Ferrari on top of the world

The qualifying session saw us beaten by Michelin once more but the race pace was set to be a different story and it is that race pace that sets Ferrari apart from the competition. Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello put on a demonstration for the full house. And for the closing stages of the race they entertained themselves by watching the battle on the track between cars about 1 lap behind. Williams scored a big fat zero in Monza, and after all their pre-race hype they must have made a very timid exit from the Cathedral of Speed. They were outscored by teams such as Jaguar, BAR and Renault on a track that was going to be their best chance to beat Ferrari. Wonder if they will bother to turn up in Indianapolis and Suzuka?

But the day was all about Ferrari and the Tifosi. Rubens Barrichello drove a magnificent race on a 2 stop strategy to claim a highly emotional win ahead of five times world champion Michael Schumacher. You only had to hear the in car radio from Rubens as he crossed the line to realise how much this victory meant to him. Michael won in Imola Rubens won in Monza, can’t be much fairer than that! But the worrying aspect of today’s race was not generally on the track.

Prior to the race viewers of Sky’s digital coverage were treated to an interview with Rory Byrne who would not openly admit to the F2002 being the greatest ever F1 car (but we all know it is). But he did state that Ferrari will be improving next year and that it is totally possible to make the same sort of leap in lap times with the F2003 as they have done with the F2002, now that is worrying for the Ferrari chasers. Byrne put the F2002 alongside the Benetton B194 as his personal favourite chassis and its hard to disagree with that.

Also present at Monza was many of the staff that work tirelessly and with so much dedication at the factory in Maranello. The win was as much for them as it was for the fans. Luca di Montezemolo summed it up when he said Ferrari is always under pressure, be it from their myth, the Tifosi, to a home race for a sponsor the pressure is always on Ferrari to perform and its this pressure that drives the team on. Luca Badoer was also interviewed and he admits that testing is hard work, it’s a lot of work says the Italian but come race day and the wins it makes all that hard work justified and rewarding.