Stefano Domenicali believes “crucial weeks” lie ahead if Ferrari are to plot a path towards ending Red Bull’s crushing domination of Formula One next season.

The championships may have been won by Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull for a fourth consecutive year, but Ferrari team principal Domenicali knows there is much that can still be learned for 2014.

The final three grands prix of the year, in Abu Dhabi on Sunday, and then the United States and Brazil later next month, offer up crucial opportunities for Ferrari to lay solid foundations going into the new year.

Although there are wide-ranging regulation changes for 2014 that could alter the F1 landscape, Ferrari has to at least start off on the right foot.

Attempting to find the positives after another Red Bull/Vettel title triumph, Domenicali said: “We are well aware what it’s like to rack up win after win, season after season because only a few years back we did just that.

“We know how much confidence comes from winning. Taking a world title is very satisfying, doing it several times is an achievement.

“But it’s also a good thing to always be up there, fighting for the very top places, as Ferrari has done pretty much all the time for over 15 years, barring a handful of exceptions.

“This year, we were unable to give our drivers a car good enough to fight with Vettel on equal terms, apart from at the very beginning of the season.

“Thanks to Fernando (Alonso) and his amazing talent, we managed to worry the world champion elect more than the others.

“Unfortunately our efforts were not enough to fight all the way to the very end.

“Now, it’s important to try and end this season in the best way possible.

“These are crucial weeks we have ahead of us to the end of the year because the work we are doing in preparation for 2014 is vital if we want to be the team that puts an end to this Red Bull dominance.”