Brawn Surprised by Schumacher's Run of Podiums

Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn says he is surprised by World Champion Michael Schumacher's run of podium finishes and hailed the role of the team of workers in Maranello for the success.

Five-time champion Schumacher claimed his 16th successive podium finish with a record-breaking 10th win in the 2002 season at the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps. And Brawn admitted that the number of consecutive podium finishes - which stretches back to the United States Grand Prix last September - is an exceptional achievement.

"That is exceptional," Brawn said. "Our reliability has been pretty good for the last two years but if you had told me we could do that (get 16 straight podiums with Schumacher) I wouldn't have believed you.

"As it goes on people become even more dedicated to make sure it continues and the attention to detail that we have at the factory impresses me. We have very good quality control systems and we've had the same people working at Ferrari a long time, some over 20 years, and they really do a good job and you see the results."

Ferrari also scored today their 50th consecutive podium finish, not having missed one since the 1999 European Grand Prix.