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'This championship is not at all clear cut' - Domenicali

Stefano Domenicali reckons Fernando Alonso's victory in Malaysia has opened up the championship © Getty Images

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Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali says Fernando Alonso's shock victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix shows that this year's championship is not just a battle between Red Bull and McLaren.

Ferrari has had a tough start to the season with its new F2012 well off the pace of rivals in dry conditions, especially in qualifying. However, Alonso's win in the wet at Sepang last weekend has promoted him to the top of the championship with Ferrari optimistic that it will improve its car over the next few rounds.

"An incredible win, absolutely unexpected, but that does not make it any less wonderful and emotional," Domenicali said. "Once again, Fernando was amazing, driving with a cool head and determination, managing to get the very best out of this car and of the very changeable weather conditions.

"Today's victory does not change a jot in terms of our situation: we know that, at the moment, we do not have a car competitive enough to fight for the win under normal conditions and that we have a lot of work to do to catch up. Clearly this win gives us even more motivation, because it shows that this championship is not at all clear cut and anything can happen."

And Domenicali does not think the gap to the top teams is a big as it appears, despite Alonso failing to qualify within 1.3s of pole position so far this season.

"A slight improvement in performance can result in a good step forward compared to other teams," he added. "Now we will enjoy this moment for a few hours, but tomorrow [Monday] we must be back in the factory again pushing on the development of this F2012."

Technical director Pat Fry said the performance of the car has swung dramatically in changing conditions.

"This result must not be seen as a case of all our problems having unexpectedly solved themselves: that's not the case and everyone is aware of it. Fernando drove a fantastic race, pushing throughout the entire time, always being very careful but never overdoing it. The F2012 seemed to behave very differently depending on the conditions in which it was running: today, there were moments when it was absolutely competitive, others when it struggled. We had already seen in Melbourne on Friday that on a damp track, the situation was not bad and today it went even better."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said the victory was like a "shot in the arm" for his team.

"Once again, Fernando drove an exceptional race, confirming his status as an extraordinary driver, from every point of view," he said. "I am also very pleased for Stefano Domenicali and all his people who got a nice reward for doing a perfect job on track, from the strategy to the pit stops to the car preparation. There is still a lot of work to do, but this win is a further shot in the arm that was much needed at a time like this."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.