Ferrari's sudden drop in performance is not a direct result of the FIA's move to closely monitor Ferrari's battery set-up, according to team boss Maurizio Arrivabene.
Ferrari has a unique double battery layout which some rival teams have suggested is out of the ordinary, leading the FIA to install a sensor to monitor the design. The FIA however said it was "satisfied" that it was within the rules following the Monaco Grand Prix.
However interest in the design continued, leading to a second sensor to be installed by the FIA which coincided with Ferrari's recent performance downturn, with some claiming that is a result of the close scrutiny.
Arrivabene denied that was the case, telling Sky Italia: "Our battery layout, it’s quite complex, so we agreed with the request that we had from the FIA to work together with them and to facilitate their work, we added a second sensor.
“But it doesn’t change in any case the performance of our car," he insisted. “In the straight, we were absolutely ahead in Singapore, and in Russia, we were more or less the same as Mercedes in the straight. Where we lost was in the slow speed corners."
Arrivabene was mostly unhappy with the fact that the addition of a second sensor had become public knowledge, believing it should be kept between the FIA and Ferrari.
"I think it’s strange that everybody knows about the second sensor, because I said that our battery is quite complex, but it’s also an intellectual property of Ferrari," he explained.
"I hope that because everybody knows about the second sensor, in future, everybody is not going to be informed about our [future] projects. That could be a serious matter."
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