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Schumi, Ferrari refuse to take defeat
Michael Schumacher believes that a tough fight lies ahead now for him, and Ferrari, to recover the deficit in the title race.
Like a wounded lion, Michael Schumacher roared back in defence of his Ferrari family on Sunday when he finished second behind Fernando Alonso's Renault in the San Marino Grand Prix.
At 36, with seven drivers' titles behind him and a succession of five championship wins to his name, he proved there is still plenty of fight in him as, after starting 13th on the grid, he forced his way through the field to take the runners-up spot, just a split second behind the winning Spaniard.
"I enjoyed it a lot, of course," said Schumacher afterwards. "But I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I had won! I have had a long career and this has happened a few times for me.
"I guess there have been a few races of that nature before. But, honestly, this has been one of the good ones. I have said many times before that it is not always that you need to win a race to enjoy it and this proved it."
But, Schumacher added, that although he was happy to have proved that Ferrari now have a fast and highly-competitive car in their F2005, he wished he had qualified better in the morning than he did in front of a sea of flag-waving Ferrari fans who flocked to the team's home circuit.
"I am happy in one way obviously because what we have achieved is exciting for us all, but also I am disappointed because of what happened to me this morning in qualifying.
"If this had not happened, I would not have been 13th and it would have been a perfect day! But, I have to say we have second place, we have produced a stunning race, great pace and performance and it has been a tremendous effort from all of the team, everyone has worked flat out.
"It has paid off for us all and now we have to see what we can for the rest of the year."
Schumacher said that his problems in qualifying were due to a bump in the circuit.
"Something similar happened to me on Friday in free practice. There is a bump in this corner and we had a heavier fuel load so we can brake earlier and it just locked up and once it is locked you cannot recover.
"I don't think of that as an excuse. It just happened. I am disappointed it happened to me. I should not be worried because I don't make too many mistakes, but it is one I made and a sad one for us."
Schumacher added: "What is clear now is that we have a fast car again so Ferrari can race and challenge at the front."
He made it clear he believes that a tough fight lies ahead now for him, and Ferrari, to recover the deficit in the title race and regain their old supremacy.
"Fernando now has a car that he can compete with at the front and he didn't have this before in the past. I don't think there is any secret in saying that it is going to be tough.
"All the top three in this race are good drivers and I think there are some others, like Kimi (Raikkonen) and so on, who are also very strong. It is normal. It will be a fight. If they have the right cars they can fight for the victories too."
