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Montezemolo 'worried' by Red Bull pace

ESPN Staff
June 27, 2012 « Mallya dreaming of Silverstone podium | Banker jailed in F1 bribery case »
Luca di Montezemolo was present in Valencia on Saturday © Sutton Images
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Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has told the team that he is "worried" by the pace Red Bull showed in the European Grand Prix.

Sebastian Vettel took pole position comfortably and then had built up a 20 second lead in the race when a safety car period closed up the field. An alternator failure then saw Vettel retire from the lead and Fernando Alonso eventually came through to win, but in an address published on the official Ferrari website Montezemolo told team members back at Maranello that the pace shown before Vettel's retirement concerned him.

"I am worried and all of us should be," Montezemolo said. "Yes, I am worried, because I expect three very tough races at Silverstone, Hockenheim and Budapest and because we have seen that Red Bull is very strong, having had four tenths in hand over everyone in qualifying and in the race it was flying away, at least until the safety car. If we want to achieve our goals then we must make a step forward."

Montezemolo did praise the team for the result in Valencia on Sunday, but said the race itself had shown that Ferrari needs to improve further.

"It's thanks to your work, to an extraordinary driver who, not by chance, drives for Ferrari, to the strategy, the pit stops and the efforts of everyone at the track and back home, that we find ourselves leading the championship, even if we don't have the best car. Now we must ensure we do everything as well as possible because winning depends solely and exclusively on us. It would be a big mistake to think the win in Valencia means we have done enough: today we have a competitive car, but to win, we must do even more."

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