The San Marino Grand Prix has always been a special occasion for Ferrari. The Imola circuit is not that far from Maranello and this Gran Prix can be considered the ‘home’ race for the Prancing Horse. In the Santerno circuit, Ferrari is in front of a devoted public and many enthusiastic fans.

For Schumacher too, this first European stop of the race calendar is deeply felt. ‘I always wait anxiously for Imola. In a way it is my first home race, when we can surely count on the support of our fans. This can only bring out a sense of positive expectancy’, said Schumacher. ‘It is clear that we will have to fight all the way, considering that things could have gone better for us recently, but the approach would have remained the same if we had been through a successful period because then we would have felt almost obliged to get a result.’

‘I really don’t believe that using the F2002 is a disadvantage’, continued Michael. ‘Reliability is an important factor and so we shouldn’t run even the smallest risk. We will see on Sunday what Imola has in store for us. The track characteristics are very different from those of Interlagos, so we can have more faith in it. At Imola the brakes will be really important.’

‘I think that McLaren will again perform well; something we expected right from the beginning of the season, but I think that we can also challenge for the win. Our aim is to give our fans something to celebrate, and where better to start than Imola?’