13.06.2004 "This was an amazing race, for the team, it was battle from the first to the last lap": Ferrari CANADIAN GRAND PRIX race rePORT

Seventh win of the season for Scuderia Ferrari Marlboro and Michael Schumacher. Today's was win number 77 of Michael's career, while the Scuderia has hit the 174 wins mark from 694 races.

This is Ferrari's eleventh Canadian win and Michael's seventh, his sixth with Ferrari.

Following post-race technical checks, the two Williams and the two Toyota were disqualified. An irregularity in the size of the brake air intakes was stated as the cause of the disqualification.

The new race order sees Michael Schumacher in first and Rubens Barrichello in second. Third is Button; fourth Fisichella; fifth Raikkonen; sixth Coulthard; seventh Glock and Heidfeld eighth.

Jean Todt: 'This was an amazing race. We knew that with the strategy we had decided on prior to yesterday's qualifying, we could be in the running, even without starting from the front and we were proved right. For the team, it was battle from the first to the last lap.

'Both drivers drove a very strong race, helped by the Bridgestones that were fantastically consistent. As we predicted, reliability was another key factor. The team worked to its usual standard, striving for perfection. From a personal point of view, this was a special weekend, my first as Managing Director of Ferrari and the first at which my usual post race phone call was not only with Luca di Montezemolo as President of the company, but also in his role as President of the FIAT Group and the Confindustria.

'There is still a long way to go given that only after Indianapolis will we have passed the mid-point of the season and that we are up against strong and well organised opponents. We can be relied on, along with our technical partners, especially Bridgestone and Shell, to continue to give it our all and our motivation is very high. If possible, we will try to do even better.'

Michael Schumacher: 'I don't know why I have won so often here, I guess its down to a good package and a bit of luck. Everything went to plan today. We thought it would be hard to get pole so we concentrated our strategy on the race. The pit stops were great and the car preparation was fantastic. We won today because of the consistency of our package and our race pace which was the fastest.

'There was not much pressure from Montoya, as I could have let him pass me as he was on a different strategy. But Rubens pushed me very hard and it would have been much more critical for me if he had got past. We had chosen different tyres and I was thinking he had made the best choice! Then my third set was a bit better. I had no problems with the car and at the end I slowed the pace to bring the car home.'

Rubens Barrichello: 'This was a great race and I had fun fighting Michael. He got a win for a Ferrari and that is what counts. I knew my only chance of winning was to pass him on the track or go longer before the pit stop, but I had a little less fuel than him. When I was pushing him very hard, I knew the brakes were getting hot as I could feel the pedal get spongy, but I had to keep pushing.

'But after the pit stop, when I had more fuel on board, the pedal began to get long and I realised the brakes were "cooked." I did not give up but then at the bumpy Turn 8, I could not stop and I lost about 5 seconds which is what cost me second place. But, at the end of the day, it was a very close fight, we had lots of fun and I enjoyed myself. People say I am happy to sit behind Michael, but today showed this is not the case.'

Ross Brawn: 'The cars proved to be very reliable and the Bridgestone tyres performed very well. Strategy was very important, but the drivers and the team did a fantastic job putting it into action. Michael and Rubens had to wait patiently in the first part of the race, when they were behind cars that had a potentially slower pace than they did. Once they had a clear track ahead of them, they both knew what to do and did it perfectly.

'The middle stint was very exciting as Michael and Rubens duelled, aware of the different fuel loads they had on board. It might have cost them a bit of time to their rivals, but isn't this what the crowd wanted to see? We now need to find out exactly what happened to Rubens after his second stop. We were hoping he could get second, but he went off track losing a few precious seconds.'

Michael Schumacher 1st 70 laps 1.28.24.803 chassis 239, Rubens Barrichello 3rd 70 laps + 5.108 chassis 236, Temperatures: air 20/24/23°C, track 31/35°C