Madonna di Campiglio, 18.01.02

As tradition demands, it fell to Jean Todt to close the round of press conferences at the Wroom event, which is regarded as an overture to the season for the F1 race team. Todt met the press this morning before returning to Maranello.

How strong can your desire to win be this time?
"The team is totally motivated. We want to continue winning, just as we have done over the past few years, even though we know it will be very difficult. One of the new aspects this year is the fact we have taken on a second test driver, Luciano Burti. In the first instance, we have to work on tyre development for Bridgestone and so we have a lot more kilometres to run, which is why we opted to strengthen the test team. It's obvious that, as the only top team running on Bridgestone, it will be down to us to chose the right direction to go in. Michelin on the other hand, will have to make a choice and that could be a problem that Bridgestone will not have to face. At the same time, we have no benchmark to compare ourselves with and this could be a negative factor. But it will be an interesting fight for everyone."

Who do you regard as Ferrari's main rivals?
"It is difficult to say right now, because we do not know the performance levels of the new cars. It might well happen that a team, which was not at the top in 2001, turns out to be a title contender. Last year it was Williams-BMW which made the most progress and I think this team will stay at the top. One can also expect a lot from other teams, like McLaren-Mercedes. We will have to wait until qualifying in Melbourne to get a clear picture of the pecking order."

Could you maybe start the season using the F2001?
"We will launch our new car on 6th February and we will then start testing with it immediately. It is a new car, with a new gearbox and other interesting new parts. Only after the tests will we be able to take a decision, but for us it is important to know that we can start with the F2001, which produced fantastic results last year."

What about the rumour concerning Ferrari and Montoya?
"I am immune to all these stories, as I heard so many over the years. The important thing is the truth: Montoya is a great driver, with great results in Formula 3000 and in the Cart championship. He also had a good first season in Formula 1 with the Williams. He has a lot of potential, but that does not mean we have been in touch with him. We have never contacted him, either directly or indirectly."

What are you views about the Prost situation?
"It is very difficult to run an F1 team and given the present world situation, it is very hard to find sponsors. On top of that there has been a big increase in the cost of remaining competitive and that is a concern for the teams. As supplier of their engine, we are very close to Alain Prost, but we will have to wait for the next few days to see if he can find the backing to continue. For our part, we are very happy to have partners like Philip Morris, Shell, Bridgestone and now with Vodafone joining us. We feel that with their help, we can be confident for the future."

What are your views on the Ferrari drivers?
"It's great to know that Schumacher is so attached to Ferrari. The fact that he is comfortable with the team reinforces the desire for stability which has allowed us to get these great results over the past few years. More important than that is the motivation. You can have that in Formula 1 even at the age of forty, but you also need to be in good physical shape. If at 40, Schumacher still had the same will to win and fitness, Ferrari would be happy to keep him on. Barrichello has done a good job for the team. Being Michael's team mate is not easy and Rubens is one of the ones who has coped with it the best. Rubens gets the same car and the same treatment and we will try and do even better with him in 2002. But as usual, it will be the stopwatch which will decide which driver does best. Rubens has the whole season ahead of him to show what he is worth and I am sure that he will give even more to Ferrari."

What about your own future, especially in relation to the fact that Schumacher could stay at Ferrari after 2004?
"Who knows what can happen before 2004. None of us knows and I don't like speculating about these things. If I am still working in Formula 1, I am sure it will be with Ferrari, if they still want me. In the meantime, we will try to win races and titles."

Finally Todt had a word for this year's most important absentee, Mika Hakkinen. "I will sleep more soundly now he has gone, but you must ask the McLaren people how they will sleep!"

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