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Belgian GP dramas masked Ferrari's F1 progress, Arrivabene feels

Maurizio Arrivabene believes the first-corner incident that scuppered Kimi Raikkonen and Sebastian Vettel's Belgian Grand Prix masked the progress his Ferrari Formula 1 team has made

Raikkonen and Vettel struggled for pace in Friday practice but after overnight changes qualified third and fourth respectively on Saturday at Spa.

GARY ANDERSON: Verstappen did nothing wrong

But Ferrari's race unravelled within a few hundred metres when Vettel, Raikkonen and Max Verstappen made contact as they tried to go through the La Source hairpin three wide.

All three had to pit, dropping to the back of the field, with Vettel and Raikkonen nursing damaged cars to sixth and ninth.

"What is encouraging is after the accident, both cars - Sebastian and Kimi - were really damaged, on the floor and other parts, and even so, the performance they showed considering these troubles was quite good," said Ferrari's team principal.

"The positives we can take is that, despite extensive damage, our car proved fast and resilient throughout.

"We turn a page, we look forward to Monza with some positive information."

When asked if he felt Ferrari's progress was down to the car or the characteristics of Spa, Arrivabene said: "All the tracks are different but I think what is a good sign is the result considering the reaction from our guys on Friday.

"Looking at where we were after qualifying, and after Friday where we were struggling, our objective was to have two drivers on the podium. That's my view but we didn't make it."

Ferrari lost ground to Red Bull in the battle for second in the constructors' championship and now trails its rival by 22 points.

However, despite criticism of the Italian team's deteriorating form, Arrivabene insisted Ferrari remains resilient.

"Even if we have some that are trying to depict the different situations, the team is very compact," he said.

"We are all united here. We are working all together and looking forward to having a good race in the Italian Grand Prix."

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