GreenBkk Formula 1 | Domenicali: Only perfection will do for Ferrari in 2011

Domenicali: Only perfection will do for Ferrari in 2011

They may have gathered to meet and greet the media and sample some winter sports, but off piste Ferrari are using their annual ‘Wrooom’ ski event to dissect the highs and lows of their 2010 season and outline their strategy for this year’s campaign. And after ending the year third behind rivals Red Bull and McLaren in the constructors’ stakes and coming so close to the drivers’ championship, there’s much for team principal Stefano Domenicali to mull over.

“In 2010 we just missed out on the drivers’ title with Fernando Alonso and we came third in the constructors’ championship,” Domenicali told the media. “The target for 2011 is as easy to say as it is hard to achieve - it requires taking one step forward in the drivers’ championship and two in the one for the teams. These have to be our targets because we are Ferrari.”

To achieve their aims and wrest the titles from defending champions Red Bull, Domenicali believes it is essential the team’s 2011 car is on the pace from the season opener in Bahrain.

“The truth is that the (2010) championship was lost in the early part of the season, when we failed to pick up the points that were within our grasp,” he said. “We want to have a car that is super-competitive and reliable from the very start. We know that we will have to be perfect, including in how we react to all the events that can crop up in a race weekend - because when the opponents are so strong and numerous this is what you need if you aspire to win.”

The new Ferrari will be launched at the team's Maranello base on January 28 and will make its on-track debut that afternoon as they take promotional shots at the Fiorano circuit. But Domenicali anticipates the car will undergo so many tweaks over the four pre-season tests that it will be virtually unrecognisable when it finally takes to the grid.

“The car that you will see at the Maranello launch will be very different from the one that makes its debut on March 13 in Bahrain. We will continue to develop the car up to the last available day, as we believe the other teams will.”

Like their rivals, Ferrari’s test schedule begins in earnest on February 1 at the Spanish circuit of Valencia. Alonso will carry out two days in the cockpit, before handing the car over to team mate Felipe Massa for the final day.

Credit: Formula One Administration Ltd (www.formula1.com)