Two weeks ago it was the 2004 Constructors Championship, now, as a result of a strong drive to second place at Spa Francorchamps, Michael Schumacher has secured the Drivers' title, giving Ferrari its eleventh title in six years.
In the afterglow of a historic weekend - it was Ferrari's 700th Grand Prix and Schumacher's seventh title - team boss Jean Todt sat down to answer a few questions before joining the post-race celebrations.
Asked why Michael didn't win the race, the Frenchman is quick to respond. "Quite simply, the answer is because there was a driver in front of him who was better," he replies, with a wry smile, "with a package that was better than ours. As a result we finished second and third."
The German started on the front row, but was soon running sixth; that seemed quite unusual. "There wasn't anything really unusual," he replies, "if it wasn't that Ferrari had an agreement with Bridgestone to bring a fairly conservative tyre which favoured reliability compared to performance. Performance brought a certain risk which we didn't want to take on a circuit like Spa."
He's reminded that Schumacher now has seven World Championship titles: that's Fangio plus Clark or Senna. "It's in different eras," admits the Frenchman, "but it an extraordinary record."
So, how will that affect him, now that he races only for pleasure? Will he be stronger? "He has nothing to prove," he replies, "he drives for pleasure, he does the job which is his passion, to drive for a team that he loves and he is loved by the team, so I think it's a enjoyable experience which he has no wish to end."
He's been in the sport 14 years, a sport that is so demanding, yet he accumulates wins and shows no sign that he will finish. "It might seem extraordinary," says the Frenchman, "but he's still young, he's very motivated, he's very fit and I repeat, he feels good, so he's in environment which bring his joy, serenity, the feelings that he enjoys, so there's no reason for him to finish.
What's the difference between a Constructors' title which you achieved two weeks ago in Budapest and a Drivers' title, is it something more personal for the driver, or are they allied? "They are complimentary," he replies without hesitation. "We know right at the start of the season that there are two championships: one for drivers, one for Constructors, where the points are scored by both drivers in the team , so it's very gratifying for the team to have the Constructors' title. It means that the two drivers, as a team, allows the team to win the title, which is very difficult to achieve anyway, and when it comes to the Drivers', it's the drivers with his car, his team, but it remains a package because one knows very well that motor racing consists of a driver, a machine, a team, tyres so the package has to reach the ultimate performance.
Do you feel that Bridgestone are the key to this success? "They are a very important part of our success in the last few years," he replies, "absolutely".
We didn't see a lot of emotion after this win; are you simply satisfied by work well done? "I think that what we feel, we prefer to feel amongst ourselves," he admits, "so our principle is not to show too much emotion in public, but to profit from the most extraordinary moments. So what is more important is what happens within the team rather than outside it.
