In his team's post-race press release, Jean Todt made it quite clear how he felt about his drivers' performances in the Canadian Grand Prix: "This is an encouraging result, but we must not forget that our aim is to take the win, which escaped us again today."

A couple of hours later, having had time to fully reflect on the day's events, and one of the most topsy-turvy races in recent years, Todt sat down to discuss the Canadian GP in more detail.

Asked for his initial thoughts on the result, he repeated his earlier comments: "It is encouraging," he admitted, "even if we've finished second already this season, we've finished third this season but unfortunately we still haven't tasted victory. So we are still seeking wins."

It's pointed out that on Friday, Schumacher had admitted that the team was "not looking too competitive", therefore, on reflection, and considering some of the problems encountered by the team over the weekend, the result cannot be considered too bad.

"It was a different problem," said Todt. "We principally had a problem with Rubens who couldn't do his qualifying (lap) and consequently started from the pit lane, and I would say that the race scenario, the way he tackled the race, the team's strategy, meant that he finished on the rostrum, even though we knew it would be difficult. But it was possible.

"As for Michael, he had problems at the start due to a lack of grip off the grid, but he finished second, very close to the winner, but having said that, he'd already finished very close to the winner and what we would like is that it's a second placed driver who finishes close to us, which wasn't the case."

Does he feel therefore that Canada marks the beginning of the Ferrari revival? "No," he rep[lies without hesitation.

"Why?" he continues. "It's a new stage, each Grand Prix is a new stage, and at each Grand Prix we have a start, but in no way is the Canadian Grand Prix a turning point. If you want me to sum it up, a turning point will be the day when we are able to win each Grand Prix which has been the case in the past, and which has ceased to be the case since the beginning of the year."

He's asked what improvements the team has in the pipeline.

"We have a certain number of improvements," he admits, before neatly sidestepping the issue, "if we want to talk about those.

"We were very satisfied with our tyres during the race, perhaps a slight lack of grip from the package during qualifying, even if Michael succeeded in getting onto the front row in second place, but we were obliged to make a certain compromise with our fuel load in order to achieve that, because it's well known that when you find yourself in the middle of the pack, it makes races much more difficult and more unpredictable.