Ferrari team principal Stefano Domenicali has admitted that the Italian team's 2011 Formula One season was ruined by a slow start, and a poorly-performing upgrade package which ended their brief mid-season fightback.
The Ferrari squad have won just one race throughout 2011, at the British Grand Prix, and their mid-season revival has petered out in recent races.
The team have now fully turned their focus to 2012, after ending 2011 as their third straight season without a championship title.
And Domenicali has admitted that the team's efforts to fight back during the middle of the season were ruined by a disappointing upgrade package introduced at the Belgian GP weekend.
"We started very badly but then, coming into summer, we staged a good recovery which, among other things, saw us take the significant win at Silverstone," Domenicali told the Ferrari website.
"Then we had a programme of further development on the car, which should have brought us much closer to the front runners."
But he went on: "Unfortunately, the updates introduced in Spa did not produce the results we hoped for and so we took a step backwards, partly because by then, we had interrupted the development of the 150 Italia to concentrate all our energies on next year's car.
"In the last few races we also tested a few ideas and parts which will be useful in the near future and we will continue to do that in Abu Dhabi and Brazil."
Ferrari's efforts to challenge in the constructors standings were also hit by Felipe Massa's continued poor form.
After a disappointing 2010 season, the Brazilian has failed to score a podium finish so far in 2011, and has scored less than half the points of Fernando Alonso.
And Domenicali admitted that while Massa's drive is safe for 2012, next season would be a "key" one for his future.
"I am counting heavily on Felipe's will to fight back as he knows next year will be a key one in which, and I'm convinced of it, he will be able to show his true worth," he explained.
Recently, some reports have suggested that Ferrari might replace Massa for 2012, with Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg linked with the team.
But Domenicali refuted that possibility, saying: "I can only repeat my words and indeed those only recently uttered by our President, in every possible way, Felipe will also be with us in 2012 and that should make you understand how much faith we have in him."
And as far as the rest of the season was concerned, he added that the team would be aiming for further podium finishes, but said that their focus was now fully on 2012.
"In the remaining two races, we want to try and get on the podium and try all we can to get Fernando to second place in the drivers' classification," he muttered.
"Meanwhile, everyone at Maranello is working to produce a car that is competitive right from the start of next season, when, as we are well aware, we can have only one goal, which is victory."
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