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Damage limitation for Ferrari in Bahrain

Stefano Domenicali wants Ferrari to learn how to make better use of its tyres in Bahrain © Sutton Images

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• Race:
• Bahrain Grand Prix

• Drivers:
• Stefano Domenicali

• Teams:
• Ferrari

Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali says that the team will need to "limit the damage more effectively" in Bahrain.

Having won the Malaysian Grand Prix, Ferrari was keen to stress that the race was not a true reflection of the car's pace and that it would struggle in China. That proved to be the case as Fernando Alonso scraped two points in ninth place and Felipe Massa was outside the top ten. Domenicali told the official Ferrari website that the difficulties were expected, but that it needs to do a better job in Bahrain this weekend.

"We knew we would have problems in Shanghai and Sakhir," Domenicali said. "Of course, we're unhappy at not being able to bring home the points tally we could have done in China. I think we had the potential to at least get Fernando into the top five and Felipe into the points, but both of them spent almost all their time in traffic and, especially in the Spaniard's case, never managed to lap consistently with a clear track ahead of them. As a result of the lack of top speed, Fernando therefore had to try and overtake at other parts of the track and take risks. In Bahrain, we will try and limit the damage more effectively, as we did not manage to do so in China.

"Above all, we will have to get the most out of the tyres, both in qualifying and in the race. Understanding when and how much can be got out of the tyres has been the key factor to this first part of the season. It can make the difference and we must improve our ability to analyse and predict their behaviour."

With Alonso having the same amount of points after three races as he did in 2010 - when he was leading the championship going in to the final race - Domenicali said it would motivate the team to improve the car and mount a title challenge.

"This has to be a stimulus to further speed up our car development. The real contest in these weeks is the one taking place in Maranello, where everyone is pushing strongly to try and find any available hundredth of a second in performance terms, in every area. We will have a few new things in Mugello, but we will take right up to the last available day prior to the Spanish Grand Prix to introduce the very latest updates. I am sure that our rivals will also be doing the same, so it will be a case of showing that we can be cleverer than them and do a better job."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.