Q & A with Jean Todt

Jean Todt: "I'm always worried. I am always worried, and of course I would prefer to have both drivers 20 points ahead.

"Saying that, I think it makes a very intense and interesting challenge. If we are able to be on the podium for both cars for the six remaining Grands Prix of the season, which is possible, I still think that we have a chance to achieve our goal."

Q: We are entering a period where you cannot test the cars...

Todt: "Really, it is the same for everybody, you know? There is no testing for this August period, but we can still work in the wind tunnel, we can still work with the simulation facilities, and as I said, all teams are in the same position.

Q: Do you think that Ron Dennis's reputation for telling the truth has suffered a loss of credibility this weekend?

Todt: "I am not going to answer that. I am sorry, because it is not a very new kind of answer, but I don't think it is appropriate for me to judge what the others are doing.

"Very often I am unhappy because they allow themselves to judge us, but I don't think it is appropriate. I have a very strong feeling myself, which I keep for me and people with whom I spend my life, but it is not something I will speak [about] outside.

"Each one has enough to be able to analyse the situation, and sooner or later things always come out, whatever you do. That's why I think that always you must think before you do something.

"It's like when you are in the desert. My past experience with rallying involved being in the desert, and sometimes you get lost. So as soon as you understand that you get lost, you must go back to where you think you got lost and go back in a straight line. If you move in the wrong direction then you may be lost forever."

Q: What was the feeling about the general pace of the cars today? Not necessarily the performance, but the general pace, particularly given the pace at similar circuits early in the season?

Todt: "I don't think that it was a good feeling, because I am not very happy with the result today. You cannot pretend that you are not happy if you don't win, even if what you are always in for is trying to win the race.

"It was very disappointing to Felipe behind cars which... and you know, I respect the cars and I respect the drivers, but they are not in the same league at the moment and we could not pass them.

"Due to his starting position, we began with the car full of fuel, having to guess. And it is never good in this business if you start to guess. So it didn't work properly for him.

"For Kimi it was much better; we had a competitive car, but we did not do the best job for reasons we need to understand in qualifying, and we paid the price for it."

Q: Do you think that for a team like Ferrari, who are fighting for both championships, the mistake that you made yesterday with Massa is pretty major?

Todt: "I'm not happy about that, but the same people have been winning a lot of races and a lot of championships. And mistakes remain human. So that's it. We'll have to try to understand why we did not have a good procedure to avoid that, and hopefully make sure that it doesn't happen again.

Q: In the past when Michael Schumacher was in the team, it was always understood that Michael was the pace-setter and the fastest guy ahead of his teammate, which meant that your championship battles were fairly straightforward. Now we are in a different situation where both drivers seem very evenly matched, and you're going up against an opposition that has more points than you. What kind of different challenge does that present for you, and how will you manage it in a different way?

Todt: "With Michael, it was always agreed that if his teammate was in a stronger position for the championship then Michael would have accepted that and he would have put... not more effort, because it is the same effort, but if he had to do some specific strategy or whatever that is to the benefit of the teammate.

"So at the moment it is one point the difference between both drivers, and I am just happy that both are competitive, both are fitting very well within the team, and there is no way at the moment we will make any kind of strategy with them."

Q: After the World Council hearing you expressed your frustration that Ferrari couldn't put across their whole point of view in the dispute about the espionage case. Going to the appeal court, do you feel that you have a stronger case, that you have new evidence, that you can present an argument that hasn't been seen before to make people's opinion's different?

Todt: "We were not happy, as we said. We have been writing officially about what Ferrari does feel after the decision of the World Council. The very important thing is that they were judged guilty and that's why the national authority of Italy asked the president of the FIA to reconsider, which the president did accept.

"We will have the opportunity of presenting our case, hopefully properly, and it's up to the International Court of Appeal to make the decision, and of course we will accept the decision. But we feel that what has happened is simply not acceptable. So we don't accept it."

Q: Can you comment on the rumour that Ferrari are interested in Lewis Hamilton and have offered $35 million?

Todt: "It's untrue speculation."

Q: Even if you are not happy with the result, in the last stint of the race with supersoft tyres, Kimi was as fast as Lewis, maybe faster. Does that give you a good feeling for Brazil when you will use the same tyres?

Todt: "No. For me, I am very focused on the Grand Prix of Turkey. After Turkey we will have Monza, Spa, Shanghai, Japan and then Brazil. There are a lot of things which will happen before we go to Brazil."

Q: Is it the general thought of Ferrari that the upcoming circuits are going to suit the car better than this one?

Todt: "We think so. We think so. But you know, you cannot be sure."