F1: Montezemolo Proud Of Ferrari Despite Defeat

Formula 1

F1: Montezemolo Proud Of Ferrari Despite Defeat

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo is taking Fernando Alonso's narrow loss at the hands of Sebastian Vettel in stride...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted November 25, 2012 Sao Paulo (BRA)

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo (Left) is proud of what Fernando Alonso (Right) accomplished in 2012. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says he is proud of his team after Fernando Alonso missed the World Championship by just three points.

The mood in the Ferrari camp is surprisingly upbeat compared to that at past showdown losses, and reflects the fact that the team did not expect to stay in contention to the final round.

“I am proud of my team,” said Montezemolo on the Ferrari website. “We fought all the way to the bitter end, getting both our drivers onto the podium for the final race of the season. When you miss out on the title by the smallest of margins,
naturally there is some regret.

“I want to congratulate Fernando on what he has done this year; his season has been simply fantastic. Felipe (Massa) drove very well in the second half of the season and demonstrated once again that he is a real team player.

“I also want to thank Stefano Domenicali and all his colleagues for the work they have done, day after day, to produce a car that, in terms of reliability, was perfect, and for what they achieved on track in terms of strategy and the work in the garage. Now we must immediately concentrate on next season, because, right from the start, we must have a car that is competitive at the highest level.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 27th season as a racing journalist in 2011. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.

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