Ferrari chief Montezemolo counting on long F1 season

Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said he is banking on the longest season in Formula One history to give his team the chance to find a winning car.

Di Montezemolo admitted winter testing had not gone to plan and that they're unlikely to have a competitive car in Melbourne on March 18 for the season opener.

But he is hopeful that a solution can soon be found having had a first-hand look at how things are going.

"I found a team that is very concentrated and determined," Montezemolo told the official Ferrari website.

"I saw in (team principal Stefano) Domenicali and our engineers a great desire to show what they're worth and to react to a winter programme that didn't live up to our targets.

"I must underline these are our words because we will only discover the truth about where we stand compared to the others after Saturday's qualifying session in Melbourne: today we can only make assumptions.

"No matter how it goes in Melbourne, I would like to remind everyone that this will be the longest championship in the history of Formula One and we certainly won't be able to draw conclusions after just one race."