'No way will we settle for constructors alone' says Todt


Michael Schumacher's third straight win has revived Ferrari's hopes of returning to the pinnacle of Formula 1, team manager Jean Todt said Monday .


Speaking after Schumacher won the French Grand Prix, Todt fiercely denied suggestions that the Italian team was prepared to make do with the constructors' championship, where it is now just 21 points behind pace-setters Renault with seven races - representing a potential haul of 136 points - still to go.

"There's no way we're going to be happy with just the constructors' championship. All we'll settle for is Felipe Massa (Ferrari's No.2 driver) not getting second place,"

a combative Todt told reporters.


Todt said he was "convinced" Schumacher, 17 points behind Renault's world champion Fernando Alonso, had "a great chance" of adding to his seven world titles .

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Ferrari President Luca Cordero di Montezemolo was a little more cautious, saying only that Ferrari fans "

can be sure we're going to give it our all right to the very last kilometre".

Opinion was split in the Italian sports pages Monday.


Quoted in La Gazzetta dello Sport, Ferrari great Niki Lauda contrasted Ferarri's "positive trend" - above all thanks to the improved performance of its Bridgestone tyres - with the fact that Renault was "undoubtedly going backwards." But former world champ Jacques Villeneuve pointed out that, although Ferrari had starting winning again, "Alonso is always there or thereabouts." Some 40% of Gazzetta readers said they thought Schumacher could reel in Alonso and pip him to the crown .


Pundits pointed out that Alonso dogged Schumacher all the way again on Sunday - and the German really only has a reasonable crack at the title if the young Spaniard ends up pointless a few times. The Formula 1 circus stays in Europe for the next four Grand Prix - Germany on July 30, Hungary on August 6, Turkey on August 27 and Italy on September 10 - before moving out to China on October 1, Japan on October 8 and the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix on October 22. With 70 points still up for grabs, winning every race will not be enough for Schumacher to clinch the title, if Alonso comes in a constant second.


Massa, who came third on Sunday, will of course be doing his level best to get between Alonso and Schumacher, but the 'prancing horse' fans will only begin to feel their pulses racing again if the Renault starts to show some signs of wear and tear - as it did last year.




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