Ferrari will not win at Monza, according to Domenicali

When one is the director of Ferrari during a race weekend at Monza, it’s important not to appear too positive, lest you alienate the passionate yet knowledgeable supporters of the Scuderia. The least one can say is that Stefano Domenicali did not indulge in blind optimism as he reflected both on the difficult season for the Italian team and on a weekend at Monza that should not be as fruitful as the previous season.

This championship is not really the best, even if I think we could have won more races this season to be honest, and the situation would have been different at the level of the championship, said the Italian technician in a press conference. We must take the situation as it is without crying and being sure that the next races, until the end of the season, are very important because, as I told the guys, we need to maximize the points because we are fighting for something – positions and other things to also ensure that we can accomplish work that will benefit us in 2012.

The director of Ferrari also commented on the changes that occurred this season, notably the dismissal of Chris Dyer, who might join Mercedes GP, during the off-season, as well as that of Aldo Costa after five races: « It has definitely been a complex season, but the changes we made had a goal: to improve the team’s structural organization. There was no intention of punishment, because that’s not how we operate. These were constructive changes. It’s part of the game in these kinds of situations ».

For 2012, Domenicali knows the areas to work on: « We need a car with more downforce that can better take advantage of the new tires. Our goal is to be competitive right away ». On a more general level, the Italian hopes for a stabilization of the rules in F1: « What interests me is that the rules stabilize, because otherwise the fans will no longer understand them. We need to find a compromise with Pirelli to better benefit from the tires without making them too important or decisive a factor ». Finally, on the possible return of private testing: « We have gone from more than 90,000 km per year to less than 10,000 km, which I think is too drastic. You need to train more on the field than in the locker rooms ».

Regarding his team’s chances of victory this Sunday at Monza: « Last year was fantastic, but I don’t think this year will be as straightforward because there are more challengers who have become increasingly competitive in qualifying. In the last races – apart from Belgium – we were competitive too, so the idea is to try to give it our all with the goal of winning, even though we know it will be very, very difficult ».