Concentrating on reliability - Almondo

"I think that our level of performance, particularly in terms of pace and during the race is very very good," said Ferrari technical director Mario Almondo after Sunday's victory by Felipe Massa in the Spanish Grand Prix. "We are satisfied about that".

"We are, of course, much less satisfied about our level of reliability that we have had up to now and we have to concentrate on that. If I have to give you numbers; 51 percent we have to concentrate on reliability and the other 49 percent is improving performance."

Almondo was referring to Massa's margin of victory which could have been much greater than the eventual 6.79s (he was 11s ahead ten laps from the end), but also Kimi Raikkonen's retirement with an electrical fault earlier in the race.

"I really think we could have had two Ferrari drivers on the podium at the end of today without a problem," said Luca Baldisserri, Ferrari's head of track operations. "Unfortunately with Kimi we a DNF (Did Not Finish) so we were not able to give him a car which could reflect his capabilities, which have been improving since the first three races. I have to say that we are all really happy with the weekend that he's had." Almondo added "he was confident that he had a very good chance to do a very very good race."

Almondo revealed that Ferrari have been working with their drivers on their performance. "We are continuously going through the methodology of improving the performance of our drivers and we did that with Kimi, with Felipe and they are quite keen to follow our methodology of exploring the margin of improvement that they have but it's not just a matter of improving their driving style.

"Of course their driving style is something that is combined with the characteristics of the car, of the package, the tyres from race to race, and getting experience with this new car and with this new type of tyres. I have to say that we are doing a decent job but we also know that we could do it better and we are planning some action in order to improve still more."

Almondo also paid tribute to the advice and presence of Michael Schumacher, the seven time World Champion who was present in Spain and still contributes to the team's performances. "To have Michael here, a talented driver like him with his huge experience is, I have to say, always very very useful. He's with us and giving us his point of view and suggestions throughout the weekend. I have to say that whenever we are talking and whatever is the subject we are talking about, we see that he is consistently able to give us a very interesting point of view that is very very useful most of the time. Of course, we can't go into detail but we are happy about that."

Asked about the fuel spillage that resulted in Massa's fiery exit from the pits after the first pit stop, Almondo replied "the reason why it happened is something that we still have to check. It's something that sometimes happens. How much fuel went out? A very few drops, I have to say. You can see that after a few meters the fire disappeared so I have to say that it is something that can happen. We didn't notice anything particularly problematic during this operation but of course we have to go through it very very carefully."

Finally, Ferrari echoed their rival's opinion that the clash between Massa and McLaren's Fernando Alonso at the first corner was a racing incident, and that it could have gone either way. "Of course, it is never nice for any of us to be criticised," explained Almondo. "I think the most appropriate explanation is that Massa reacted as a driver. Sometimes you can have a first turn that is in your favour as it is in this case and some other times you can do something that is not perfect with the opposite result like Alonso's. Of course, if you do not think in a perfect way, the result is that you are behind and not in front."