One does not need to have watched the Spanish Grand Prix, nor sneaked a peek at the timesheets, to know that things did not go Ferrari's way. One look at Jean Todt's face as he enters the room is enough to tell you that the Italian outfit's winning streak is at an end, for now.

He takes his seat and awaits the inevitable.

"After qualifying, everything seemed to be set for a Ferrari victory," says one of the assembled journos. "You held all the jokers, more fuel on board, more fresh sets of tyres. What went wrong in the race?"

There's a long pause, during which you can almost hear Todt draw in a deep, deep breath: "We felt we would be stronger today and the others less strong and it didn't happen," he finally replies, "probably due to the evolution of the track, the evolution of the car package, and with the tyres in those circumstances.

"One week ago, in Nurburgring, on the same strategy, similar conditions, it went completely on our side," he continues, "and we were expecting that it would go in the same direction today. The track temperature, the different compound of tyres did not make it happen."

Asked if there was anything Ferrari could have changed today to make it happen, he responds: "We have to nominate the tyres on Wednesday or Thursday, I think…"

Looking back, do the team now regret that it didn't try to put Michael on pole which would have been easy, considering the real pace of his qualifying lap?

"I don't think that at the end it would have changed a lot," admits the Frenchman. "Michael gained one position so maybe it would, maybe it would not. But anyway, the race is over. We have to focus on Monte Carlo now, Monte Carlo and then Silverstone."

It's pointed out that Felipe Massa claimed the fastest lap of the race, so at a certain moment, the pace was there.

"But not enough," he hits back, "especially considering the overall pace of the race, mainly of the winner.

"When Felipe could maybe have gained one position he was in traffic," Todt continues, "he never had a clear track to take advantage of, which was not so different to Fisichella."

However, surely Ferrari is encouraged by the Brazilian's performance over the course of the weekend.

"That's why, in a way, it is encouraging to be so unhappy and to create such a disappointment and a surprise to the others because we finished second and fourth," he replies. "I remember, a few weeks ago, everyone would have cried that it was a miracle.

"I think we have just finished the first third of the championship, twelve races to go and we are 19 points behind in the manufacturers, 15 in the drivers, so many things can still happen and we are in a position to fight."

Yet surely Ferrari don't rule out other teams getting closer, because today it seemed Ferrari and Renault were…"

"Last week some competitors were much closer," the Frenchman interrupts, seeing where it was heading.. "I don't think you must conclude that it is a situation for each Grand Prix. It was a situation for this Grand Prix. Clearly you have two teams who are particularly strong and one was stronger than us today."