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Domenicali talks of 2009, Alonso and other things

NEWS STORY
15/01/2009

At Ferrari's annual media get together in Madonna di Campiglio, team boss Stefano Domenicali spoke about the upcoming season and how this year will be almost unique in the history of Formula 1, with major changes as far as the regulations are concerned and the importance of keeping the goals in sight in such a fast changing environment.

Domenicali urged everybody to keep their feet on the ground; "because it will be a very difficult Championship," he said "Looking ahead will also be required from our partners, especially from Marlboro, with whom we're sharing a common project."

The teams, the main players in this sport, have to work in the same direction, to transmit a consistent message. "At the test in Portimao, we'll start comparing ourselves to the other teams. It will be interesting to see where we are and where our competitors are. I've met a very fresh and motivated Felipe Massa. He matured a lot over the last season. His strong point over these years was that he always believed in himself. I think he's mentally ready and mature enough to manage the pressure, from inside and outside. Kimi Raikkonen can't wait to get back into the car and he'll have the opportunity at Portimao. He wants to show that he's himself again, after President Montezemolo's joke that it was his twin brother driving by the end of the season."

"Kimi has and always had an enormous capacity: knowing how to detach himself. This allows him not to feel any pressure from outside," Doenicali continued. "Laast year we didn't loose a single point due to mismanagement by our drivers: the team works for both drivers and if we can give them a competitive car - as we hope we do - we won't have any psychological pressure from inside."

"Our President is working on Formula One's future. Without FOTA we would never have reached an agreement as far as cost cutting is concerned. The agreement, signed to save money on the track, is also a necessity for the smaller teams. In such a context, where it's very important to cut costs, it will be necessary to find new possibilities for the 'released' employees inside the structure."

As far as the F60 is concerned, which was unveiled on Monday, Domenicali said: "We started with a project, which is not an evolution of last year's car. Therefore it will be fundamental to be immediately competitive and to invest in reliability and in simulation, which is very useful, because the results can also be used in the road car production."

Apropos KERS, Domenicali repeated what he already said at the Mugello press conference in Mugello two days earlier, that he thinks that this is the wrong moment to start using such a complex system. "I think that this season will be extremely competitive, while our main competitors are McLaren and BMW, and also Renault has done a lot of work."

Will Alonso come to Ferrari for the next season? "I think it's difficult to add anything else to what has been said as far as this issue is concerned. Our drivers have signed contracts, even if President Montezemolo has said 'wait and see'. Fernando is a great driver, but we're extremely happy with the drivers we have."

About Michael Schumacher Domenicali said: "Michael is working as our consultant. He reports to me for F1 and to the GT Technical Direction as far as road cars are concerned. This year he will contribute in terms of engineering and the correct interpretation of the slicks."

And of the relationship between Dyer and Kimi, Domenicali added: "The negative relationship between Chris Dyer and Kimi is pure imagination. Robert Smedley and Felipe have an empathic relationship, which was quite obvious and which seems to be in contrast to the others. But Dyer's professional path had already been planned. Andrea Stella was Michael Schumacher's race engineer and then Kimi's: this change is the natural evolution of his career, helped by a perfect relationship between the two."

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