Ferrari president 'overjoyed' with win

The German driver took his and his team's first victory since last year's United States Grand Prix in a thrilling race in which Schumacher had to hold off the challenge from Renault rival Fernando Alonso.

Di Montezemolo admitted he was overjoyed after Ferrari's victory and said Schumacher is still the best driver in the world.

"I almost had a stroke, I'm overjoyed for the team, for the fans, for Italy," di Montezemolo told Gazzetta dello Sport. "It was tremendously important to win here, among our people, on our land.

"Schumacher is still the best driver in the world: he was the one giving us the push, it's always been inside him, and all of us are able to push each others. I'm very happy also because this is the first victory of a car designed by Aldo Costa, an Italian engineer. He deserves praise."

Following a tough start to the season, di Montezemolo believes the Imola win showed Ferrari are back on top.

"We must be very happy about this victory, because Ferrari have demonstrated to be competitive at the highest levels again. Schumacher did an extraordinarily intense and consistent race without making any mistakes," added di Montezemolo, who flew back to Imola in his helicopter to celebrate the win the team.

"The team were perfect and I'm enormously pleased because, after Australia, all the guys worked day and night to get to this week end, where our car has been consistently ahead of everyone, confirming the worth of Italian technology and capabilities.

"Ferrari are here, Ferrari are back and Schumacher is still a very great champion."