Arrivabene's tricks, I think, are limited to what he can accomplish as a manager. I'm fairly certain he has zero engineering skills of his own.
Yes, there did seem to be a lot of pressure on them last year. I'm sure there is this year, but that's really the test. They have the people, the skill set, and the money. Falling apart under pressure was the real problem. Losing James Allison wasn't helpful, either. Perhaps Sergio needs to realize he has more to do than micromanage an F1 team.
Then again, if things are better this year, it might have worked out. There were way too many amateur mistakes last year, and if this year we happen to be seeing more professionalism from the group and some real progress, maybe his approach worked.
I do understand Vettel's frustration. Clearly, something needs to be done with officiating. Charlie's had the bun. Vettel clearly demonstrated that. As much of a huge Vettel fan as I am, after his outburst, Charlie should have slapped him down hard, fast, and long. How it was handled might have been smoother at the time, but in the long run, it just undermines Charlie's position, considering how much speculation there has been about his future and how he's doing his job up to that point. While professional officiating isn't the answer to everything, as we see in every sport in the world, at least it can add some consistency, which we haven't been seeing lately.
In any case, it looks like Ferrari did well in testing today, too. But, we have to wait and see about everything. Honda has some serious engine issues to address. Or, they've simply had bad luck ruining their testing. Either way, if that happens in the season, they're in trouble. They've gone through the equivalent of a half a season's engine allocation on two days running. That cannot continue. Red Bull definitely has some aero tricks to come, but the Renault power unit, while improved, still might have a couple issues.
