Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali reckons Brawn GP and Red Bull will be challengers once more next season.
Ferrari team boss expects 2009 contenders to stay on the pace
Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali reckons next year's World Championship will once again see Brawn GP and Red Bull fighting at the front - but with the Scuderia added to the mix.
In an unusual turn of form, Formula One's two powerhouses, Ferrari and McLaren Mercedes, struggled throughout the first half of this season while Brawn GP and Red Bull Racing came to the fore.
Although both Ferrari and McLaren improved as the year progressed, they were left to battle it out for third place in the Constructors' Championship, which McLaren took by one point.
Looking ahead to next season, however, Domenicali is refusing to write off the challenges from 2009's upstarts and thinks neither will simply remain a one-season wonder.
"I respect them a lot," he told
ITV. "Brawn had such a huge advantage at the beginning that for sure - without saying - they will have swapped development to their new car a long time ago.
"I know Ross (Brawn) very well and for sure he is doing that.
"With regard to Red Bull, I think they did a great package - a really great package - for sure they will be there next year too."
Even so, Domenicali believes Ferrari will be frontrunners once more as recent history suggests they are able to bounce back from disappointment.
"In 2005 we suffered like hell like this year, we had the lone win at Indianapolis and that season was very difficult," he added.
"The memory is very short, but we have these periods and we are used to getting out of them with the Ferrari spirit and the Ferrari resources."
