Giancarlo Fisichella
“I have happy memories of Imola as I won my first Formula 3 race here, in the rain. The circuit has changed quite a lot since then, in order to make it safer, and although it is still an exciting track where at times you have to be careful, I did prefer it before.

“To succeed at this race you need a strong engine, lots of downforce, good traction and the brakes usually have to work quite hard as well.  There are so many different types of corner with varying angles and speeds that set-up is a real challenge, so I will be working hard with my engineers to find the best package for the whole track.  As I’m Italian, the atmosphere in Imola is special and there’s a real buzz, with a lot of fans supporting me.  I can’t promise results, but for sure I will be doing my very best and hope to have a good weekend.”

Takuma Sato
“Things have been busy after Brazil as we flew straight back to Europe and immediately to Valencia, so I have had just a few days at home to relax and work on fitness before I go to Imola. I am really looking forward to racing in Italy because I know what the atmosphere will be like there.  Another reason I expect to enjoy my stay in San Marino is that I love Italian food!”

FIA Thursday Press Conference 11 April 2002

The full transcript of Thursday's FIA press conference, attended by Giancarlo Fisichella, Rubens Barrichello, Michael Schumacher, Juan Pablo Montoya and Jarno Trulli.

Question: Giancarlo, your feelings about the start of the season?
Giancarlo FISICHELLA: Not fantastic, you know. After last year, I had a very difficult season. I thought this would be better, and especially when I drove the EJ11 in the winter, I was very confident, very comfortable in that car. Then with the new car, I was confident too, but unfortunately the power is not enough and we are struggling a little bit. But I am very confident because Honda is pushing very hard. Here we already have a little step forward on power and for the future, I think in a couple of races, in three or four races, we will have a much bigger step.

DHL Jordan Honda enjoyed an encouraging start to the San Marino weekend, with Giancarlo Fisichella finishing second behind Michael Schumacher.  Running under very wet conditions more akin to a rainy day
at Silverstone, both Jordan drivers were happy with the morning's work.

"This is certainly a good base line from which to work," said Giancarlo.  "The track was very wet but the car ran well under these conditions and we would be happy if it rains here all weekend!"

Takuma Sato ended the morning in 11th place, but explained that his fall down the rankings from earlier in the session was due to set-up changes he and the team were trying. "The car felt very good overall and I enjoyed the session - especially driving on the first sector and part of the middle sector of the lap.  We tried some different things with the car, some of which did not make us more competitive, so this is why I slipped down to 11th place."

The next session begins at 1400hours local time in Italy and looks likely to be a drier session as the rain, at last, is beginning to ease.

Giancarlo Fisichella starred in today's rain-affected practice in Imola, setting the 3rd fastest time in his Jordan Honda EJ12 which was sporting its new Virgin Mobile livery on either side of the cockpit.  The DHL Jordan Honda driver was behind the Ferrari pairing of Michael Schumacher and Rubens Barrichello.

Michael Schumacher's Ferrari set the pace in this morning's free practice sessions while the DHL Jordan Hondas of Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato slipped down the pecking order as the track dried out.  The Jordan pair had been among the very quickest cars on the circuit during the first 45 minute session, Fisichella regularly in the top six throughout, but with the sun beating down the track soon dried and Jordan's rivals leapt ahead.

Michael Schumacher will start tomorrow's San Marino from pole position after beating off a strong challenge from Rubens Barrichello in a session which saw the DHL Jordan Honda team a lowly 14th and 15th fastest.  Giancarlo Fisichella's ambitions to qualify well for his home Grand Prix were ruined when his race car suffered a hydraulic pressure failure at the beginning of his second qualifying run, forcing him into the T-car which was not fitted with the latest specification Honda engine.

FIA President Max Mosley turned up in Imola, attending his first grand prix of the season and bravely put himself through the mill of a press conference in the media centre. Here are some edited highlights of what was a very long session!

The Ferrari team continues to dominate the San Marino Grand Prix weekend, with Rubens Barrichello fastest in warm-up and Michael Schumacher second.  The DHL Jordan Hondas of Giancarlo Fisichella and Takuma Sato continued to circulate in low mid-field positions, both drivers and team working hard to find more speed on the Imola track but unable to make any significant progress.

Takuma Sato's San Marino Grand Prix lasted only 5 laps thanks to a transmission problem which robbed him of gears.  The Japanese driver was forced to pit his Jordan Honda EJ12 and the team reset the gearbox during a lengthy stop, but when he rejoined he could only find first gear and was instructed to pull off the circuit.

Giancarlo Fisichella's race ended after 20 laps when he pulled his Jordan Honda EJ12 off the circuit.  The Italian was battling with the Toyota of Mika Salo at the time, only 0.4s behind the Finn, when his car suddenly slowed and he was forced to pull off the track.

Michael Schumacher's record breaking progress continued in San Marino today with a perfect lights-to-flag victory in Imola with Ferrari team mate Rubens Barrichello second.  This was his 56th Grand Prix win, starting from his 45th pole position and was a record breaking 97th race for Ferrari - more races for Ferrari than any driver in its history.