Silverstone victory 'vital' says Todt

Rubens Barrichello's victory in Ferrari's competitors' backyard was a vital contribution to its world championship challenge, according to the Scuderia's sporting director Jean Todt, reports AUTOSPORT this week. The Frenchman believes it was crucial to stop Williams' momentum after two consecutive one-two finishes, and that to do it at Silverstone was an additional psychological victory

"It was very important to score a good result here because, for a few races the tendency was going against us," he said. "It is pleasing and rewarding to see that Ferrari possessed such domination on a track which is the home circuit for our main competitors."

The result at Silverstone enabled Ferrari to extend its points lead from Williams to 10, while Michael Schumacher lost only one point in the championship standings to second-placed man Kimi Raikkonen - limiting the damage done to its title hopes over the previous two races.

"What is very important is not so much what we lost, it's the potential we can see for the next few races," said Todt. "I think it will be tough, but we have good potential."

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