Friday 24 April

I quite like Imola. It's called the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari because the Ferrari factory is nearby and the track has a lot of history, some good and some very sad. It was here in 1994 that Roland Ratzenberger and Aryton Senna were killed in one of the sport's worst weekends. Following those tragedies the track was modified for safety reasons, but it still offers interesting challenges. The layout is like a smaller version of Monza, Italy's other circuit, though with shorter straights and lower speeds. I had normally driven well here and my confidence level was still high after being so quick in qualifying in Argentina.

I carried that confidence onto the track and it grew even higher when I got into a groove straightaway in practice. If you have a bad start on Friday, if you don't get the car working properly, it is very difficult to catch that up come Saturday and qualifying. Mika ended up being slightly quicker, but I knew that wasn't necessarily an accurate reflection of where I stood in comparison. A small engine problem meant I couldn't finish the end of the session and missed out on the chance to check the car on new tyres. Tomorrow was another day, and one that I felt very optimistic about.

Saturday 25 April

In morning practice I was quickest, by eight tenths of a second over Mika, even though I spent much of the session working with different set-ups to try to reduce the understeer I had been experiencing while turning into the corners.

After the first qualifying runs I was fastest. Then, when we changed the set-up to reduce the understeer so I could attack the corners harder, Mika nipped ahead. For my third run we returned my car to its original settings. Three quarters of the way through the lap I was a couple of tenths slower than Mika's time, so I threw everything I had into the final sector and finished up on pole by a tenth of a second over Mika.

It was my second pole in succession and very satisfying to get it. There was an element of relief to it because I had made it hard work for myself. Near the end, I knew Mika had improved, and that it was always going to be tight. So it was a good feeling to go out and do what I had to do, and react positively to the pressure of qualifying.

Sunday 26 April

In the warm-up I was fastest by a considerable margin and felt very content with the car in race trim. The spare car was set up for me this weekend and I even had time to check it out for a few laps. Mika wound up fourth quickest after losing time with boiling brake fluid. I had a similar problem but chose not to come in and have the brakes bled the way he did. To me, this was an indication that Mika was not as settled in his mind as I was. In a situation like this both drivers are thankful, in a way, that they are suffering with the same problem. It's easier to deal with in your mind when you know fate hasn't singled you out. But it seemed like a negative attitude to come in and have the brakes bled. They were not going to fail in a half-hour warm-up session and Mika missed an opportunity to do a better time. My attitude was to go ahead and do another run and worry about it afterwards. I felt Mika's uncertainty showed a lack of confidence, and that gave me even more momentum.

Before the race the drivers were taken around the track on the customary tour to show the fans our faces without our helmets on. This being Ferrari's home circuit the tifosi, as the fanatical Ferrari fans are called, were there in their tens of thousands. At one corner, amongst a sea of Ferrari flags and banners, a lone Scottish flag was being waved. I joked that it was embarrassing because I told my Mum not to go in there with the tifosi. My feeble attempt at humour was actually reported in a prominent paper.

At the start I got away smoothly and concentrated on building up a gap to Mika, in case there was a problem in my pit stop. I felt very comfortable in front but was careful not to push too hard. There was no need to be on the limit at every corner, and as I had not won a race yet it would be foolish to risk making a mistake. I just quietly eased away.

The early laps went by without incident and then on lap 17 I was informed over the radio that Mika was out of the race. I didn't see his car anywhere on the circuit so I presumed he had retired in the pits, which meant it was unlikely he had an engine failure. A few laps later I was instructed to short shift - shift gears earlier than usual at a lower rpm.

I never questioned why the team wanted me to do this, though I suspected it had something to with whatever Mika's problem had been. I didn't want to have to worry about it. When your team mate has a mechanical failure you have to be prepared for a similar problem in your car, but there is very little you can do about it other than follow the team's instructions. You don't want any unnecessary information. As it turned out Mika had a gearbox problem, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with mine.

Everything continued to go fairly smoothly and on lap 44 I peeled off into the pits to make my second stop. I came in slowly to avoid overheating the brakes and the guys put in the fuel and changed the tyres with their usual efficiency. When I regained the circuit I immediately saw in my mirrors a red Ferrari. I then wondered at the wisdom of being so cautious on the entry to the pits, because I wasn't sure if the Ferrari behind me was being driven by Michael or Eddie Irvine, who had been running second and third. Since I was quite busy trying to get the most out of my new tyres I didn't want to ask over the radio which Ferrari was behind me. When you're concentrating hard a conversation can be distracting and any information you receive may not be immediately absorbed. So I focused on keeping the gap to the Ferrari and when I came around after the first lap my lead had actually increased. At this point I became more relaxed because if I could open up the gap with a full load of fuel and new tyres I was obviously in good shape.

It was Michael in the following Ferrari. He made a pit stop, after which he began to close up on me quite quickly. To counteract this threat Dave Ryan came on the radio and said I should go back to normal shifting. It was funny, because Dave said I needed to do a certain lap time to maintain the gap to Michael, and when I came around again I had actually gone a tenth of a second quicker than instructed. I felt like going on the radio an apologizing.

It was important to let Michael know that he could chase me all he wanted but if he got too close I could still go quicker than him. If you are chasing someone and they start to open up a bigger gap it can be demoralizing and they tend to back off. That's what Michael did and he settled for second place.

On the final lap I spoke to the team over the radio, saying my usual thing when I am about to win: 'Here I come!'

All the guys were leaning over the pit wall as I crossed the finish line and I jinked over close and gave them a bit of a victory wiggle.

It is an amazing rush of emotion that flows through your whole body when you win. I certainly don't get that feeling in anything else I do in life. It's an overwhelming feeling of joy, a physical sensation.

This victory was especially satisfying because it was so timely. I had to come here and do exactly what I did. It is important not to allow people a comfort Zone. That gives them extra confidence, so I had to take pole and lead from the start. When you're under such pressure you have to take yourself back to the core of your self-belief and motivation. You have to keep reminding yourself that you have what it takes to do the job. When you get proof of that , with a win, it can put you on a roll.

In the post-race interviews I made a point of saying that my result was the best response to the earlier criticism, and to the rumours that my future in the team was not secure. It brought me to within three points of Mika in the championship, which meant the team would continue to focus on us both. If Michael had retired, it would have been perfect, but I was still three points ahead of him.

There was no partying or celebrating because I was actually feeling unwell. I had a very sore stomach, probably from something I ate, and had to lie down for a couple of hours in the back of the team motor home. Heidi and I didn't leave the circuit until late and it was well after midnight when we got home to Monaco. The next day I was involved in a Mercedes 'A' Class promotion with Mika and Ron near Nice, and that night we went to Barcelona to begin a week's testing.