Arrivabene ready to take the blame should Ferrari fail to win

Maurizio Arriavbene says he will take full responsibility should Ferrari lose out to Mercedes in the championship battle between the two iconic teams. Ferrari has arguably had the faster car of the two teams but is playing catch-up in both title fights due to mistakes.

Ferrari has just six races remaining to turn around a growing points margin between themselves and the title leaders in Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton, a deficit that looks to be a monumental challenge.

“When the result is not coming, it’s my responsibility," Arrivabene told the media on Friday in Singapore. "Not the responsibility of Sebastian, or the engineer, or the responsibility of the mechanics. It’s my responsibility.

“If you want somebody to blame, he’s in front of you," he continued. "The job was done already. I tell you, you don’t need to continue, but if you want, I’m still here!

“I accept the criticism from everybody. Especially from the people who won before me. But in good faith not in bad faith, because bad faith is not correct.

Arrivabene also went on to defend his driver after the race, a series of mistakes throughout the season looks to have cost Vettel a chance at a fifth title now he is staring down the barrel of a 40-point deficit to his championship rival.

“You call it mistakes but if you look in Formula 1 everybody is making mistakes," he said. "Bigger or smaller. If we are a team, we fail and we win together so I don’t want to point my finger at Sebastian."

“Nobody was happy after Monza but think about the rest of the team. If in Monza I was pointing my finger at Sebastian, think about a problem on aero, a problem on the pitstop, a problem on the engine.

“The guys, they are responsible for the different areas. They could think ‘Okay if he’s pointing the finger at Sebastian, next time it’s my turn’, that's not what I want.

"Despite the (Singapore) result, not all is lost. Now, calmly and with determination, we will tackle the remaining six races, fighting all the way to the end."