop on lap 30, Bottas was fourth, ahead of Nico Hülkenberg, who had overtaken Kimi Räikkönen on lap 29 after the Finn's pit stop. Räikkönen reclaimed fifth place on lap 33 by overtaking the German Renault driver. Nico Hülkenberg only changed tires on lap 39 but retired a couple of laps later due to a DRS issue. On lap 47, Lance Stroll went off track due to a suspension failure at the S curves, leading to the deployment of the Virtual Safety Car again. In the final laps, Valtteri Bottas closed in on Daniel Ricciardo, while Max Verstappen reduced his gap to Lewis Hamilton to less than a second. However, Verstappen's chances of overtaking Hamilton were thwarted by the battle between Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, enabling an attack on the last lap (for which Fernando Alonso would be penalized with a loss of two points on the Super License for ignoring blue flags for an extended period). Lewis Hamilton won the Japanese Grand Prix. Max Verstappen finished second, while Daniel Ricciardo secured third place just ahead of Valtteri Bottas. Kimi Räikkönen finished fifth, followed by Esteban Ocon, Sergio Perez, Kevin Magnussen, Romain Grosjean, and Felipe Massa. Sebastian Vettel's chances in the World Championship were significantly complicated with his withdrawal on the fifth lap, attributed to yet another technical problem. It was a disaster for the Maranello team, as Hamilton triumphed ahead of the Red Bulls of Verstappen and Ricciardo, extending his lead in the standings over Vettel. With four races left on the calendar, it can be said that the World Championship for the German is practically lost. Räikkönen’s anonymous fifth place was not enough to salvage a forgettable weekend, despite the promising weather conditions. The SF70H is a car that performs much better than the Mercedes in hot conditions. However, the number five car, already on the formation lap, encountered a spark plug issue that persisted. During the hectic minutes before the start, the mechanics of the Maranello team replaced the part, but it continued to show no response. When the engine was started, it became clear that the car would not have the necessary power.
"It wasn't our day. I don't know if it's a reliability issue; we need to understand. I think it was a small problem that caused a bigger issue. Right from the start, I didn't have normal power, as in the formation lap. We tried to reset to stay in the race, but there wasn't much we could do. Is the championship compromised? Now, you don't need to be a math genius to understand it. Now we need to go home, rest a bit; we're all a bit tired. Let's try to refocus for the last four races".
The disaster materialized at the start because, although Vettel had a very good start from the second position, possibly even better than Hamilton's, he lost ground right from the first meters, ending up in sixth place halfway through the first lap. The race was interrupted by the Safety Car on the second lap due to Sainz Jr.'s incident. But upon the restart, the agony of Vettel's Ferrari resumed, lasting until Mattia Binotto, the technical director, recalled the German from the pit.
"I have yet to see uncomplicated days. Today, the problem was the spark plug that broke along with the coil".
Ferrari's team principal, Maurizio Arrivabene, comments on Sebastian Vettel's unfortunate retirement at Suzuka.
"The hug with Sebastian? It meant that it went like this, and we don't give up. Despite the components that have let us down lately, the car is good. We'll keep going until the end; the team is young and motivated. We need to grit our teeth and move forward. Fifty-nine points? It's a lot, but we also need to be humble and acknowledge that we've missed some things, and they haven't. The last two races have strongly penalized us with components unrelated to the goodness of our project. Where do we start again? By turning the page, staying motivated, analyzing what happened, and returning to Austin to give it our all".
Certainly, Hamilton is jubilant thanks to this victory, and with Vettel's problems, he extends his lead over the German to 59 points.

"I could only dream of having such an advantage four races from the end. The Ferraris have been strong all year, but I can take my hat off to my team. Thank you very much to all the guys. The crowd here in Japan is fantastic; they gave me great support. The track was fantastic, but it wasn't an easy race for us. The Red Bulls seemed very fast in race mode; we were faster in qualifying trim. I managed to keep them at bay, but it was tough, especially at the end when Verstappen closed in on me".
