Domenicali Q&A: It will be tough, but Ferrari will win out 28 Jan 2011
Whilst there were plenty of positives to take from their 2010 season, Ferrari are never happy with second best. Winning is what counts for the Italian team. So, speaking at the launch of their new F150 car in Maranello on Friday, it’s clear what team principal Stefano Domenicali wants from the forthcoming season - both world championships. Although he graciously admits the competition will be tough to beat, he’s confident Ferrari will win out in the end…
Q: Let’s talk about the name - the F150. Where does it come from?
Stefano Domenicali: F150, because we want to celebrate the 150 years of Italy’s unity. I think that our team represents ‘Italianity’ in the world, although we are an international team, with members from all over the world.
Q: An obvious question. Is victory this year’s goal?
SD: A very simple answer - I think it is.
Q: There are some novelties as far as the team is concerned. Would you like to tell us about it?
SD: I think the main organisational change is that we’ve restructured the team of the track engineers. There are the vice technical director, Pat Fry, who coordinates Alonso’s and Massa’s engineers, Andrea Stella and Robert Smedley respectively, and technical director Aldo Costa, who remains the head coordinator regarding all technical aspects. We had a further improvement regarding strategies, introducing a new person with several different experiences, Neil Martin.
Q: How are Alonso and Massa feeling ahead of the season?
SD: They are very motivated and ‘charged’. I’ve seen them over the last few weeks and we spent some time together in Madonna di Campiglio during the ‘Wrooom’ week. I have to say that they understand that this is, for many reasons, a very important year for them and they know that we all have to give it our all.
Q: Who do you think will be Ferrari’s main competitors?
SD: I think that we have to consider everybody before we start - the big teams, which all will be very, very strong - Red Bull, Mercedes, McLaren - and there will also be some other teams, who could be dangerous outsiders. And let’s not forget the great drivers - there are many world champions. This will be a very hot championship.
Q: There are many technical novelties, many of them introduced to make it more exciting. Do you think that there will be more overtaking manoeuvres?
SD: I want to be a little bit careful regarding overtaking. It’s obvious that everything that has been done, especially regarding the mobile rear wing, was introduced to improve the possibilities of overtaking. To make sure that this system will reach the goal we all want, I think we need some Grands Prix to fine tune the system. This remains one of the main goals to improve the spectacle of races.
Q: In 2010 the season was very uncertain. Do you think that it will be the same in 2011?
SD: I think so. It will be a very intense season, just like last year. I expect many teams to be able to win. The competition will be even harder and the uncertainty even higher.
Q: From a personal point of view, do you feel obliged to win this year?
SD: It’s not about obligations, but it’s about objectives. I’d say that this is and remains my and the whole team’s objective.
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