Following a dramatic, but ultimately victorious United States Grand Prix, Ferrari boss Jean Todt sat down to discuss the race, amongst other things.
First off, what did the Frenchman think of the race? "It was an exciting and absorbing race," he replies. "There was the violent accident to Ralf Schumacher who remained in the car for some time, and one didn't know what had happened to him, and we tried to keep Michael informed, who was obviously very worried by this accident. Fortunately, it seems that he hasn't suffered seriously.
"It was a very lively race, very competitive where we saw Michael's eighth race of the season and the sixth one-two. So for us, it was great, particularly here in the United States, a country that is extremely important because it is our main market in the world. So we were happy with the final result and we also need to dedicate our victory to our partners Bridgestone and Shell who support us in an extraordinary way."
The vital moment seemed to be pitting just before the safety car came out. "It wasn't magic," he replies, "because about ten cars pitted. A lot of cars stopped, other cars had a different strategy, so we knew that when the safety came out, we had to take the opportunity to stop for fuel, or else remain on track because we had a different strategy to that we had in Monte Carlo. We saw it again at Indianapolis, but anyway we were quick to take the decision to stop."
How did the Frenchman react when he saw his battling on track once again? "It's always moving and fortunately our drivers are very professional," he says, "because above everything, they have to safeguard the interests of the team, Ferrari.
"They managed to battle but within control, that's to say that should always be the case. It's always a risk when two cars from the same team are battling together and you risk losing both of them when they're fighting together, so it's always a moment of great tension."
Going back to Ralf, how did the team keep Michael informed of his brother while he was still in the car? "We tried to gather as much information as possible," he admits. "We sent someone up to where the car had come to rest and also to speak with different people in Williams BMW. Mario Theissen came to see me once he had exact information in order to tell me what had happened to Ralf, so we were well informed.
So Michael was rapidly assured? "Absolutely," he replies without hesitation.
After these two races in North America, it seems Ferrari has been particularly challenged, if anything, things have got a bit closer. "Most of the races have been quite competitive," he replies, "so it is clear that we had some strong competitors here at Indianapolis as we had in Montreal but we were not surprised. We would be surprised not to have any competitors.
"We know that having such strong companies, such strong teams in Formula One, they want to be in front of us and they will do everything to do so. It's up to us to try and not let them do so, and it's not easy."
So it's a relief to be leaving with 36 points from the North American races? "Yes, is the easy answer," he replies. "But the more points you leave with, the better you feel. Having 36 points out of 36 is very good, but since the beginning of the season, we now have 142 points out of a possible 162 which is an outstanding result. We have exactly 90 per cent of the maximum score we could have."
Rubens feels he could have won both of the last two races; what's he got to do to make that stick? "Very little," he replies. "It could have been 100 meters, there was very little in it and it will happen."
Did the safety car periods actually help Ferrari's strategy today? "I don't know," he replies.
Do you feel that the fight is getting harder at the moment; Michelin say you were going for a three stop and yet you weren't pulling away from the guys on two stops, and they feel that the Michelin tyre is coming into its own now? "We were on two pit stop strategies," he says. "If you take the lap time, we were definitely quicker than the Michelin runners. You have to take it lap by lap. The two quickest times in the race were from Rubens at 10.399s and Michael (10.412) and I think Sato was 10.727s during the race. And also, we were more consistent."
So, you don't feel there is more pressure coming into the summer? "There will be more pressure, sure," he replies, "but today we were the quickest on the track."
You must have been pleasantly surprised that Michael was able to get into and out of the pits during the second safety car period and get ahead of both the BARs. "I was surprised," he smiles, "and it was good."
As we had seen punctures before the safety car was sent out for the second time, would it have been better to stop the race, clean the track and start again? "We were told that the track was quite clean," he replies.
