Fernando Alonso was defiant in the face of losing his Formula 1 World Championship lead to Sebastian Vettel in Korea, predicting a "beautiful" battle to the end of the season.
Vettel and Red Bull's third consecutive win saw the German depose Alonso at the head of the standings. The Ferrari driver had been 37 points clear after Monza, but Vettel's subsequent hat-trick, coupled with Alonso's Suzuka retirement, leaves the Spaniard six points adrift with four races to go.
But after finishing third behind the Red Bulls at Yeongam, with teammate Felipe Massa just behind, Alonso was adamant that Ferrari only needed a small improvement to get back on top.
"I think we have to be happy with our performance today," said Alonso. "We finished third and fourth behind Red Bull, who at the moment are difficult to beat. And we overtook McLaren in the constructors' championship, which is something we didn't expect two or three days ago.
"We just need a last little step to be as competitive as Red Bull and it will be a beautiful four races to the end."
Alonso denied that it was frustrating to be up against a faster car in the title battle.
"It's nothing new. The last five years of my career has been like this," he said. "I am used to this situation. We are always on the limit but we feel comfortable like this and we get the maximum from the car when we are under pressure.
"In the last four races we need to score seven points more than Sebastian. It will be tough but we believe we can do it."