Ferrari boss tells staff to believe or leave

Felipe Massa's title hopes are virtually over but there is stillhope for Fernando Alonso

Jul.18 (Ferrari) It is a busy time at Maranello, for everyone in Ferrari’s Gestione Sportiva, as July comes to an end with two races over consecutive weekends in Germany and Hungary, which will play a key role in deciding the outcome of the 2010 Formula 1 World Championship.

Massa and Alonso had a frustrating British GP weekend

The hard knocks of Valencia and Silverstone have made themselves felt, especially as the team had everything in place to bring home a lot of points and stay in touch with the leaders in the classification. However, all the team has to show for it is four points from Fernando Alonso’s seventh place in Valencia.

Since Canada the Ferrari F10 has moved up a gear in performance terms, as could clearly be seen at Silverstone despite the fact that the venue of the British GP was not best suited to the F10.

“No point in crying about it,” Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said on the Monday after the race and calling for a reaction to the meagre pickings of recent races. Efforts have been further intensified and even the drivers have played their part: they have spent a day each on the simulator in preparation for the Hockenheim race, as well as trying out some solutions for later in the season.

Stefano Domenicali means business

Alonso and Felipe Massa also took part in various meetings with the engineers to discuss not just the short-term development plan for the car, but also casting an eye forward to what the 2011 car might be like.

Stefano Domenicali did not mince his words during the customary monthly meeting with Ferrari’s senior management. In fact the team’s principal was very blunt, “Anyone who does not believe that we can win the world championship would do better looking for another job. No one here is giving up: there are still nine races to go and anything can happen. We will have to do our job perfectly, that is to say the Ferrari way and then the results will come.”

The message is pretty clear as the team have the will to fight back and echo what Alonso said on the radio after finishing fourteenth on Sunday at Silverstone, “Heads up guys, we can still win the championship.”