People were surprised yesterday when there was no Ferrari on pole position but today’s result was one fans have seen three times before this year. Michael Schumacher stood on the top step of the podium in Imola for the sixth time in his career this afternoon. Team mate Rubens Barrichello also finished in the points with sixth place making Ferrari’s haul from this race a very useful 13 points.

‘Four wins out of four is unbelievable,’ said Mike Copson of Shell Global Solutions, ‘the entire team proved their worth today. We are extremely happy that Shell could provide the fuel that assisted Ferrari’s perfect strategy to win the race today. Coupled with our lubricants package, the car still proves to be extremely reliable, something we hope to see more of in Spain in two weeks time.’

Jenson Button led the field away perfectly from his debut pole and behind him, the grid dutifully slotted in as they approached the first corner. David Coulthard was the first of the cars to run into trouble, loosing his front wing in a tangle with a Renault.

As the field approached Tosa, Montoya and Ralf Schumacher had closed significantly on Schumacher’s Ferrari. Montoya diced with the Ferrari at Villeneuve, choosing to try to pass the Ferrari on the outside of the next corner, Tosa. The cars touched and Michael held his line forcing the Williams wide onto the dirt. Both recovered and held station, although as Ralf tried a move on Montoya it was the turn of the Columbian to play hard ball as his team mate went onto the grass.

Given the mêl©e behind him, Button’s lead was 2.9 seconds at the end of the first lap with Schumacher, Montoya, Ralf Schumacher and Barrichello behind.

Of the eventual point finishers, all bar Raikkonen ran three stop strategies this afternoon. Many of them chose to make their stop very early on. Button was one of the first in on lap eight, allowing Schumacher a clear track. This was to be the decisive moment of the race. The World Champion showed his class, clocking three blistering laps. By the time Ferrari called Michael in for new tyres and a top up of Shell fuel, he had found enough time to exit his stop well ahead of the Englishman.

This strategy won Ferrari the race, plain and simple. By being able to run longer than the other teams thanks to the blend of the fuel and to the tyres, Schumacher took a lead that he would take to the finish.

As Michael found his groove, he slowly edged out his lead, leaving him and Button to enjoy a relatively quiet race from there to the flag.

The second round of pit stops came at around the half way stage of the race, with the Ferraris making the most of their economical Shell fuel to be amongst the last to pit.

As Michael set about his eventual victory, his team mate was having a much busier time. Behind Ralf Schumacher for the first half of the race, he pitted at exactly the same time as the German and despite the team’s best efforts, missed passing him in the pit lane by a fraction of a second as the Williams was released by its mechanics just early enough to get ahead of the Ferrari.

Rejoining the battle, Barrichello was unlucky to lose a place to a revitalised Alonso a few laps later who emerged from the pit lane just ahead of him. Alonso was approaching Ralf Schumacher’s Williams and he tried a pass down the inside at Tosa. This is fast becoming an unlucky corner for the German as having been forced on the grass earlier, he was turned into a spin by the Renault’s nose. Both cars rejoined the track, but not before Barrichello had passed the Williams. Rubens ended up chasing Trulli to the finish but elected in the end to settle for a hard fought three points.

Schumacher’s record remains unblemished and he sits high on the Championship with a maximum forty points. Button’s highest ever finish keeps him third, just behind Barrichello in second. In the Constructors’ championship, Ferrari is still at the top of the table with 64 points, more than double the points of their nearest rival Renault on 31.

The next race is perhaps when it may all change. Barcelona is almost a home circuit for most teams; such is the amount of testing they do there in the year. Many teams are predicting new parts for the cars and engines and it is a circuit the drivers know well. The Ferrari is looking like the strongest car in the paddock at the moment, but to quote the old adage that ‘if’ is ‘F1’ spelt backwards, anything can happen in Spain.