Back at Ferrari after nine years with Renault and then Lotus, James Allison admits the Maranello outfit needs to improve.

"The Korean and Japanese Grands Prix were both disappointing for us as our car was not right at the front or winning, which is not the level we should be at," he told the team's website. "However, the team performed very well at the track with a group that is strategically very astute and we have drivers who can bring the car home in good positions.

"But those results are not what we are aiming for," he admitted, "so we need to improve for the remaining races.

"After nine years away, I have a mixture of feelings returning to Maranello," he continued. "There's excitement but also a lot of nostalgia as this is a team with whom I share many happy memories of all the victories from 2000 to 2004. So nostalgia, excitement and pleasure at seeing so many faces I remember from before, who were junior members in the team when I was here the last time, but have now grown up with the team and hold senior positions. But most of all I have a feeling of determination to play my part alongside everyone else, in returning to victory with this team."

Looking ahead to this weekend's race, at which Sebastian Vettel can finally kill off any hope of Fernando Alonso snatching the title, Allison said: "The Buddh International Circuit is an interesting track which offers the full range of challenges, with a reasonable number of straights, some fast corners and slow ones. A bit like Korea, the track has a slightly schizophrenic nature, because you want the car to be good down the straights, but there are also some very demanding slow speed sections. It therefore requires a lot from the car.

"To go well in India, a car needs the same qualities it requires at any type of circuit: it needs to be stable under braking, well balanced in both high and low speed corners, with good traction out of the latter, and good speed down the straights. These are the generic qualities required by every car for every track, but with India having such a wide range of corners, it stretches the car to it limit, similarly to tracks like Suzuka."