Team boss looks to past for hope

Stefano Domenicali is determined that last season's championship battle should serve as an inspiration to Ferrari to win this season's drivers' and constructors' competitions. The Italian team trail McLaren by one point in the team duel, while the Brazilian driver Felipe Massa trails Lewis Hamilton by seven points with three races left. Ahead of Sunday's Japanese Grand Prix in Fuji, Domenicali reflected on the events a year ago when Kimi Raikkonen overturned a 17-point deficit in the final two races to win the title in Brazil at the expense of the McLaren driver Hamilton.

The Ferrari team principal said: "Everyone said we had lost the championship, but we won it and that was a highlight for me. "It's still possible. We always have hope and we are totally motivated to win both championships. We have had some problems with reliablity that has cost us a lot of points and it's not been perfect this season, but it's part of Formula One. "You cannot think you are competing alone because this is a series. We are fighting against some of the biggest manufacturers, fighting to be successful and we are still always there [at the top]."