Arrivabene: "We don't hire butlers, but real drivers"

Ferrari were favourites to win their first Italian Grand Prix since 2010, but their party was spoiled by the Mercedes of Lewis Hamilton, which caused Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene to have a dig at the German team.

The Italian team did what they were expected to do on Saturday, which was to lock out the front row. Everything was set up for them to triumph in front of the extremely passionate Italian fans at Monza.

Then, Sebastian Vettel's early spin took him out of the race, as he had to come in for a new nose after the first lap. Kimi Raikkonen, who was leading the race for the biggest part of it, then got stuck behind Valtteri Bottas, who was kept out of the pit to slow down Raikkonen so Hamilton could get closer. When Bottas then made way, Hamilton went into attack mode, and made the pass on Raikkonen only a few laps later.

"The fans were great in Italy, of course, and it's a pity we disappointed them," Arrivabene told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"However, we don't hire slaves but real drivers, who can make a mistake from time to time," he said, clearly having a dig Bottas being used by Mercedes to help Hamilton win, at the cost of his own result.