Another failure, the fourth in two races, virtually closes Ferrari's season. Sebastian Vettel retires on the fifth lap of the Japanese Grand Prix, while his rival, Lewis Hamilton, comfortably wins in an increasingly faster Mercedes. Now, the Englishman has a 59-point lead over the leading Ferrari driver, and there are only four races left. This means that Lewis could mathematically win the World Championship in the next race, in Austin (a track favorable to Mercedes). The odds, of course, are slim; Vettel would need to finish well in the top ten. But they exist. And this means that it's essentially over. Suzuka hands a perfect Hamilton his fourth title, and a furious Vettel is left with a multitude of regrets. Glory goes to Mercedes, and Ferrari laments losing a championship despite having, for large stretches (and perhaps even today), the fastest car. When it works. Because in Formula 1, besides being fast, you also need to be reliable. You need to bring the car to the end of the races. And this is where the 2017 Ferrari failed, compromising the incredible work that had brought it, against all odds, to quickly close a massive technical gap with the Anglo-German powerhouse. But everything has a price, in life as in sports. And today, the bill has arrived: evidently, the engineers at the Maranello team, to reach the level of competitiveness of the competition, had to push every concept, every piece of their project to the limit, and perhaps even beyond, and it collapsed just at the moment of maximum effort. Upon reflection, it makes perfect sense. And since the higher you are, the louder the noise when you fall, it's quite inevitable that now, forgetting the undeniable merits of those who brought Ferrari to such a competitive level, internal processes will start to determine who and how the mistakes were made, whose fault it is for such a disgraceful performance. A hint of this impending thorough investigation at Ferrari was already seen when, after the Malaysian Grand Prix, President Marchionne labeled the performance in Sepang (where Ferrari burned three engines in twenty-four hours) as a disgrace and announced a reorganization of the quality control sector for parts purchased from the suppliers of GES, the Sports Management of Maranello.
It's a safe bet that now, after this even clumsier withdrawal, the debate will intensify. Who messed up? Why? How? Upon initial analysis, considering that the season for the Maranello team has been well above expectations and seems like a good omen for 2018, the responsibility seems to lie with the entire team, including Marchionne. After all: together you win, together you lose. Looking closely, everyone has been good, but no one perfect, this season. Not Vettel, who had numerous excellent races but also lost - and because of him - a lot of points (see the hysterical outburst at Charlie Whiting, the reactionary foul on Hamilton in Baku, the glaring error, perhaps the most serious of all, at the start in Singapore). Not the team, which, as mentioned, after handing its drivers one of the best Ferraris of the last twenty years, made mistakes in the final part of the season, causing the reliability of the car to fail just at the most crucial moment. And not Marchionne himself, who, after starting the year in a wise and stubborn silence ("After last year's disgrace, I don't talk"), from Monza onwards let loose a series of now optimistic ("we need to wipe the smile off their faces", where they were Lauda and Toto Wolff) and now angry ("it pisses me off") statements that had no effect other than to greatly increase the pressure on the shoulders of a team that certainly did not need it. The truth, however, is different. With the exception of Kimi Räikkönen, the only true disappointment of the season - to whom, however, a millionaire contract has inexplicably been renewed, to the disappointment of fans who have had enough of his Finnish coolness, and the frustration of many young drivers who could have been given more trust - with the exception of Räikkönen, as mentioned, this 2017 Ferrari deserves a sincere applause. When in August 2016, Marchionne announced his horizontal revolution, putting the second lines of Maranello in power (Sanchez, Cardile, Binotto, Resta, Sassi), no one in the know would have bet a penny on the success of the operation. And yet, if a little over a year later, fans lament a missed world championship victory due to a capricious spark plug, evidently that bet was won.

At the same time, Toto Wolff, while celebrating with champagne in the hospitality without fear of committing the sin of arrogance, explains that his new priority is to help Valtteri Bottas.
"This is a sport where no prisoners are taken. It's about having the best car, the best driver, and therefore achieving the best possible performance, that's all. There are no other recipes".
Toto Wolff is on cloud nine. After a tough season where he often found himself looking up at the rival, his Mercedes has finally outpaced Ferrari, and now they are on the verge of triumph. However, the team principal of the Anglo-German team doesn't fully trust the situation. Or at least, that's what he says, adhering to the script that the great laws of sport have written for him.
