Q & A with Jean Todt

Jean Todt: If you play lottery you want to win. Clearly, we have had some ups and downs in this race and we finished with very little difference in the championship. We get one more point, or we diminish by one point the gap in the Manufacturers' championship and we were aiming for much worse at a certain period of the race.

We were too slow at the beginning. We were much quicker when the track started to dry and we did not get the advantage of it. It's always easy, afterwards, to say or to conclude what would have been, but that's racing.

Q. It was an extraordinary and fantastic start for both of the championship contenders; one of them stayed there, obviously Michael had trouble, but do you think the tyre choice was right early on?

JT: You know, I think it's very important, when you talk about tyre choice, to see which cars have certain tyres at one moment of the race, and at another moment of the race. If you see that, then you will understand quite clearly that we didn't have the proper tyres for the start of the race, and then when the track was drying, everybody was in a better situation, at least, those with the same tyres as what we had.

Q. Both drivers at times were the fastest guys on the circuit.

JT: With the right tyres...

Q. What's your reaction to Jenson Button's first win?

JT: It was an obstacle race. He started 14th, won the race and he did a brilliant job. He deserves the success.

Q. Does he deserve to be included in the top group of drivers?

JT: You know, before making such a specific conclusion, after one race, we have to decide that, I would be a bit more cautious.

Q. How much difference does it make to a driver to win his first Grand Prix from the times you've seen drivers do it?

JT: I think you are always aiming for your first success. Once you have it, you want a second one and one thing is sure, if you only have one success in your career it's a special milestone.

Q. Can you just describe your feelings when Heidfeld and Michael touched each other and Michael had to retire?

JT: I just heard when Michael said to us over the radio that the car had become undriveable and he had to stop.

Q. He said that's my nature, I want to fight to the last, but did you try, on the radio, to tell him just to...

JT: No, we did not want to disturb him but after seeing what had happened, probably we should have told him something, but it's always easy to say what you should have done when things are finished.

Q. What do you think of your championship prospects now?

JT: It's one race less so there's been a very small variation. It could have been a much bigger variation against us and a significant improvement in our favour, but that's racing. It's the way it happened. What does really count is that it's minus one point of difference, compared to what it was in the Manufacturers, and plus one for Felipe. That's the only thing which is really true.

Q. How disappointing is such a weekend?

JT: We start to digest, as I said, it could have been much more disappointing.

Q. Do you think the penalty given to Michael on Saturday was unfair.

JT: I think you have to watch the video. Everybody his judgement but really everybody can make his own judgement by watching video.

Q. Do you think it was gamesmanship by Alonso not to accelerate out of that corner?

JT: Again, I don't want to comment because unfortunately it would not change anything. It would not change anything. I have a very strong opinion about that, but it doesn't change.

Q. Planning announce 2007 driver announcement in Monza?

JT: No change

Q. And technical team line-up in Monza as well or at the end of the season?

JT: No change either.

Q. Do you think it's a strange kind of justice that you leave here with no change after the penalties and the race?

JT: What is justice? It all depends on where you put justice. If we talk about justice, I think we have been unfavoured if you speak about justice, but that's all I can say.

Q. Will you work with Bridgestone to try and hone the intermediate tyres, the wet tyres, for the rest of this season or do you think that wet races are so rare that it's more important to focus on dry tyres?

JT: I would say that we have more opportunity to test dry tyres but when it happens, it's a long time since a race happened. You need to have the proper wet tyres or to have the proper choice.

OK, definitely today, for part of the race, it was not our case and for another part of the race, it went more in our favour. The only thing that probably more running in the case, which was not such much in our favour, rather than the laps we had to do with more dry track.