Formula 1

Spanish GP: Ferrari race notes

Spanish GP - Race Jean Todt: "We were expecting a very close race and that's what we got, although obviously we were hoping it would work out in our favour. Nevertheless, this weekend confirmed we are competitive, even if today, we have to admit ...

Published: May 16, 2006, 5:11 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Spanish GP - Race

Jean Todt:

"We were expecting a very close race and that's what we got, although obviously we were hoping it would work out in our favour. Nevertheless, this weekend confirmed we are competitive, even if today, we have to admit our closest rivals were stronger. We had opted for a strategy that meant carrying a bit more fuel at the start than those ahead of us on the grid, but it did not work out for us."

"All the same, Michael and Felipe picked up thirteen points which are very valuable and consolidate our positions in both championships. Now we have to put a great deal of effort, along with our technical partners, first and foremost Bridgestone, to be even more competitive in the next few races."

Michael Schumacher:

"The race result was decided in the first stint, as Fernando was able to pull out quite a gap, because I simply did not have the pace to stay with him. I was not held up by Giancarlo. After the lap times we had done earlier in the weekend, this was surprising, but we have seen before that in Barcelona, very small things can change your performance quite quickly."

"It seems that today, this had a negative effect on us and a positive one on Renault. Eight points is still good and I could say that while I was disappointed to have only won two points last Sunday, here I can be happy to have only lost two. There is still a long way to go and we will keep on fighting to try and win."

Felipe Massa:

"The car worked well and our pace was what we expected, but today, our rivals were simply a bit quicker than us! I had some traffic in a few crucial phases of the race and that's one of the reasons I could not close on Giancarlo to try and get past him in the run of pit stops. Overall, we have picked up some important points for the championship."

Ross Brawn:

"The car and the Bridgestone tyres performed well, but we need to find a bit more performance. There were moments when we got very close to our rivals, but I think Fernando had a slight edge today. In the first part of the race, when Giancarlo was ahead of our cars we knew we would be unable to stay in touch with Fernando and so we waited for the pit stop to try and get past Giancarlo, which Michael managed to do. However, in the next stint, we realised we were not quick enough to aim for victory. Now we have to work on improving the package for the forthcoming races."

Michael Schumacher: 2nd
+ 18.502, 66 laps
Chassis 254

Felipe Massa: 4th
+ 29.859, 66 laps
Chassis 250

-ferrari-

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Spanish GP: Toro Rosso race notes

Next article A satisfying win for Symonds

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

Valtteri Bottas "pretty confident" of staying for F1 2027 amid Colton Herta rumours

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Mexican GP

30 min

Valtteri Bottas "pretty confident" of staying for F1 2027 amid Colton Herta rumours

Rally legend Carlos Sainz drives WRC Ford Puma Rally1 to victory

Other rally

Misc Other rally 1 h

Rally legend Carlos Sainz drives WRC Ford Puma Rally1 to victory

Dizziness to blame for Joan Mir's Malaysian GP retirement

MotoGP

MGP MotoGP

Malaysian GP

1 h

Dizziness to blame for Joan Mir's Malaysian GP retirement

Fernando Alonso 'beyond frustration' after engine issue in F1 Mexico GP qualifying

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Mexican GP

3 h

Fernando Alonso 'beyond frustration' after engine issue in F1 Mexico GP qualifying

Feature

Discover prime content

The fine margins that cost George Russell pole in Mexico

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Stuart Codling

The fine margins that cost George Russell pole in Mexico

Why Isack Hadjar deserves a medal, not a warning, after paddock "incident"

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Stuart Codling

Why Isack Hadjar deserves a medal, not a warning, after paddock "incident"

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Mexico GP

Formula 1

Mexican GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What we learned from Friday practice at the 2026 Mexico GP

What’s the state of play at F1’s smallest team?

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

What’s the state of play at F1’s smallest team?

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts