Domenicali: “One mistake cannot cancel a great season”

It was a very short night for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, which immediately returned to the track after yesterday's great disappointment. There isn't a moment's pause to take a breath in this very long season: starting tomorrow we'll start, first two days with the young drivers - the new test driver Jules Bianchi will be busy for the Rossa - then, Friday and Saturday, tests with the new Pirelli tyres, which will be tested by Massa and Alonso.

Certainly the very few hours of sleep that he managed to get together did not help Stefano Domenicali to overcome the disappointment after the negative epilogue of the championship, but they did not cloud the Scuderia boss's usual clarity of judgement. “What happened yesterday afternoon was a negative episode but it cannot erase all the positive things that have been seen this season” – said Domenicali upon his departure from Abu Dhabi – “If we are back to fighting for the championship until ultimately we owe it to the quality of the work we had already started at the end of last year on the 2010 car, to the cohesion and ability to react that we have shown in the most difficult moments of this season. Then it's like when you get to the final of the football World Cup and it goes to penalties: if you get all five shots in you're a hero, if you miss any of them you're an ass... We should be able to accept that sport is done of victories and defeats and those who work in our world know this well. It is in these moments that true athletes know how to draw the energy to start again and look to the future, with strength and determination.”

“We must not forget that we had a better car than ours in front of us, there is no doubt about this” – continues Domenicali – “Yesterday we simply gave Red Bull a gift but it's not that we lost the championship here or, at least, only here. I could mention other races where we left very heavy points by the wayside, not to mention Grands Prix like those in Valencia and Silverstone where there were certainly some unlucky episodes. It's easy to curse those who miss the penalty on the last day of the championship but, perhaps, someone else had missed a sensational goal in the first match: the points are always worth the same, at the beginning and at the end of the season. We have worked a lot in these twelve months and the results have been seen. We must be proud of what we have done, even if it is clear that the first ones who are not happy about not having won are us. There are some areas where we need to improve, I am thinking above all of the competitiveness of the car which must certainly improve. Our technicians know this well and I expect an important reaction from them. On the reliability front, I believe we have made good progress: the initial concerns on the engine front were managed in the best way, so much so that we ended the season in a similar condition to that of our main competitors.”

There are no revolutions in sight, despite the emotionality of the moment and the cries of those who want to see heads roll at any cost, according to an unfortunately deep-rooted bad custom. “Those who know Formula 1 know how difficult it is to remain at the top for many years, ask for example those who dominated last year and this year have not collected anything or those who, like some of the largest car manufacturers in the world, faced this challenge with great efforts only to then abandon it due to lack of results" - says the Team Principal of the Scuderia - "We have been at the top for almost fifteen years: in fourteen years we have won as many world titles (six Drivers and eight Manufacturers) and we have achieved 107 victories out of 242 Grands Prix contested and the changes within Sports Management have always been minimal. The people who are in key roles today have been at Ferrari for many years and have won a lot. This does not mean immobility, quite the opposite. We know that we need to have a better performance in some sectors and we have already strengthened the structure with some additions, such as that of Pat Fry who holds the role of Deputy Technical Director and is involved in some projects transversal to various areas, linked to the new machine."

“I want to thank Fernando once again for what he was able to do in his first year with us” – concludes Domenicali – “We knew his talent but having had the opportunity to have him on our team made us appreciate his qualities as a man and as a leader. I can understand how much he is suffering in these hours and I am very sorry for the mistake that the team made. He believed in us to the end and was extraordinary in conveying his trust to us: yesterday we were unable to win together a title that we chased until the end, with great tenacity, but we will do everything to do it next year, because the Ferrari's magnificent condemnation is only one: winning."