Domenicali urges Ferrari not to give up

Fernando Alonso's retirement for the Spa event has left Ferrari as outsiders for the championship this year, with McLaren's Lewis Hamilton and Red Bull Racing's Mark Webber edging clear at the head of the points standings.

However, with memories of 2007 when Ferrari recovered a 17-point deficit over two races to claim the crown still fresh in his mind, Domenicali is far from ready to concede his team's ambitions are over.

"For sure it was not really a positive weekend for us," he said. "From the points point of view for sure we lost ground, no doubt about it - and it is more difficult but it is not impossible. Up to now I remember in 2007 that we were 17 points behind with two races to go. More difficult than that - I don't know."

Domenicali thinks that it is important his team keeps it ambitions focused on winning the title, because misfortune for its rivals in the next few races could quickly change the picture of the title battle.

"For sure it is more difficult but we want to keep pushing because out of the top five drivers, we were one of the three that did not score a point," he said. "Maybe in the next couple of races something will happen the other way around, so we just need to be there and to not give up.

"We did not go out this weekend with the performance that we were expecting, and we need to understand why. We need to be very cautious because two races ago we saw one of our competitors, McLaren, seemed to be suffering and now it seems to be that they were very strong.

"Race by race, the scenario is changing so quickly that it is difficult to predict something. It is important to be there because with these conditions anything can happen."