Tuesday March 28th, 2000

Two races down - two races won. For Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro, the results of the first two Grands Prix of the year could scarcely have been better, with a 1-2 for Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello in Australia, and victory for Schumacher in Brazil. With the championship moving to Ferrari's home ground at Imola, there might be every reason to believe that the team will make it three in a row. But Ferrari's sporting director, Jean Todt is wary of being too confident.

"It was a good win, but a difficult one," he said after the team's second win in Brazil. "It was a race that was very tight and I was worried right up until the last moment, because Michael's oil pressure was falling in certain corners, which is why we asked him to ease up. We were talking to him on the radio, and some of the team's engine specialists were advising him on what to do as they watched the telemetry, so it was an intense race and one that was certainly not easy, particularly after Rubens's retirement. One is always worried, when one car retires, that the other might have the same problem. Fortunately it didn't happen."

Ferrari's two-stop strategy at Interlagos seemed perfect, but even Todt was uncertain if it was going to be the right one. "You never know if your strategy is right or not, until it's too late. Our direct rival was [Mika] Hakkinen. We were watching his pace and we were comparing it with ours. We thought it was going to be close all the way to the flag."

But the result gave Todt an unexpected bonus. "I would never have thought that we would win the first two races and have such an advantage in the championship," he continued. "But having said that, we've only had two races and there are still 15 races to go. What we have to do is build on our advantage in the championship and make further progress."

So what can be improved? "We still need reliability and performance from both the engine and the chassis. Qualifying may not have looked very good, in that we've been on the second row in both races so far, but I think we've been victims of circumstances, what with the red flags and the weather.

"It's also important now that we don't rest on our laurels. But that's one of the great things about this team - our people keep their feet on the ground. If you do that, you don't have many nasty surprises."

The San Marino Grand Prix at Imola will now be a pilgrimage for the thousands of loyal Ferrari fans, the tifosi, and Todt is aware of his responsibilities to them. "It was emotional to see such a big crowd at Interlagos, and the long queues of Ferrari fans stretching down the hill who came to see Ferrari and Rubens. Imola will be very similar, and I hope that we won't disappoint the tifosi."