Malaysian GP Ferrari race notes

Michael Schumacher
"That was a very exciting race! I took the spare care, because we saw some oil at the back of the racecar. Actually, I preferred the T-car in the morning, so it was no problem. Then, when I went off because of the rain, I could see the barrier coming and I thought it was over. Then I saw Rubens following me off. I was lucky the car stayed in shape and there was no damage. When I came into the pits, I asked them to push Rubens forward, but I could not see he had no right front. It was my decision to fit intermediates. We knew it would be difficult at first, but they would be better when the rain eased. After the pit stop, I asked if the team had made the right changes to the car, because it was difficult to drive, but it got better as the race went on. I managed to pass Rubens because he lost momentum in Turn 8. Earlier on, we lost a minute but as we were behind the Safety Car, the real gap was only about ten seconds. The conditions were atrocious and undrivable and at times the SC was quicker than us. As for the records I am setting at the moment, it is nice, but they don't count as much as how many wins and championships you get. I like wins like these that come after we have had to work hard to get them. The rest of the season will not be as easy as this and we must keep pushing. Today we made the best of the conditions and had the right choice of tyre and set-up."

Rubens Barrichello
"I made a good start, not losing much to Michael. Then I had no vision on my left hand side. Ralf Schumacher braked very late and came round the outside. When you fight for a corner you must give the other driver some room, but he did not and we touched. Luckily, the car was not damaged. When I went off, I thought Michael was going to be in the wall. I could not slow down and I could not spin because I would have collected Michael. It was a pity I could not pit then, because I spun three or four times. Then, two laps later I was lucky not to hit Coulthard and Trulli. When the water gets under the car there is nothing you can do, but I found I had drive in fifth gear and managed to continue. My long pit stop was caused because the team fitted three of Michael's intermediates to my car. Later in the race I had to make an extra stop to clean the gravel out of the car. I lost bits off the car which is not surprising as I went off the track a few times, but this car is very strong. Michael managed to pass me because I got too close to a Jordan and lost momentum."

Jean Todt
"This race demonstrated Ferrari's and its drivers' superiority and also that of the Bridgestone tyres. The race was action packed in the early stages with many off-track excursions and passing moves. In the second half, Michael was able to manage his lead, while Rubens, who was on a two stop strategy, picked up a great second place. We have made a very good start to the championship, but now we must remain focussed because now we have so many rivals. We must keep cool! Next week, Luca Badoer will be driving an F1-2000 for four days in Barcelona and he will be joined by Michael Schumacher for the last two days in the F2001."