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Brazilian GP 21st-24th October 2004 - Ferrari Sunday Press Release

Length: 4.309km
Number of Laps: 71 (305.909 Km)
Best Lap: M. Schumacher - 1'14"705 (2000, Ferrari)
Record Pole: JP. Montoya - 1'13"114 (2002, Williams)
2003 Pole: R. Barrichello (1'13."807)
2003 Podium: G. Fisichella - K. Raikkonen - F. Alonson

Jean Todt:
'It wouldn’t be right to complain about finishing the race in third and seventh places with Rubens Barrichello and Michael Schumacher respectively, given that the result comes at the end of what has been an extraordinary season for us. Obviously, we wanted to win today, just as we do every time we set off for a grand prix. In order to achieve that objective, we knew we had to put all our hopes on just one car, that of Rubens, given that Michael was starting from the ninth row. The weather changed the scenario and certainly not in our favour, but in any case, the real reason we did not win is that two other cars were stronger than us. However, once again today we demonstrated an excellent level of reliability, given that four Ferrari engines finished in the top nine. Today marks the end of the longest season in the history of Formula 1 and it also closes an extraordinary chapter in the history of our Scuderia. Out of eighteen races, victory has only eluded us on three occasions, with each of those wins going to a different team. It shows what a tough fight it has been to win, even if it might have looked easy from the outside. I want to thank the team, the drivers and all our commercial and technical partners for their efforts. Amongst these, a special mention to Bridgestone and Shell, who have played such a large part in our success'.

Rubens Barrichello:
'I am very proud of the whole team and want to thank them and all the fans who turned up to watch today. The circumstances of the race, in terms of the rain, did not favour us and I could have not done better. So I can still leave here with my head held high, even if actually that might be difficult as my neck is hurting a lot and I have to admit I feel very tired. Maybe it was the stress of the whole weekend. Our strategy worked okay, but the final result is a bit disappointing after I had been dominant in terms of pace throughout the weekend and I was confident for the race, having qualified with quite a good fuel load. We are best in the rain and best in the dry, but if we have a weak point it is in the damp conditions that we had after a few laps, when we know that those running the other make of tyre can make an earlier change to dry tyres. The weather just did not play into our hands, but I am happy to be on the podium, even if the win is still to come for me here'.

Michael Schumacher:
'We can be very proud of what we have achieved as a team this season. There have been a lot of wins and the two championship titles, so there is no real reason to be too disappointed today, although I have to say I feel sorry for Rubens. As for my race, when I realised it was raining, at first I thought it would be a good opportunity for me. But to be honest, it was not wet enough and I think if it had rained harder and longer it would have been an advantage for us. I still feel fresh and ready to race but I know that now the important thing is to take a break before preparing for next season.'

Ross Brawn:
'It was a very difficult scenario for us at the beginning of the race. It was not really wet enough for the wet tyres, so we knew we were going to have to make a pit stop pretty quickly. Then our tyres took a little while to get the heat into them so that the drivers could get going. I think that really lost us any opportunity to win the race. We are very good in the dry, very good in the wet, but it is just in between that we are not quite as good. However, if you take the season as a whole, the Bridgestone tyres have been fantastic. I think Rubens did a great job, especially considering how far back he was after the first round of pit stops. He got past Ralf, Alonso and Sato. We did as much as we could in the pit stops and the car was quick today.'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 

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