Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo has called on everyone at the Scuderia to give their absolute all this season to help ensure the Prancing Horse returns to winning ways.

Ferrari struggled in 2009, but now there is a fresh sense of optimism and the form of the new Ferrari F10 in winter testing has been strong. Indeed new boy Fernando Alonso has already described it as the ‘best car he has ever driven’ and Montezemolo is convinced they can strike back.

“I want to thank you for what you’ve done during the winter,” Montezemolo said this week while talking to ‘his’ troops. “I haven’t forgotten the humiliation of the Abu Dhabi weekend, but now we know that our efforts paid off.

“We can look at the start of the season, knowing that we have a reliable car and we’re ready to tackle our competitors. We want to win and we’re sacrificing a lot for that, but this is our passion’s engine, our pride, our desire to demonstrate that we are the best team in the world.

“To reach this goal we need to be aware of the fact that a tenth of a second can make the difference: this is why I ask you all, nobody excluded, to give it your all, at every moment.

“We have a driver, Fernando [Alonso], who is on top of his career and has all the attributes to win; we have Felipe [Massa], completely renewed after what happened last year. We’re close to the best, but we want to be the best.

“We have a great team and we have to give out best to improve the car: Grand Prix after Grand Prix. We can’t leave any stone unturned: on the track, at home, at the works, everything has to be done the best possible way. This is what I’m asking of you.

“You’ve done some great work and I want you to continue like this. I’m convinced that you can do it and I hope I will see you again soon to thank you for the results, to enjoy the victories we merit together. Good luck from my heart: Forza Ferrari!”

Ferrari team boss Stefano Domenicali meanwhile echoed those thoughts, adding in his own address that while much progress has been made, they have to keep pushing.

“We have a difficult season behind us and we have a season with strong competitors ahead of us, with many unknown factors,” he continued. “We’ve worked a lot during the winter and I want to thank you for what you have done: at the end of the last Championship we were really behind, now, after the tests in February, we can say that we picked up a lot. We’re in the top group, but not yet amongst the best. This has to be a stimulus, because we need to develop race after race.”