Flying debut for Ferrari's F2003-GA

With Rubens Barrichello coming home third, the team has every reason to be delighted with its form at the Circuit de Catalunya, especially as Michael is now only four points adrift of Kimi Raikkonen in the drivers' title race and Ferrari itself has closed to within three points in the constructors' points table.

"It was a great day for Ferrari," said team chief Jean Todt. "It was a race where our rivals produced a very competitive total car, driver and tyre package. The 16 points we've picked up here are the result of a great job from a fantastic group of people, an extraordinary car and two great drivers,"

With two wins on thr trot, Michael is happy again: "This was the perfect day for the championship and for the new car. At the first corner I didn't expect Rubens on the outside and I moved over the inside kerb and slipped a bit and thought we might touch. In fact, I'm not sure if we did or not. But that is racing. The win wasn't as easy as it looked. My tyres performed very well at the start of each stint but then dropped off a bit. Towards the end of the race, the longer I was out on the track the better the situation became and the tyres were more consistent again. I really love this new car."

Like Michael, Rubens found that his tyre performance dropped away: "I've never been so close to Michael as I was at the first corner. I did get slightly ahead but then I went on the grass and had to back off. My tyres were good for the first five to 10 laps of each stint, but after that I couldn't maintain my pace, which is why Alonso was able to pull away."