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Ferrari Puts Focus On Strong Start To 2011


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#1
ndrifter

Posted 21 January 2011 - 02:23 PM

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Ferrari puts focus on strong start to 2011


Ferrari's main focus for the new Formula One season is getting off to a strong start and avoiding even the possibility of finishing the way it did in 2010.

Speaking at Ferrari's annual winter retreat in the Italian Dolomites on Wednesday, team director Stefano Domenicali said too much focus has been made on the strategic errors the team made in the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that concluded 2010, whereas an even larger problem was failing to gain points early on.

"You have got to be rational," Domenicali said. "We lost the championship because we didn't get key points in the first half of the season and that resulted in us entering the end of the season in that situation.

"We have to start this year competitive right away, because if you don't in this competitive state it becomes very tough." Ferrari will introduce its 2011 car on Jan. 28 and the season begins with the Bahrain GP on March 13.

Fernando Alonso entered the final race of 2010 leading the drivers' standings but Red Bull driver Sebastian Vettel won the title after a series of strategic errors by the Italian team.

Domenicali likened the feeling after the Abu Dhabi race to what France felt after a penalty shootout loss to Italy in the 2006 World Cup final.

"If you were in the France dressing room I think you can imagine the atmosphere," he said. "We didn't take what was on table and it was a big pity for all of us."

Since Domenicali replaced Jean Todt at the end of the 2007 season, Ferrari has not won a drivers' title, and in the last two years it hasn't won any championships at all - drivers' or constructors'.

"Our goal has got to be both titles," Domenicali said, adding that he expects Alonso to be faster from the start in his second season with Ferrari, and significant improvement from Felipe Massa, who appears to have lost his edge after a life-threatening accident at the Hungarian GP in 2009.

Massa hasn't won a race the last two years after missing out on the 2008 title by one point to McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton. "He had a difficult season but I'm sure he can bounce back," Domenicali said. "He's a great driver and he has grown up with us. To win the constructors title you need two strong drivers."

Besides recovering from his injuries in Hungary, Massa has also had to adapt to his new role as second driver, which was clearly demonstrated when he was ordered by the team to let Alonso pass him during the German GP last year, which resulted in a US$100,000 fine for Ferrari.

Team orders have been legalised for this season.

"I think that move is a step in the right direction," Domenicali said. "There's no sense in hiding a formality that we all know has existed."

Last week, Ferrari announced that former Red Bull strategist Neil Martin will head up its new operations research department, after which Red Bull team adviser Helmut Marko told German newspaper Bild that Ferrari was trying to lure other members of its team, too, and even take some of its team spirit.

"Technicians have always moved around in F1, but Ferrari represents something unique for all the people that work on other teams," Domenicali said.

"As for stealing their spirit, the only spirit I know is Ferrari's because I've spent my entire career here, and our spirit is fantastic."
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#2
tpl

Posted 01 February 2011 - 07:36 PM

tpl

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woo... team kuda..
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#3
ndrifter

Posted 01 February 2011 - 09:04 PM

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QUOTE (tpl @ Feb 1 2011, 07:36 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
woo... team kuda..


yes
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#4
tpl

Posted 02 February 2011 - 06:48 AM

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so team kuda boss is who noe??
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#5
ndrifter

Posted 02 February 2011 - 10:38 PM

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QUOTE (tpl @ Feb 2 2011, 06:48 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
so team kuda boss is who noe??


noe tikues
~~> 4g18 | '03 | 225K mileage and counting

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#6
tpl

Posted 03 February 2011 - 06:35 AM

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QUOTE (ndrifter @ Feb 2 2011, 10:38 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
noe tikues

not the who who who hubby? i dun remeber th name liao or ambasador or some s_it..
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#7
ndrifter

Posted 03 February 2011 - 01:13 PM

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QUOTE (tpl @ Feb 3 2011, 06:35 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
not the who who who hubby? i dun remeber th name liao or ambasador or some s_it..


duno ler

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#8
tpl

Posted 03 February 2011 - 01:53 PM

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aiya...
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