Ferrari misses out on third by a point

Although Ferrari's chances of taking third back from McLaren were boosted when Lewis Hamilton retired from the Yas Marina race, neither Kimi Raikkonen nor Giancarlo Fisichella managed to score any points.

Raikkonen finished in 11th, with Fisichella down in 17th and so McLaren secured third place in the standings.

Domenicali said the team knew it was in for a difficult end to the season after deciding to switch its effort to the 2010 car.

"It's disappointing to see third place in the Constructors' Championship elude us by a single point, but we have to accept the verdict dished out on track," said Domenicali.

"We took a strategic decision regarding the development of the F60 a few months ago and we knew that, as time went by, the road ahead would get ever steeper.

"All the same, I wish to congratulate the entire team who, despite the difficult situation, continued to keep their concentration up, getting on with their work with determination and tenacity.

"Now we must continue to work on the design of the new car, because we have a very simple aim: that of getting back to being in the fight for race wins."

Domenicali also paid tribute to Raikkonen after the Finn's last race with the team.

"This was Kimi's last race with us and again today he gave it his all," he added. "We are very disappointed that this year, we did not give him a competitive car and I thank him for never having thrown in the towel, in fact, fighting even harder when the situation was at its trickiest."

He added: "That thanks extends to all our drivers: to Felipe who went through a dramatic moment in Budapest and is recovering quickly to be 100% for the start of next season; to Luca [Badoer], who accepted the challenge to put himself in the game in a very difficult moment; to Giancarlo who in order to realise his dream of racing for Ferrari, left a team just as it was going through its best part of the season.

"Again today, he did his utmost right to the final kilometer. I am proud of our drivers, as I am of everyone who works in our team and I am sure that every one of them will know how to learn the right lessons from this season and will be even more motivated to try and redeem themselves immediately."