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Strategy absolutely vital - Domenicali

Stefano Domenicali wants Ferrari to put its 2010 mistakes behind it © Getty Images

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• Stefano Domenicali

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• Ferrari

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has said that strategy will play a bigger part in winning races than qualifying this season.

New tyre manufacturer Pirelli has developed tyres that degrade more quickly in an attempt to create more exciting races and increase the opportunities for overtaking. This is expected to lead to more pit stops, and Domenicali said this puts less emphasis on grid position than in previous years.

"From what we have seen in winter testing, these tyres are very different to those we used in the past," he said. "Therefore, we have to adopt a fresh approach and clearly, from what we have seen so far, the number of pit stops required to complete a race distance competitively will be higher than before. This is significant in terms of teamwork at the races, because more pit stops means the role of team members becomes even more important in terms of deciding the final outcome of the races.

A further impact of having more pit stops is that possibly qualifying and therefore grid position will be less important than in 2010. In simple terms it is more likely that a car that has not set the fastest time and taken pole position can still go on to win the race. It will be absolutely vital to have the right strategy in order to win the race."

Domenicali maintained that no conclusions had yet been drawn on where Ferrari was in terms of pace, and said that was one of the unknowns that the team was looking forward to finding out in Australia.

"The atmosphere in the team is good and everyone is keen to get to work in Melbourne, to see where we are compared to the other teams," he said. "So far, we have done a lot of testing through four test sessions in Spain in February and early March but this will be the chance to see where our base line puts us. There were fifteen days of winter testing in total. I am by nature very cautious so in assessing how we went during these days, I have to take into account how we worked through our programme, as well as looking at what the other teams did and because we do not know exactly what the others were doing in testing, I have to remain cautious in rating our own work."

After a tactical error cost Fernando Alonso the world championship in Abu Dhabi at the end of last season, Domenicali said the Spaniard was determined to make amends, while also hinting that Felipe Massa needed to improve after a winless 2010 on his return from injury.

"I see both our drivers very very motivated for different reasons," he said. "Fernando has done a fantastic winter in terms of preparation and testing and is looking forward to getting to Melbourne, because after an incredible second half to last year, he wants to cancel out what happened at the last race in Abu Dhabi. Felipe is now very strong mentally and he is looking forward to what will be a very important season for him."

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