Domenicali: “6+ for the first part of the season”

It seems there is no respite from the rain for Scuderia Ferrari in this untypical wet summer of 2011. After three consecutive races, at Silverstone, Nurburgring and Budapest, were run in weather that was less than favourable, now even Wrooom Summer 2011 has not been spared the bad weather. The event is taking a different approach to the Wrooom winter tradition. However, the group of Italian and international journalists who have come to Madonna di Campiglio are not letting the weather get to them as they prepare for a weekend of relaxation and chatting about Formula 1, spending an enjoyable day in the Dolomites, some walking with an alpine guide and others trying out their mountain bike skills. Included in this latter group was Stefano Domenicali, who really loves the mountains and was at the head of the field leading the group along. The Scuderia Team Principal also took part in the daily gathering with the television and written press, while tomorrow the spotlight falls on Fernando Alonso.

“If I had to score our season so far, I would mark it a 6+, which represents the mid-point between the terrible start and a great fight back that we saw in the second part,” said Domenicali. “I expect we will continue down this route which has seen Fernando Alonso score more points than any other driver in the last four races, all the way to the end of the season. Our aim is to win as much as possible and to have a car that is competitive at the highest level. Let’s not forget that, last year, while fighting all the way to the end, we were still behind Red Bull in terms of performance. We want to close the gap, which has already been considerably reduced if not almost wiped out in the last few races.”

Already looking ahead to 2012, Domenicali did not deny that the time is approaching when all efforts will be focussed on the design of the new car. “At the start of September, we will concentrate solely on next year, because we have already defined all the updates for the 150° Italia, at least up until mid-October. Sure, if something was to change, then we would react accordingly. In fact, apart from the area that concerns the exhausts, on 23 August, the Technical Working Group should shed some light on all the grey areas, the regulations are practically unchanged and therefore, development on today’s car can also be useful for next year.”