Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali believes his outfit was, on average, the best team throughout the 2012 season when looking at the whole picture.
The Italian team lost out on the drivers’ title by just three points despite having a car which at best was the third quickest. Domenicali believes this factor was the only downfall in an otherwise successful year.
“In racing we were – in my view – the best on average in terms of managing the pit stops, managing the strategy, the best on reliability; these are facts,” he said.
“You correctly say that we did not have the fastest car, above all at the beginning of the season then maybe in the second half of the season we were not able to improve the car. For sure this is something we need to work harder in order to improve it, and we have of course got ideas because we know where we lack [performance] and of course we also know that unfortunately we’re paying a big price in qualifying that hurts our performance in the race.”
He is confident the team will be in a stronger position next year after better understanding the issues with its current car – a car which will form the basis of the F2013.
“I think that for sure considering the season we have in terms of regulations I think that is the base of what we should see from all the teams next year. We are trying to correct the points that for sure were not the best in terms of our pure performance of the car, we need to improve the pace in qualifying.
“The situation with DRS is something that in a way – theoretically – should help, but we are trying to develop the areas of the car that were for sure not the best in performance. That’s why I’m confident that we should be in a different position at the start of the season next year.”
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