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Montezemolo expecting 'huge effort' from Ferrari

Luca di Montezemolo: "It's at times like these that I want to see the Ferrari I know" © Press Association

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Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says he is expecting "a huge effort" from the team's engineers to improve the car.

Fernando Alonso's lead in the championship is just four points after his retirement in the Japanese Grand Prix, and team principal Stefano Domenicali had already admitted that Alonso would need to win more races to become champion. With Alonso's lead all but erased, Montezemolo said he was relying on the engineers to quickly develop the car as they had done earlier this season.

"It's at times like these that I want to see the Ferrari I know; a team that is focused and that holds its nerve," Montezemolo told the Ferrari website. "I will speak to Fernando by phone soon to give him even more motivation with which to tackle these last five races, with the bit between his teeth, as indeed I expect all the team to do.

"[The] second place for Felipe was very important in this final part of the season when his contribution is even more vital. I expect a huge effort from our engineers who have already shown they are capable of that and we are perfectly aware that this championship is still in our hands."

Montezemolo added that he thought it was Kimi Raikkonen's mistake at Suzuka which took Alonso out of the race and that Alonso would have a greater championship lead were it not for bad luck.

"We know we can count on the strongest driver around at the moment and it's only mistakes from others at Spa and again at Suzuka, that have prevented him from having a more comfortable lead over his rivals. Let's not forget that, but for those two collisions, today Fernando would have had at least 30 points more and that's a conservative estimate. In sport, as in life, the wheel turns and we must not forget that: recently, it has not done so in a positive way for us, but it does not take much for it to change direction."

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