Domenicali talks about Ferrari reliability issues

Stefano Domenicali has emphasised that the Ferrari team's reliability issues must be rectified as soon as possible in order for the outfit to confidently continue its title attack this season. The Maranello squad's Malaysian Grand Prix was compromised by both gearbox and engine woes for erstwhile championship leader Fernando Alonso.With Alonso having previously won in Bahrain and finished fourth in Australia, the Spaniard is now tied in points with Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, whose own 2010 results tally reads exactly the same in terms of finishing positions so far.

"There's no way we can be happy with the outcome of this third race weekend of the season," said Team Principal Domenicali. "We came to Malaysia with very different objectives and taking home a mere seventh place (with new championship leader Felipe Massa) is a disappointment."

Pointing the finger for Ferrari's average race showing at Saturday's generally poor qualifying performance, Domenicali is in awe of Alonso's Sunday efforts. "Fernando drove an amazing race given that, right from the formation lap, he had a problem going through the gears," Stefano continued. "To drive under those conditions is impressive and he was able to stay in the fight for points right to the end.

"Felipe also drove a really great race, especially in the second part, and heading the Drivers' classification is a just reward for all he has done in this early part of the season.

"An initial assessment after three races? Positive, because we lead both championships and have shown that we are competitive at the highest level. We know where we have to improve – performance and reliability – but we can count on an excellent package; car, drivers, team – all capable of being in the fight for both titles." GPUpdate.net