Ferrari-Bridgestone - a winning partnership.

Jean Todt, Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello attended a press conference organised by Bridgestone at Tokyo's Ana Hotel on the eve of the Japanese Grand Prix to be held at the Suzuka circuit on 13th October.

Bridgestone was represented by Hiroshi Yasukawa, Director of Bridgestone Motorsport, and Hirohide Hamashima, Head of tyre development.

The Constructors World Championship, first and second in the Drivers Championship, record for points won in one season, 52 consecutive podiums: these are the figures before Suzuka, the 17th and last race of a season that has been full of successes for Ferrari and during which close co-operation with a partner like Bridgestone has been decisive.

What is the secret of this success? "There is no secret", replied Jean Todt, the Director of Gestione Sportiva. "All we have achieved is simply the result of the work and commitment of all of us: we take care of the smallest details in our work, remain humble and never take anything for granted."

"We push very hard and always give it our all and we also push our partners to make sure that everyone is working in the same direction. The human aspect is, of course, fundamental. We can say that we have managed to have the right people at the right place."

Todt was asked how many kilometres Ferrari had covered to develop the Bridgestone tyres. "This year we have made numerous tests with our purposely created Tyre Test Team and the test driver, Luciano Burti. Overall we have covered more than 25.000 km," Todt explained. "The co-operation with Bridgestone has given us enormous satisfaction. What has impressed us are their fast reaction times, whenever necessary, to identify new solutions. I can say that Bridgestone is in all effects part of the Ferrari family."

Michael Schumacher also emphasised how important the help of the Japanese partner has been to achieve the extraordinary results of the 2002 season. Did the world champion imagine all this at the presentation of the F2002?

"It is impossible to predict anything in Formula 1 because things can change very quickly. We knew that we had an excellent package but we could not have predicted how competitive we would be," Michael Schumacher said. "This obviously does not mean that we don't have to continue to improve because our competitors are working very hard to make up for the lost ground."

Schumacher, who wanted to expressly thank Bridgestone for the contribution they have made in helping Ferrari to be competitive, said that he had happy memories of every single victory, but the best memories were obviously linked to the success at Magny Cours when he also won the world championship title. The German then went on to tell a really, special anecdote: "I got my first set of Bridgestone tyres as a young boy, buying four tyres for my kart with my own money. I would say this is indeed a very long-lasting co-operation!" Schumacher said. "The Ferrari-Bridgestone partnership is based on a huge amount of trust. We are very satisfied and we would like to continue that way."

At Suzuka, Michael could achieve his seventh pole position of the season as well as the 50th of his career. Does the world champion feel particularly motivated?

"In an extraordinary season like this there are lots of reasons to be determined and motivated," Schumacher replied. "We have a fantastic car and superb tyres and it would really be nice to win Bridgestone's home grand prix and finish the championship in style."

Rubens Barrichello can also look back at long lasting relations with the Japanese manufacturer. The Brazilian was amongst the first to drive an F1 car with Bridgestone tyres in 1997 when he was driving for Stewart. What are the differences between now and then?

"There has obviously been a continuous and extraordinary development since then," Barrichello said. "Already at that time, however, Bridgestone did a great job. We were only a few teams who used their brand and we did not know what to expect, but their tyres turned out to be very good, particularly on the wet, and I even managed to beat Michael's Ferrari at Monte Carlo."

"The job done by Bridgestone during this season has been outstanding," continued the World Championship runner-up. "We have won many races thanks to their tyres. The most exciting victory I remember was definitely the success in Monza. A wonderful race and atmosphere. I could have stayed on the rostrum for another hour!"

As the season has virtually reached its conclusion, it was natural that there would be questions about the car that is to compete in the 2003 Championship. Jean Todt was asked what intentions and projects Ferrari had in this regard.

"We would always like to do better but this will certainly be difficult because our competitors are doing their utmost to catch up with us," said the Director of Ferrari's Gestione Sportiva. "As usual, the new car will be ready by the end of February. The engine is already on the bench and the results are encouraging. The same applies to the data we have for the chassis project and wind tunnel programme. The tyres will be fundamental and crucial also next year and I don't only say this because we are here at Bridgestone. By mid-November we will start with the first tyre tests and work on new constructions and different compounds."