Ferrari not giving up on constructors’ title bid

The Ferrari Formula 1 team is determined to end 2018 strongly by beating Mercedes to the constructors’ championship in the final two races of the season.

Lewis Hamilton knocked chief rival Sebastian Vettel out of contention for the drivers’ title in Mexico but the battle to seal top spot in the constructors’ has not yet been decided.

Mercedes currently leads Ferrari by 55 points with 86 still to play for in the remaining two rounds in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.

The German manufacturer has won every single world championship on offer so far during the V6 hybrid era, while Ferrari’s last constructors’ triumph came back in 2008.

“When you are not anymore in control, it’s obviously not a great moment but I think it’s normal as well to have that moment of disappointment and you are a bit down but I think I will be as strong as I can be heading to Brazil,” Vettel said.

“That’s what my team deserves and that’s what all the guys at home in Maranello deserve and all on top all the people that have supported me, Kimi, myself and the whole team, all the Tifosi all year.

“We have the possibility to show once again what we can do and obviously we race for the team and as long we keep on catching, that’s good.

“We need some more points but I think Austin was good for us, and Mexico was good for us -- so hopefully we can continue the last two races like that.”

Vettel insisted Ferrari’s failure to end its decade-long wait for a drivers’ world title should not take away from the achievement of producing a car that has been able to take the fight to Mercedes this year.

“I think we shouldn’t neglect the fact that we had a very strong package,” he explained. “We were able to win races, we’re not in contention any more for the drivers’ championship but we can fight for the constructors’.

“So, even if it has been a difficult year, I think still it’s been a good year for us as a team. We’re still improving – but certainly there were also things that became apparent, needs addressing, needs fixing in order to do that final step that we are looking for.”

Kimi Raikkonen, who followed up on his first victory in five years in Austin with a podium finish in Mexico, echoed his teammate’s comments.

The Finn added: “We have two more races to go and we’ll try to do better.

“That’s our aim, as it has been all year. I don’t know what the points are and we can only do our best and hopefully we’ll say in the fight and can catch up.

“Two races to go, so we’ll do our best.”

Scuderia team boss Maurizio Arrivabene stressed his side will not go down without a fight.

"The constructors' championship is still undecided and the team has closed the points gap over the past two races,” he said. “We are therefore determined to fight all the way to the finish, starting with the next GP in Brazil."