Head not surprised by Ferrari win

Williams technical director Patrick Head said he wasn't surprised by Michael Schumacher winning the Italian Grand Prix as he expected Ferrari to be strong at Monza. Head thinks the fast Italian circuit is similar to Silverstone, where Ferrari also ...

Williams technical director Patrick Head said he wasn't surprised by Michael Schumacher winning the Italian Grand Prix as he expected Ferrari to be strong at Monza. Head thinks the fast Italian circuit is similar to Silverstone, where Ferrari also won, so he had expected Williams's rivals to be competitive. However, he doesn't believe the Monza result is an indicator of a repeat Ferrari performance in the final two races of the season.

Patrick Head and Juan Pablo Montoya.

Photo by Brousseau Photo.

"This (Monza) is a high speed track with high speed corners and the last circuit like that was Silverstone and they won that race so it didn't surprise me," commented Head. "We always thought they would be very competitive here. But we shall have to wait and see what happens in the next two."

"We are not making excuses that we were beaten but it was a close run thing. I don't think it is necessarily a pointer to what is going to happen at Indy or Suzuka."

With only Indianapolis and Suzuka to go, teams will be making an effort to find just a little more performance to finish the season. Williams leads Ferrari in the Constructors' standings by four points, and Juan Pablo Montoya is three behind Schumacher in the Driver's standings, so there is everything to fight for.

"I think all the teams in the championship will be making improvements between each of the final two races," said Head. "We have got a big Silverstone test and then a Jerez test after Indy."