Domenicali: Alonso showed what he is made of
Stefano Domenicali says that Fernando Alonso's victory in Singapore has shown 'what the Spaniard is made of' as his second straight win blew the F1 title race wide open.
Alonso followed up his victory at Monza with his second success under the Singapore lights and has now moved ahead of Lewis Hamilton in the championship standings - eleven points behind Mark Webber.
As the form man heading into the final four races, Alonso will hope to wrap up his third title by the season finale in Abu Dhabi and Domenicali said the way he had battled back into contention was a sign of his mental strength.
"The result is down to an exceptional performance from Fernando, who once again proved what he is made of, in terms of driving ability and his mental attitude," he said. "The first and most important brick in this particular wall was put in place with pole position: if we had not started from the front, it would most likely have been impossible to overtake the Red Bull [of Sebastian Vettel] which proved to be so strong on track, especially in the second half of the race.
"We have picked up two very nice wins in a row on tracks with completely different characteristics, but we are still behind in both championships: we must continue to work like this, if at all possible, multiplying our efforts to try and fight all the way to the finish. The maths will be done only at the end, on 14th November in Abu Dhabi."
In an interview with the BBC, Domenicali added that Ferrari's upturn in fortunes in recent races was also down to hard work from the team to get the most from the F10 as the season wears on.
"For sure, Fernando is strong in the head, and I really hope he will be the strongest in front of the others," he said. "I know his characteristics, but it's also about team work. We need to work with the guys at the track and at home because if you don't work perfectly as a team then it will be difficult to win.
"But one of Fernando's main characteristics is that he is very cool, very calm, and that's what we need from him. That is an important point of his leadership that is very strong in the team."
