Domenicali: Ferrari must avoid repeat of 2012 start 01 Feb 2013
Speaking at the launch of Ferrari’s 2013 car on Friday, team principal Stefano Domenicali suggested that a strong start to the season will be crucial to the Scuderia’s title hopes and those of drivers Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa.
Alonso finished second to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel in last year’s championship race, but things might have been different had Ferrari not struggled to get a handle on their 2012 car in the season’s opening rounds.
“Our approach from the first race on must be the right one and we must be mentally ready to deal with very tense moments,” said Domenicali. “We definitely don’t want to find ourselves having to fight like last year to close down a 1.6 second gap to the fastest.”
Domenicali also stressed that his team must maintain focus on their planned development programme with the new F138, and not spend too much time ‘looking at what’s going on elsewhere’.
“Better to concentrate our efforts on ourselves and ensure we manage the tension, otherwise there’s the risk of giving a helping hand to those who are fighting the same battle with the same aims,” he continued. “If we come up against surprises in the early part of the season, we will try and stay focused, prioritising the reasons why things have not gone as expected.”
Though every part on the F138 is new, Domenicali admitted the new car is evolutionary and emphasised Ferrari’s determination to combine its in-season development with preparations for the major regulation changes that will come into force for 2014, including the move from V8 to V6 engines.
“According to our planning, there will nothing too revolutionary, but rather an implementation of what we have seen so far,” he said of the F138. “In my opinion a serious team has to focus on the fact that, in 2014 we face a completely different season in terms of the regulations and therefore, we must concentrate on bringing into play the right resources.”
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