With five rounds remaining, the Maranello-based outfit is locked in a battle with the revitalised Williams, which jumped ahead at the Italian Grand Prix courtesy of Felipe Massa and Valtteri Bottas' sizeable points haul.

Although Ferrari scored more points on the streets of Singapore, Williams sits nine points clear ahead of this weekend's Japanese Grand Prix, a deficit Technical Director James Allison is desperate to see overturned.

"We left Singapore with some satisfaction that areas we'd been working on the car, to improve its mechanical grip for example, appear to be paying off," said Allison, who joined Ferrari from Lotus last year. "So we go to Suzuka and the remaining races determined to close the gap to Williams and then try and actually pull ahead of them."

Allison says he expects Suzuka to provide the ultimate test for Formula 1's new turbocharged machines.

"Suzuka is one of the all-time great circuits, with some of the most challenging corners. It's one of the biggest tests of the car in the whole year, as it doesn't just ask that it can go well in the fast "S" complex, but there are slow corners, long straights and all manner of ways to reveal the weakness of the car or the driver," he said.

"A team that comes back having done well knows that they are a good team with a strong package."