Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne says the Maranello team should start the 2016 Formula 1 season with an immediate win.
Marchionne declared to La Gazzetta dello Sport, "The balance sheet of Ferrari is good. What we need now is results on the track. It is important to win the first race of the season in Australia."
"I know the work that has been done quietly by the team, without making a fuss. But now we win," Marchionne said. "The real battle starts in 2016, but we can count on two drivers who have already been world champions and engineers who can take us back to the top."
"This year, we would have have been happy with two wins, but we managed three, as well as a whole host of podium finishes. The most important thing is that, above all, we made the most of our in-house resources, without taking on too many outsiders," added the team president.
Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene, was 'singing off the same hymn sheet' and said that the Maranello outfit are targeting nothing but the best.
"If I'm completely honest," Arrivabene also said at Ferrari's Christmas party, "we do not want to be closer to Mercedes, but ahead of them. With all humility, just being close to Mercedes cannot be our goal."
"Our aim for next year is to work with even more determination, to deserve this badge that we must wear with honour. A special thanks goes to our president, who has always supported us, putting himself in the front line. ‘We race’ is in our DNA," concluded Arrivabene.
After a tumultuous 2014 campaign, the Italian outfit regrouped impressively this year, but Sebastian Vettel only won three times versus Mercedes' combined 16.
“This, my first year with Ferrari, has been fantastic, with plenty of successes. Hearing the German and Italian national anthems on the podium was an indescribable feeling."
"Thanks to all you men and women at Ferrari who, every year, put together this red miracle. Thanks for the affection you have shown me," said Vettel.
Typically Raikkonen's message was more concise, "This year did not get off to a very good start for me, but it ended on an upbeat. We must continue working together and then I’m sure the results will come. Because now, we are really a team and actually, I’m sure we will be a great team."
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