Todt Calls for Prudence Despite Ferrari Dominance

Ferrari's sporting director Jean Todt says the Italian team should not get carried away despite their dominance this season.

The Italian squad have won 12 out of 14 races so far this year, and apart from winning their fourth consecutive Constructors' Championship, German Michael Schumacher clinched his fifth world crown in record time before becoming the first driver in history to score ten wins in a single season.

Schumacher led teammate Rubens Barrichello to Ferrari's sixth one-two finish of 2002 at the Spa circuit yesterday, leaving the Maranello-based outfit 26 points away from breaking the record for most points by a team in one season with three races left to run.

Despite their success, however, Ferrari should keep their feet of the ground and continue working as they have done up until now, according to Todt.

"I think we have to be prudent and have our feet on the ground," said Todt. "We have to realise that this success may not last. We hope that it will continue at Monza and maybe in the United States, perhaps at Suzuka, maybe next year but we know that this run of success will one day come to an end.

"We are humble, we know that things could turn around so we have to try and profit from this extraordinary success but also appreciate that these results are because of a massive amount of work and one has to continue to work if one is going to remain on this dimension."

On Sunday Ferrari scored an unprecedented 50th consecutive podium, and before he decided to back off Schumacher held a lead of more than 40 seconds over third-placed driver Juan Pablo Montoya in the Williams.

Schumacher had no opposition whatsoever during the race, but Todt denied it was an easy victory for the team.

"It's never easy. Ask our competitors if it's easy," he added. "Having said that, it seems that this year we are much more competitive than the other teams. The results speak for themselves but I wouldn't say that this race saw a bigger domination than any others.

"If you take it race by race, you will see that we have been dominating several times already as we did in this Grand Prix."

Ferrari will aim to score another one-two at their home Grand Prix in two weeks time at Monza. The team will work this week at the Italian circuit, the first time that testing is allowed since July, to prepare for the race.

Schumacher already said on Sunday that they should not be over-confident ahead of their home race, and Todt claimed that being cautious is part of their strength.

"It's the only low downforce circuit so definitely we will be adapting the car for Monza during the test," Todt said. "He's right to be cautious, but you know, we must always be cautious before every race. Maybe that's part of our strength, to be cautious always and not over-confident."