Schumacher's perfect race

For a while now, it has become something of a habit for Michael Schumacher to celebrate a win, by staying on at the race track to raise a glass of wine and enjoy the moment with some close friends. And so it was in Barcelona, after his most recent success. The championship leader's departure time from the circuit was delayed more than once, as Michael chilled out in the paddock and looked back at the race.

"It was a perfect race, which we clearly dominated," he said with satisfaction. "It was a really great day and the whole weekend was a complete success, which was trouble free apart from the hydraulics problem in the warm-up."

The four times world champion's Spanish performance was truly impressive, but as usual, Michael was keen to play down the euphoria. "I know people reckon I'm a pessimist, but I've had a big lead like this several times in the past," he said. "We have seen it before when other teams have closed the gap or we have done it to them. I know this game too well to allow any room for optimism just yet as the wind can change direction very quickly.

"The season has got off to a good start, there's no doubt about it. We have done more than we could have hoped for so far and of course I am happy about that. But there is still a long way to go in the championship and I all I can do is repeat that it's not over yet, even if I've been dominant so far. That's because, contrary to last year, we have been able to be on the pace at circuits which were not reckoned to suit us."

"In Brazil however, we saw just how tough and close it can be. Last year, we saw that Michelin runners were very competitive in Austria, If they can rediscover some consistency it should be a difficult fight with our rivals. We certainly cannot be complacent. But I must say our engineers have come up with a fantastic car over the winter and right from the start of the season it has been successful and is still improving. I hadn't thought it was possible to make a car that was better than last year's."

Michael is taking a break over the next few days, having tested so much prior to Barcelona, as well as undertaking several other work commitments. Next Friday he is due to play another soccer match with the Nazionale Piloti team, in Arezzo, in a game against a team from "Maledetti Toscani" and the Nazionale Sindaci. "I have to stay fit," said Michael with a smile, who had played football with his mechanics after his off-track excursion at Mugello.

-ferrari-

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