Stefano Domenicali insists Ferrari isn't giving up hope of regaining third position in the constructors’ championship from McLaren even though he concedes it will be a difficult task given the two teams' respective Friday form.
The Maranello outfit must outscore its traditional rival by two points in this weekend’s Abu Dhabi season finale to be sure of avoiding finishing outside the top three in the teams' standings for the first time since 1993.
But while McLaren hit the ground running in the first ever practice running at the Yas Marina circuit to top both sessions, both Ferrari drivers missed the top 10 in first practice while team leader Kimi Raikkonen could only improve to 10th in the evening’s running.
Team boss Domenicali says Ferrari now must ensure it maximises its F60’s potential in qualifying to give itself a chance of a decent points haul heading into the race.
“We are aware of the difficulties we will face this weekend,” he said.
“Our main rivals in the fight for third place in the constructors’ classification are going through a very positive phase, while we are having to make a virtue of necessity, trying to get the most out what we have got to work with.
“However, this does not mean we will not be fighting right down to the last lap, as we are not the sort to give up that easily."
Raikkonen, whose three-year relationship with the Maranello outfit ends after this weekend’s race, says the team’s season-long problems generating sufficient grip from the F60 are again hurting it here.
“The car is not bad to drive, but it is simply slow and lacks grip, as in fact has been the case very often this year," he bemoaned.
“It’s not as though there is a specific reason why it’s not going well, but most of all, its down to our choice to stop development of the F60, so our performance level compared to the others is going down race by race, given that so many teams are still working on this year’s cars.
“There are only a few corners where you can make a difference, near the start of the lap. Then there are so many heavy braking points and slow-speed corners, where stability on entry and acceleration on exit are the important factors.”
The Finn was typically unflustered about two of the Yas Marina circuit’s novel features, adding: “Going from daylight to artificial light? After two races in Singapore, it doesn’t cause a problem.
“The pit lane exit? In terms of its layout it’s quite similar to Interlagos, except there’s a wall instead of a guardrail.”
Ferrari’s Abu Dhabi form looks set to compound Giancarlo Fisichella’s attempts to register a points finish for the team at the fifth and final attempt, the veteran again having languished near the bottom of the times throughout Friday.
The Italian said he enjoyed the challenge presented by the opening section of corners in particular, even if he again was running well off the one-lap pace of team-mate Raikkonen.
“I can say the nicest part is the first section with the quick corners. I think there is some chance of overtaking on the long straights, while the pit lane exit is a bit dangerous, but there is nothing that can be done to change it,” Fisichella said.
“In the second session, when the temperature dropped, the track became less slippery. In the first session, I was struggling a bit to stay on track and I had a lot of graining. We have nothing new on the car and we must try and do our best, working on its set-up.”