Ferrari ’calm’ despite troubled start - Gene

Despite a mixed start to the 2013 campaign for Ferrari, test driver Marc Gene insists the mood at Maranello is "calm".

Spaniard Alonso won in China earlier this month, but before that he retired after a crash in Malaysia, whilst last weekend in Bahrain his victory hopes collapsed due to an ultra-rare DRS rear wing failure.

"It’s the first problem of its kind on this system seen in the three years during which it has been used," the Italian team revealed in a media statement.

Because of those problems, and despite having a much more competitive car this season than in 2012, Alonso is already 30 points off reigning champion Sebastian Vettel’s title lead.

But Spanish test driver Gene, who travels to all the grands prix with Ferrari, said this week: "Despite what happened the other day, the atmosphere at Maranello is calm.

"It was an unusual problem that has never happened before and won’t happen again," he is quoted by EFE news agency.

Gene said he is confident Ferrari will overcome its early-season setbacks and fight back.

"I think this year we will fight until the end for both championships," he said in Madrid.

"Red Bull is the benchmark, and Lotus is the other team that is very strong, but we also do not forget about Mercedes.

"The nice thing about this season is that there are many teams fighting for the top positions," added Gene.

Asked about Dr Helmut Marko’s claim this week that Red Bull fears Lotus more than Ferrari in 2013, Gene insisted that the reigning champions "should be scared of Ferrari".

"I think this is just psychological warfare," the 39-year-old insisted.