Todt fears Honda threat

BAR and Honda outqualified Ferrari at the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola last weekend as Jenson Button scored his first pole position. It was the first time this year that anybody other than Michael Schumacher had started from the front and in the last three races Button has finished closest to the red cars.

"I'm scared when I see who we are fighting against," said Todt. "BAR is the surprise of the season, even though I'm only half surprised, because if you have a company like Honda involved in this business, it's not just to be part of the race.

"They want to be competitive and I'm sure that what they are getting at the moment is probably pleasing them, but it is not enough. If you take all the other manufacturers, it is a situation which cannot stay like that. That's why it's such big competition."

Todt went on to express his delight at the performance advantage Ferrari still holds over its competitors. "If I am surprised, honestly, it's more by Ferrari," said the Frenchman. "I keep saying this, but I live day by day in the Ferrari environment. We are a legendary company, but we are very small, lost in the middle of nowhere, a little province, and we have to face many more problems than all our other competitors.

"I really feel that it's outstanding to see what Ferrari is able to do since a few years now, and I simply hope that it can stay like that, but I'm scared when I see who we are fighting against."