Di Montezemolo wants a Ferrari capable of winning in Austin

Fernando Alonso is the only driver still in the running to deny Sebastian Vettel a third consecutive world championship title, even though his Ferrari is not as competitive as the young German driver’s Red Bull.

The Scuderia Ferrari had brought new parts to Abu Dhabi, as in previous races, and while these innovations seemed to work, they were not enough to allow Fernando Alonso to aim for better than second place in the race, as Luca di Montezemolo revealed on the Maranello team’s website: « I want to understand why the new parts brought to the circuit only partially improved the performance of the F2012, which was not enough to allow Alonso to fight at the front – despite the mixed expectations of our engineers. »

Ferrari’s boss believes that the engineers will have to do everything this week to provide the Iberian driver with an F2012 capable of fighting for victory at the next race in Austin, United States: « Yesterday, Fernando delivered yet another great race this season, during which he once again gave 120% and managed to fight for victory until the end. But it is clear that we must do more for the upcoming races. That’s what I asked Domenicali and his team: we have 10 crucial days ahead of us, during which we must do everything to arrive in Texas with a single-seater that can fight for victory. Words don’t count: this must be our goal. »

Fernando Alonso echoes his boss’s statements by admitting that he doesn’t plan to give up during the next two races: « Yes, I am confident [in my chances of being crowned]. We will fight until the end. » However, the Spanish double world champion remains more cautious than Luca di Montezemolo. Indeed, when asked if winning in Austin and Interlagos would aid him in his title quest, he replied: « It would help, for sure, but I don’t think [it’s possible]. »