Todt Happy with Increased Championship Lead

Ferrari's sporting director Jean Todt was pleased with his team's result at the Monaco Grand Prix on Sunday despite being beaten for the first time in five races.

World Champion Michael Schumacher, driving the Bridgestone-shod F2002, had won the last four Grands Prix, increasing his lead in the Championship to 27 points. But the German was unable to continue his winning streak on Sunday, having to concede to McLaren's David Coulthard.

However, with Schumacher's second place, he and Ferrari could extend their lead in both the Drivers' and Constructors' Championship, and Todt was delighted with that.

"We were expecting a difficult race, given how hard it is to overtake at this track, and that's how it turned out," said Todt. "All in all we are satisfied with the result, which has allowed us to slightly extend our lead in both Championships.

"Thanks to Bridgestone, we had the quickest car-tyre package, but the nature of the track prevented us from exploiting that. We set out on the next stage of the Championship knowing that, thanks to the car and the Bridgestone tyres, we have the potential to win more races."

Schumacher has scored 60 of the available 70 points so far in seven races, and he leads in the standings by a massive 33 points over Williams drivers Ralf Schumacher and Juan Pablo Montoya.