Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo says team cannot ease off given strength of rivals

Montezemolo said after Alonso's second win of the season in Valencia that he was worried about his team's chances in the championship given the strong opposition.

Despite Alonso becoming the first three-time winner of the 2012 season at Hockenheim, opening a gap of 36 points to his closest rival, the Ferrari president says the form of his rivals is still a concern.

"I am concerned, more so than the day after Valencia," said Montezemolo. "I see very strong opponents: McLaren has made great progress, Red Bull is very strong, Sauber had a race pace that was a match for ours and Lotus is very strong at times.

"Therefore, we have to be very careful: after we had a difficult start to the season, maybe our rivals did not expect to see Ferrari capable of fighting back this strongly, but now they will redouble their efforts to beat us. Therefore, we must stay very focused and continue our efforts to improve continuously."

Di Montezemolo, however, expressed his joy at the team's performance in Germany, also praising the work done by team boss Stefano Domenicali.

"I want to tell you I am proud of you," he said. "When I watched you applauding the drivers, I was thinking that I am lucky to work with people like you, people who have known how to work without fuss, with ability and determination to redress the difficult situation at the start of the season, which was not at the level of the name Ferrari.

"I want to take this opportunity to thank Domenicali for his work. When, a few years ago, it was decided to go for a man who had grown from within the company, there were some who turned up their noses at the idea, but today I am pleased to see a true leader of a team that is doing well, which is what I want and which is worthy of the name Ferrari."