Enzo Ferrari would have loved Montoya, says Berger
( 2002-04-30 09:29 ) (7 )

Enzo Ferrari would have revelled in Michael Schumacher's success but Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya might have been closer to his heart as a driver, according to Gerhard Berger.

The Austrian was the last racer hired by the 'Old Man' before he died in 1988 and he said at the Spanish Grand Prix that Enzo would have been delighted with Schumacher's current domination.

"I would see Montoya more as an 'Enzo driver' (than Schumacher)," he said.

"But as I remember Enzo Ferrari, he didn't care how a driver looked or how he behaved or whatever he did as long as he won.

"He would have enjoyed a lot watching Michael winning nearly every race with his cars."

Sunday saw Schumacher dominant from start to finish, beating Montoya's Williams by more than half a minute for his fourth win in five races and the 57th of a record-breaking career.

No Ferrari driver has won more races than him for the team, and none since Italian Alberto Ascari in 1953 has won back-to-back titles.

For 21 years, between South African Jody Scheckter in 1979 and Schumacher in 2000, none had claimed the championship crown.

With Sunday's win, the four-times world champion took another huge step towards equalling Argentine Juan Manuel Fangio's record of five titles and eclipsed Berger in Ferrari's own record books.

RECORD START

Until this season, Berger held pride of place with an unmatched 96 grands prix for the team.

However, he won only five races -- the most emotional of all being at Monza in a Ferrari one-two in the Italian Grand Prix a month after Enzo died.

Schumacher now has had 38 wins with Ferrari. Nobody comes close to that, not even Austrian Niki Lauda with 15 wins in 57 starts.

Schumacher now has either 97 or 98 starts -- the discrepancy exists because Ferrari include the 1996 French Grand Prix in which the German broke down on the formation lap -- and will celebrate 100 starts in Monaco next month.

Berger, now working with Williams as BMW's motorsport head, got on famously with Enzo as a fast and fun-loving driver partnering Italian Michele Alboreto.

As British writer Richard Williams relates in a recent biography of Ferrari: "The Old Man would give him lunch in his farmhouse or at the Cavallino (restaurant) and ask him about the car.

"Then they would talk, in rather greater technical detail, about girls, on which subject the Austrian was the paddock's resident expert."

Schumacher, happily married with two children, is of a different character altogether and has professed unfamiliarity in the past with statistics and much of Formula One's heritage.

But his achievements speak for themselves.

"I have to say I am a big fan of Michael. The success he has is unbelievable," said Berger.

"He is doing a fantastic job, on the circuit and also motivating his people and leading them in the right direction.

"Ferrari have a strong package at the moment. There's nothing secret about it.

"It's just the outcome of working very hard, having the right people and putting the right commitment in...and waiting 21 years to be back in this position."