Following today's Monaco GP, a race which he described as "disappointing", Jean Todt sat down to answer some questions.

Clearly the Frenchman feel bitter at the result, and in particular the incident which eliminated Michael Schumacher. "Of course," he replies. "It was an incident that it is difficult to come to terms, with but it's a part of racing.

"On one the one hand, we have had an absolutely sensational start to the season and we hoped that it would continue with the Monaco Grand Prix, but due to a number of incidents, that wasn't possible, so now we must analyse the various different events which took place in order to tackle the next Grand Prix in one week's time, in the best possible way to try to resume our preferred programme which means winning races."

So what, in your view, happened between Schumacher and Montoya in the tunnel? "When Michael was in the course of preparing his car for the re-start, when the Safety Car would pull into the pits, he was hit by Montoya which caused him to go into a slide and damage his front wing, so unfortunately he had to retire."

Now, Michael Schumacher has said that he was warming up his brakes and that it's something he usually does when the race is held behind the safety car. "Yes, that's something that happens when the safety car is on the track," says the Frenchman, "it's when the drivers prepare their cars for when the race is re-started. It was during this preparation that the accident took place."

And how did Schumacher react? "He was disappointed," admits the Ferrari team principal. "What do you expect? Disappointment for everyone, but having said that, it was part of the race so you have to digest the accident and start again.

It's been a funny weekend for Ferrari, and in all honesty you seemed less at ease, less efficient than on other tracks. Monaco is special. "It's a special circuit," he agrees, "but I think we had a strategy which would allow us to be competitive. Unfortunately, the incidents in the race didn't allow us to demonstrate that strategy so Monte Carlo wasn't the best Grand Prix of the season for Ferrari, in spite of Rubens Barrichello's third place.

It's always emotional to see a driver score his first win. What do you think of Jarno Trulli's first win? "He deserved his win because he qualified well," he replies, "he drove a perfect race and won it. So one can only congratulate him, it's just reward for a very good driver.

Would it be too early to talk about a return to power for Renault? "No, but I think we certainly say that Renault have had a remarkable start to the season," he replies. "They have finished all their races with Trulli, they had to retire with Alonso due to him going off the circuit, so it means they have a competitive and reliable car.

In your official post-race press release, you talked about roulette at Monte Carlo, are you saying that you've been affected by luck this weekend? "You can't always win, " he replies, "so when you take part in races and in a championship which is so complex and as difficult as Formula One, you have to accept that you might lose races, and that's what we do, not willingly but we do it nonetheless.

Max Mosley said last week that it is feasible that Ferrari could withdraw from Formula One, what's the situation with regards the?

"As you know, Ferrari is part of the GPWC and we are discussing, together with the GPWC, the future of Formula One, and of course, we are also discussing with Bernie, and with the banks, and with Max Mosley.. we will see. I'm not going to comment any more on this question".

It's said that Ferrari has agreed a new agreement with Bridgestone, is this true? "Yes, we have renewed our agreement with Bridgestone," he replies. "We have renewed for the coming years. I'm not going to give you any more details about that. The existing agreement ended at the end of 2004.

But, how would that work with a single tyre manufacturer? "At the moment, all that is only semi-hypothesis, so it doesn't meant that we as a team are going to stop negotiations with our technical partners. If it is agreed as a decision then that will be part of the whole thinking about what to do with the teams who have a contract, but it means that it will be one company who is already involved in Formula One which would be chosen, so it's a completely open point.

Going back to 'the incident', do you believe it was Juan Pablo's fault? "It stopped our car, that's all," he replies. "So probably the FIA will have to find some measures to avoid that in the future. That's the only thing on which I can comment.

Do you think it's unavoidable to have accidents like in the opening laps and with Ralf and Fernando, and with Michael, when you're racing at such high speeds on such a narrow circuit? "We know that Monte Carlo is a very specific circuit and we do accept it. Monte Carlo creates a big fascination, it's really part of the assets of motor racing, of Formula One, and definitely that's a positive part.

"However, there are some negative aspects and it's more complicated than any other circuit. Saying that, it's a big reward to the organisers because they did a fantastic job with the pit lane, with the garages and all that. They are trying hard."