Ferrari must focus on own performance to catch F1 rivals - Domenicali

An inconsistent start to the campaign has left Fernando Alonso 36 points adrift of Vettel in the drivers' standings, with problems in Malaysia and Bahrain and a lack of pace in Monaco proving costly.

Although Alonso remains convinced that Vettel will encounter some bad luck over the season to even things up, his team boss Stefano Domenicali says that Ferrari must worry only about what it can control.

"I cannot look outwards," he said. "I have to watch inwards, and make sure that the car has to improve mainly in the day before the race.

"Sometimes we understand better what we have, sometimes it is the other way around. But it is the challenge that we have to face this year."

When asked if he felt Ferrari now needed problems for Vettel to get itself back in the championship hunt, he said: "For sure if it happens I will not be crying, but because I am a sporting man I will not wish him to have problems.

"I believe that he was very consistent up until now, but this year things may change very quickly.

"If you have a difficult race then things can change again, but for sure he is very strong.

"Last year he had 40 points less during the summer break but we lost the title, unfortunately for things that were not in our hands also."

Ferrari's strong race pace this season suggests that the team is well on top of its tyre management, but Domenicali believes it is important not to get too carried away with the current tyre situation.

"That is the funny thing about F1, because some teams were very anxious to change something many races ago and now it seems perfect," he said.

"You know my style: stay cool and calm and not over-react after a session.

"This is part of this game and this is part of the job of the engineers to understand what we have."

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said improving qualifying performance is crucial to Ferrari's 2013 challenge.

"We know exactly what we must do to win," he said.

"Between today and tomorrow, I will hold a long and detailed meeting with Domenicali and all the engineers: they know what we must do to improve and I am convinced that right to the very last race, Ferrari will be competitive and a contender.

"A super-Saturday? Yes, but even just a normal one would do: it would be enough to see a car capable of getting comfortably onto the first two rows of the grid, not necessarily on pole, because from there, we can win the race."