'Ferrari will fight to the end'

Ferrari will continue to fight for the Formula One title down to the last metre of track at the final race of the season in Brazil, Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said on Sunday.

"Ferrari know how to accept defeat, just as they know how to celebrate victory, and a day like today gives us even more determination for the future," he said in a statement after the Japanese Grand Prix.

"Our world championship will end only in the very last metre in Brazil."

Renault's Fernando Alonso won at Suzuka after Ferrari's Michael Schumacher suffered an engine failure while heading towards a victory that would have given him a clear lead in the championship.

Instead Alonso is 10 points clear and now needs just a point at Interlagos to seal his second title in a row.

Renault are nine points clear of Ferrari in the constructors' standings.

"Of course I am very disappointed by what happened a few laps from the finish, when Michael was clearly in the lead," said Montezemolo.

"I am particularly sorry for him, who was once again doing a perfect race and showing that he was the best as well as an extraordinary man.

"I am very sorry also for the team, who made no mistakes," added the president.

"At the start of the season, I said that I wanted a Ferrari fighting for the championship. The extraordinary comeback of these months... unfortunately today received a knockout punch which heavily penalised us."