Fernando Alonso says there is a sense of quiet confidence around Ferrari as they finish off their 2012 design, and that he has total faith in the team's new technical line-up and approach.
After falling just short of the title in 2010 then being blitzed by Red Bull in 2011, Ferrari have decided to be bolder in their design for next season, and also carried out a technical reshuffle that saw former design boss Aldo Costa depart and ex-McLaren man Pat Fry take the helm.
"This is the time when one is always optimistic, but then we must wait for the start of the season to see where we really are," said Alonso.
"It’s true that in the past few days, there was a good feeling at Maranello and there’s an air of confidence about it. We want to reacquaint ourselves with the taste of winning that has eluded us for a while."
The double champion said the changes Ferrari made this year were having a clear effect on the 2012 design.
"Last spring, we made important changes to the structure of the technical part of the team and now we have adopted a new approach, a less conservative one, in the design of the new car," Alonso said.
"The philosophy behind the 2012 car is very different from that of 2011, especially in some key areas like suspension and aerodynamics."
Alonso admitted that if the restructure and new methods did not pay off, there would be plenty of criticism for Ferrari – but he accepted that as just an inevitable part of being with the world's most famous racing team.
"We know that Ferrari is burdened with the expectations of victory and if it does not happen, in the winter the papers devote page after page to the whys and wherefores as to how things can change, while the others have to make do with the crumbs in terms of media coverage," he said.
“It’s one of the things that make Ferrari different to all the other teams.”