paul
Team Owner
http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines02/0.../09/s10471.html
Ferrari's world championship rivals presented a united front of resignation after Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello coasted to victory in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
It was the Italian team's seventh one-two finish and world champion Schumacher's 10th win of the campaign, a performance that set another new record for the German.
Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished over 18 seconds behind Schumacher, was in no doubt about the size of the task now faced by both his Williams team as well as McLaren, the other outfit who had been widely tipped to push Ferrari this year.
"That's as fast as our car goes and we are going as fast as our car goes. That's it. There's not much you can do about it," said the Colombian, whose third place on Sunday put him in third spot in the drivers' championship with 44 points, a long way behind Schumacher's 122.
Montoya's mood of resignation was shared by McLaren for whom David Coulthard was fourth. At least the Scotsman finished. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen, who had started from second place on the grid, failed to complete the race as his engine blew after 35 laps.
"Nobody had a chance against the Ferraris," said Norbert Haug, Mercedes technical director.
As well as Raikkonen, Sauber's Felipe Massa, Olivier Panis of BAR and Giancarlo Fisichella's Jordan all suffered blown engines while the Ferraris just kept going. Schumacher's tenth win of the season meant he had moved off nine wins, which he shared with former world champion Nigel Mansell, himself an ex-Ferrari driver.
"This is one of the best cars of all time. Its reliability is unparalleled on both sides of the Atlantic," said Mansell of the apparently bullet-proof Ferrari F2002.
Schumacher also finished a race for a record 19th time in a row with his last failure coming at the German Grand Prix in July 2001 when his car suffered brake trouble. Since then he has won 13 of 19 races and he said he finds it fun to handle a reliable Ferrari.
"It was a very nice race for me. It is not always necessary to have a good feeling in the car and today I had a very good feeling because the car simply felt perfect," Schumacher said after his Belgian victory.
Ferrari's world championship rivals presented a united front of resignation after Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello coasted to victory in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.
It was the Italian team's seventh one-two finish and world champion Schumacher's 10th win of the campaign, a performance that set another new record for the German.
Juan Pablo Montoya, who finished over 18 seconds behind Schumacher, was in no doubt about the size of the task now faced by both his Williams team as well as McLaren, the other outfit who had been widely tipped to push Ferrari this year.
"That's as fast as our car goes and we are going as fast as our car goes. That's it. There's not much you can do about it," said the Colombian, whose third place on Sunday put him in third spot in the drivers' championship with 44 points, a long way behind Schumacher's 122.
Montoya's mood of resignation was shared by McLaren for whom David Coulthard was fourth. At least the Scotsman finished. Team mate Kimi Raikkonen, who had started from second place on the grid, failed to complete the race as his engine blew after 35 laps.
"Nobody had a chance against the Ferraris," said Norbert Haug, Mercedes technical director.
As well as Raikkonen, Sauber's Felipe Massa, Olivier Panis of BAR and Giancarlo Fisichella's Jordan all suffered blown engines while the Ferraris just kept going. Schumacher's tenth win of the season meant he had moved off nine wins, which he shared with former world champion Nigel Mansell, himself an ex-Ferrari driver.
"This is one of the best cars of all time. Its reliability is unparalleled on both sides of the Atlantic," said Mansell of the apparently bullet-proof Ferrari F2002.
Schumacher also finished a race for a record 19th time in a row with his last failure coming at the German Grand Prix in July 2001 when his car suffered brake trouble. Since then he has won 13 of 19 races and he said he finds it fun to handle a reliable Ferrari.
"It was a very nice race for me. It is not always necessary to have a good feeling in the car and today I had a very good feeling because the car simply felt perfect," Schumacher said after his Belgian victory.