"There are still a hundred points at stake from here to the end. And you've seen with Ferrari how little it takes to lose everything: Sebastian went off in Singapore and lost twenty-five points, had a problem in Malaysia and lost more, didn't finish the race here and plummeted. So, right after the Grand Prix, I told my team: trust me, it's not over yet. Stay focused, let's take it race by race. We'll settle the scores in the end".
Obviously, no one believes him entirely, and he himself doesn't entirely believe it either. So much so that while talking about the team order given to Bottas ("slow down Verstappen's pursuit before returning to the pits"), he explains that the team's goal now is to also think about the championship for the second driver. However, Wolff prefers to continue reflecting on the theme of the day, which is reliability. In such a delicate championship, reliability has ultimately been the decisive factor. His analysis is very interesting:
"What happened today is part of the learning curve for every team. When you keep pushing the limits of development, at some point, you risk going too far. Ferrari's progress between 2016 and 2017 was exceptional, and evidently, they first sought performance and are now building reliability. This comes at a price. There's a saying in Formula One: if you want to finish first, first you have to finish. I don't want to go further into the analysis because I don't know the details of what happened. I can only say that we've been through it too, and I'm very happy that our engineers and designers managed to give us a very reliable car for this season".
Similar statements come from Lewis Hamilton. The Englishman continues to thank his engineers for the reliable car they have provided him:
"The most suitable for Formula 1 is the team that manages to survive. And Mercedes has proven to be the team that survives at the moment. Although we still have to be very careful: there are four races left, and we've seen how cruel motorsport can be".
Twenty-four hours later, Sergio Marchionne has not yet overcome the disappointment.
"It's really annoying when a 59-euro component ruins the race, with cars costing millions".
Imagine when, in addition to the race, the chance of a world championship victory also vanishes. After the Singapore incident and the breakdowns in Malaysia, Ferrari's last hopes faded along with the Japanese-made spark plug that left Sebastian Vettel stranded on the Suzuka track on Sunday. A 59-euro piece, VAT included. However, Marchionne knows well that, disappointment aside, there is a lot to salvage in the work done in Maranello this season. And a mishandling of this situation could have devastating consequences for the future. Continuing to dwell on regret is pointless, so, forcing logic and even his character a bit, he encourages his team to keep pushing:

"I am confident that in the next races, we will at least be able to close much of the gap with Mercedes".
He points out a minimum goal. In the short term, the president's goal is to maximize the work of the technical group led by Mattia Binotto, putting the Italo-Swiss engineer - personally chosen last summer to rebuild a dilapidated Scuderia after the split with the Englishman James Allison - in the best conditions for 2018, a season from which the president expects a lot, legitimately at this point. This does not mean that, sooner or later, there will also be a time to address some things that did not work this year. But these are medium-term interventions. Not immediate. Some were announced after the Malaysian Grand Prix and reiterated after the one in Japan:
"We need to renew our commitment to the quality of components in F1. It's a problem that we probably ignored over time, but now we've had at least three occasions where the devastating impact on the team's performance was evident, and we will fix it".
Others will instead be considered in the coming weeks, after the conclusion of the championship, and could concern other areas of the Racing Department. Reviewing the entire season's film reveals too many imperfections committed by the team. In addition to breakdowns (there were not only those, sensational, in the Asian tour, but also Vettel's broken steering wheel in Budapest and Raikkonen's turbo exploding in Bahrain), other choices made by the team, such as the engine rotation and, in general, the management of the drivers in the hottest phases of the battle with Mercedes, did not convince: especially in Baku and Singapore. But these are discussions that will be addressed calmly and - they assure from Maranello - without any desire to make hasty judgments about a team whose performance has far exceeded expectations.
"We must not lose confidence in ourselves, the confidence that brought us to this point. With all the modesty we have in Ferrari, I think I can say that the car has taken enormous steps forward: without being arrogant, I believe it is on the same level, if not superior, to Mercedes".