Tuesday September 7th, 1999

Mika Salo heads to Monza this weekend assured that he remains a Ferrari driver for a couple more races yet. He always knew that nothing lasts forever. He received a dream telephone in July asking him to go testing for Ferrari after Michael Schumacher broke his leg at the British Grand Prix, and although he knew that he would be racing a Ferrari for a number of races, the question would always be: how many? When would Michael Schumacher make his comeback?

Michael has already tested twice which has caused Mika to register a couple of false alarms, that he might soon be out of a job again. He has already twice said 'goodbye' to the test team and his race team. "I said goodbye to them at the test at Mugello and then again after Spa but now we know that I'm racing again and after Monza there won't be any more goodbyes," says Mika.

After recent tests and medical examinations, it doesn't look as if Michael Schumacher will be returning before the Malaysian Grand Prix, perhaps at the earliest. One man's bad luck turns into another's good luck: this weekend, Mika heads for that high temple of Italian motor racing, Monza, in that most envied position of all racing drivers, a Ferrari driver.

"Of course, driving for Ferrari is already a big thing, a big dream," says Mika. "But then driving a Ferrari at Monza is twice as exciting as anything else, because it's the home of motor racing, the home of Ferrari and the most famous motor racing circuit in the world. To drive a Ferrari there is very special."

Mika is already aware of the kind of reception he's likely to receive. "We've been testing there already, so I've had a bit of a warm-up from the fans. It was quite nice. Every time our car started or I stepped out of the garage for a second everybody was screaming and flags were waving. It was fantastic support and I'm sure that support is worth at least 0.6s per lap!"

So was Mika surprised that Michael wasn't going to make his return? "When I saw him at the test, I didn't think he looked very comfortable in the car at all. That was the first day and already at that time I realised that he wasn't going to come back. I was quite happy about that.

"Of course, I feel sorry for Michael, but I think it's good for him to stay out for a while in order to be fully cured for next season or whenever he comes back. It's good for the brain to have a little break. I've had a little break and I know that! You have a totally different attitude to racing after you've been out for a few races."

So unemployment is temporarily stalled. How many more races does he think he will be driving for Ferrari? "I'm hoping to stay on at least until Nurburgring - I'm hoping to drive as much as possible but it's still Michael's car, so whenever he's ready to come back, he will. I wouldn't mind going to Malaysia and Japan with the car, but I just have to wait and see how he feels. But at the moment, I'm certainly driving at Monza and probably Nurburgring as well."

The last two race results weren't perhaps what he might have hoped for, so what chances at Monza? "The car feels good, it's good when it's hot and in low downforce configuration. The best thing about the car is that it's so good under brakes, and they are important at Monza. I've been comfortable in the car for a while already

"If you're looking at the performances in the last two races, there are other reasons why I didn't score points - well, I sort of scored points at Spa but they all went to Eddie. Results are not always what they seem... I'm happy so long as the team is happy with my performance, and so far they are very happy."