Ferrari will have to be competitive from the start of the season in 2013
Despite its defeat in the championship final in Brazil, the Ferrari team, through its sporting director, Stefano Domenicali, is confident about starting the 2013 season in a better position than it did at the beginning of the 2012 season. The team will notably focus on its qualifying pace, which cost it some strong performances this year.
The year 2012 was paradoxical for Ferrari in more ways than one. After a calamitous start to the season, salvaged by the mastery of Fernando Alonso, the team with the prancing horse became Red Bull’s main rival in the race for titles as the season progressed. However, a decline in performance at the end of the year and a severe lack of development compared to its Austrian rival prevented the Scuderia from securing the final victory.
For the upcoming season, sporting director Stefano Domenicali is confident that his team will be competitive from the start: « We need to address the weakest points of our car from this year. We absolutely need to improve our qualifying pace, and the reduced use of DRS during the session is something that should theoretically help us. That’s why I’m convinced we will be in a very different position at the start of next season compared to this year. »
For the Italian manager, the end of Ferrari’s season is a good foundation to move forward in 2013: « We must not forget that in the last four races, we were the team that scored the most points. And in the races, we were, in my opinion, the best in terms of strategy, pit stop management, and reliability. »
But indeed, Domenicali acknowledges that his team experienced an up-and-down season: « We didn’t have the fastest car at the start of the season, and maybe in the second part of the year, we weren’t able to improve the car. It’s an area where we’re going to have to work hard. We know the areas in which we have deficiencies. But we also know that we paid a high price in qualifying, which greatly affected our race performances. »
