Unforgettable year for Schumacher

It was already a well-known fact that Michael Schumacher knows how to celebrate a win even before he was able to prove it so frequently this season: drivers' World Championship in Magny Cours, constructors' title in Budapest, the first win at Hockenheim for Ferrari in between, or the terrific win in Spa. However, there were also many other reasons for the Formula 1 champion to celebrate during the 2002 season which has now come to an end. The last race of the season in Suzuka with yet another convincing one-two for the Scuderia and the eleventh win of the season for Michael Schumacher was reason enough for one more party, and the karaoke hut number 6 turned out to be a suitable venue...

The night was long - and the time spent sleeping correspondingly short - before Michael finally departed for his well-deserved holiday on Monday morning and flew off to join Corinna and the two children, who were already waiting for him. Even so, the five-times World Champion looked back on the season with enthusiasm.

"It was an unforgettable season, unbelievably good and unbelievably successful," he said. "You can't say any more than that. There are hardly words to describe what we've managed this year. You just have to look at the figures. For me, one of the most impressive statistics is the fact that I finished every race this year, that I didn't have a single technical defect to complain about. That is absolutely outstanding, because it's so unusual. But it shows the quality of the work done at Ferrari and the absolute dedication of all the Scuderia staff, whether at the race weekend or on the test circuit or in the works at Maranello. All these people can be extremely proud of themselves; they've achieved something special and managed to do something which had seemed impossible: to improve on last year's result. I know very well what I have in them and how much I owe to them, and so I'd like to thank them sincerely and send them my best wishes."

Michael will have the opportunity to thank everyone personally this weekend. Ferrari will then be holding their traditional party to celebrate the end of the year, this time in Misano. Michael will break off his holiday to be present at the event, called "Tutti le Ferrari in Misano", on Sunday. "I'm looking forward to Misano, because then we can again all enjoy what we've achieved together. Hard work is important, but the celebrations shouldn't take a back seat either," said Michael. As two further internal appointments were fixed at extremely short notice and the interruption will therefore last longer than expected, Michael will not be taking part in the kart World Championships in southern Italy. "But now I'm looking forward to the holiday with my family."

-ferrari-