25/04/2005
NEWS STORY
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Earlier in the day, following his star driver's qualifying blunder, Ferrari boss Jean Todt looked seriously hacked off, as did company President Luca di Montezemolo. However, following an amazing performance by the German, who at one point was reeling in the leaders at over 2s a lap, it was entirely more jovial Todt that sat down to answer a few questions.
Asked if he was surprised by Schumacher's sheer pace, the Frenchman replied: "Well, it was a bad surprise this morning because we were hoping to be on the first two rows and then fighting to win the race," he admitted.
"We knew that it was a compromise with Rubens, because of the first lap time yesterday," he continued. "We knew it was going to be very difficult concerning Michael and Rubens's situation and then finally it is a quarter of a smile because Rubens retired with an electrical problem, which is not our standard and Michael, after passing so many obstacles, still remained behind one. But it's encouraging. We know where we have to put our effort, and I hope that we can have a better smile soon."
But surely it was encouraging? "We were quick in Bahrain, but we couldn't express it," is the response. "Bahrain was the first race and that was encouraging which was good, the first points with the 2005 and let's hope that we will have many more.
As he watched those last few laps - thankfully not relying on ITV - did he really believe that Schumacher was going to win? "As you know overtaking is almost impossible in motor racing, and not only in Formula One. If you saw the race this morning (GP2), they had a funny rule where the first eight were reversed. I didn't see any overtaking with that. It was only mechanical failures which affected the classification so I think on four wheels it is almost impossible, unless there are very slippery conditions. In dry conditions it cannot happen."
Did he enjoy the closing stages or did he simply want to see Michael win? "Only Michael winning," he replies, without hesitation. "It was the only thing I wanted. The only thing which makes me happy is to see Ferrari winning. I didn't enjoy the racing in the last ten laps as much as you did!"
Ross Brawn had warned that there would be no quick fix and that it would take time and would be a hard slog. On the basis of Sunday's performance it would seem the quick fix might come a bit quicker. "We need to improve the qualifying," he admits, "we need to start in front. If we start in front we will be very strong. That's why we have been so strong last year, because we were able to start in front. If we can start in front I'm convinced we can disappear.
Back to the thorny subject of overtaking, there will be quite a few circuits where you can overtake, they are not all like Imola. "It's true most of the time," he agrees, "most of the time.
"It's your job better than mine to analyse races, but you speak more about overtaking than about staying behind. Look at the beginning of the race, it was just a procession."
Of course for much of the first part of the race, Michael was stuck behind his brother, and it was only when Ralf pitted that Michael could get down to business. Indeed, the Toyotas really helped Schumacher's cause, with Jarno Trulli holding up a whole 'train' of cars, which subsequently helped the Ferrari following his first pit stop.
Following discussions, over the course of the Imola weekend, regarding the qualifying format, does Todt feel a change to the qualifying regulations would be best? "We are not against changing," he replies. "We were not in favour of this qualifying in the first place, we were not in favour. We are in favour of going back to what it was in 2002. That, for us, was the best."
What about the fuel tank size in the F2005 car? "I heard some comments about we having a very big fuel tank," he replies "I'm happy if the FIA is measuring the capacity of the fuel tank. I am happy if the FIA limits to the fuel tank in Formula One at the moment. I am prepared to sign for that. They are paranoid, the others. I would be very surprised if the others agreed on that."
This of course comes at a time when BAR is being investigated
Over the Imola weekend it was revealed that Ferrari will supply Red Bull with engines in 2006/7, does that mean the team can supply Sauber as well, or will it move away from Sauber? "If Sauber would ask us to supply them, of course we would," says the Frenchman. "We have been with them for many years. However, I don't feel that they will ask us to supply them, but if they would ask us then we would consider the same.
Will Ferrari ask Red Bull to do the same as it did with Sauber, helping out with drivers and perhaps tyres? "They are good people, a young group," he replies, totally avoiding the question. "I was impressed by them."
Finally, on a day everyone is celebrating the return of the magic to F1, how did Todt feel about the race?
"Alonso drove a great race," he admits. "He had no problems, the only problem was that he was too slow and he managed to stay in front doing a good job, but again, overtaking is very difficult, because if you take until the first pit stop there wasn't one overtaking manoeuvre. It was a procession, one car behind the other. Michael only overtook during the pit stops."
Which is what the rest of us have been saying for some time.