Stefano Domenicali: "When [Alonso] crossed the line, president Montezemolo intervened and in private, so did I." © Sutton Images Enlarge

Stefano Domenicali has revealed that he has had to rebuke Fernando Alonso for his criticism of Ferrari earlier this year.

Alonso received a public scolding from Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo following the Hungarian Grand Prix for comments he had made about the team's poor performance. Speaking to two fans who had been invited to Ferrari's headquarters after voicing their concerns via social networks, Domenicali explained the team's approach to chasing titles and admitted he had been unhappy with Alonso's criticism this year.

"You are in front of the most sportsmanlike person in the world," Domenicali said. "In all the races, whether you see it or not, I congratulate our rivals. In Austin, we did not sabotage the gearbox, but simply made the most of an article in the regulations which allowed us to break the seals. The interests of Ferrari come above all else: if we had lost the Championship by the number of points we'd have lost there, the evaluation of what we did would have been different.

"Unlike the others, we speak openly about what we are doing. The little digs at Red Bull? It's a way of relieving the tension and making light of it, as is clear from the tone of it. Alonso? If I have something to say to him, as would be the case with my engineers, I would do it behind closed doors and in a harsh manner. But externally, I will always defend the team. When he crossed the line, president Montezemolo intervened and in private, so did I."

Asked if he was still happy with signing Alonso four years ago despite having not won a title since, Domenicali said the lack of success was predominantly down to the team.

"If in the past four years we have come close to the title twice, it is partly down to him. Unfortunately, we have not been capable of giving him a car that matches his talent. You compare him to [Sebastian] Vettel, but when you have a better car, everything is more straightforward."