“It’s simply phenomenal,” said Michael Schumacher after it was all over. “A win for Ferrari is a win for the whole country. And when something as fantastic as this weekend’s one-two finish happens, then everyone goes mad. I still get a shiver when I think of the podium. I have seen several in my career as a driver, but this beat them all. The entire straight was full of people, cheering, smiling, happy and enthusiastic. At moments like these you realise what euphoria you can unleash. It’s an incredible feeling. It’s huge and Monza is unique in this respect. If you look in the faces of these people and see what they are feeling, you can only be proud of being part of all this and to make a small contribution to bring happiness to the fans.”

It was not just Sunday that brought that happiness. The whole season gradually turned into a Ferrari masterclass. How near to perfection has it been?

“You could not get any closer,” said Schumacher. “We won both titles early. And the manner in which we won in Monza, with both cars out in front by a long way was great. Everything else that surrounds our success is just the icing on the cake, but we like it anyway. We wanted to start a Ferrari era and I reckon that at the moment we are pretty much at the summit.”