Ferrari President praises his team
Ferrari president, Luca di Montezemolo, said that despite Fernando Alonso’s failure to seize the driver’s 2010 championship title, the team’s achievements have been impressive throughout the F1 season.
With an eight-point lead over Mark Webber in the standings, Alonso was poised to win the coveted prize at the final Grand Prix event in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, November 14. However, the team ended up losing the championship to Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel after
Ferrari made a critical error in pitting Alonso early in the race, which left him stuck behind Renault’s Vitaly Petrov. As a result, the Ferrari driver was unable to progress to the necessary target position of fourth that he needed for the title.
Although extremely disappointed, Montezemolo rallied behind his team.
"We believed in it right to the end and [the] result should not cancel out what we have done this season," he said.
Indeed, although suffering a series of setbacks during the first half of the season, Ferrari mounted an impressive comeback at the Grand Prix in Korea. Down from a 47-point deficit, Alonso roared back to the top of the standings.
Ferrari’s tenacity has been a staple of F1 racing and Montezemolo acknowledged the team’s incredible contributions to the sport. "In all but two of the last 14 years, Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro has reached the final race of the season either in the fight
for the title or having already won it,” he said with pride.
The President went on to praise his number one driver who was a hair’s breadth from leading his team victory at the Yas Marina circuit.
"Fernando has had an extraordinary season, demonstrating his strength and determination, always being close to the team and making an exceptional contribution,” he said with pride. “It will take us a little while to get over this disappointment but we have
to keep our heads up and be proud of what we have done."
And Montezemolo admitted that losing the world championship has been a bitter pill to swallow. He recognizes that trying to refocus for the 2011 season will be a hurdle for his team.
"Our morale is low after the conclusion to this season, but that's sport," he said. "We had everything in place to win the title, things did not go our way.”
Given how close they came to winning this year, could only have increased their appetite for victory in 2011.
Tags: