Q: You spoke about Ferrari, the challenge of Monza and the fact that they had the result, you had the result you had at Monza, fighting talk I think was something that was associated with the fact that they've woken up almost a sleeping giant, your rivals. Do you think that's going to continue for the next couple of races?
MS: How you mean sleeping giant?

Q: Well, that they had awoken Ferrari up. Perhaps, not that they were asleep, having said that, but perhaps that you had to work on the car so much for Monza that, you know, the car is now the top as it was before.
MS: Yeah. (Laughter).

Q: So what's the reaction, what's your feeling about that as you come into the next few races?
MS: As I said before, I think we have a good car, we have a good package. We have worked very intense on every option last week. We feel we are very well prepared, but at this stage, less talking, more showing is better.

Q: For Michael. When was the last time you were in a fight for a championship that was this close coming toward the end of the season?
MS: '94, '95, 2000.

Q: '97?
JV: '97. (Laughter)
MS: We had the second-to-last race.

Q: Does it make any difference that it's been essentially such a long time since you were in a close fight? Does it add any more excitement or pressure for you?
MS:No, I don't think so. It's exciting, it's good. We are strong; we won the last race. We obviously believe in ourselves and the rest is, you take it as it comes, and you do your best.

Q: Michael, when the rules package was announced last year, did you envision that the race would be this tight at this stage of the season?
MS: I don't think that the rules in itself make the situation as tight as it is right now, in all honesty. They have created some excitement in certain areas and made less in other areas. Depends who you ask. But at the end of the day, the reason why the competition is so tight is that simply the teams are much closer together than they have ever been.

Q: Michael, Juan, the wheel-to-wheel stuff at Monza, the first lap, fantastic excitement for us watching it. Do you think that sort of set the tone for the competition between you going forward for the next two years' races because you enjoy it yourself?
MS: I think we have had a few of those, and Monza was one of those, and who knows what comes next?

Q: Michael, you have a new qualifying format this year with one lap. How has that affected the drivers’ thinking as far as qualifying, and how has it affected the fields?
MS: At the end of the day, when you go out and you start your qualifying lap, all you do is you concentrate and you focus 100 percent on that and it has always been the same in the past. The difference is that you probably had three or four shots in the past and now you have just the one. But my approach was always the same, the first shot was the most important and I had the same priority for all other moments, so it wasn’t like start off slow and then improve. It was go for it straight and now it’s just the one opportunity. You don’t think about that, you just do whatever you can.

Q: Michael, if you make the sixth title, do you think you’ll be strong enough to focus and put pressure on yourself to go for a seventh or just relax and see who can ever equal this?
MS: I’m still thinking about sixth one honestly and that’s the main focus I’m having and I think it will be a difficult thing to achieve. For me, since 2000, when I won the championship for Ferrari that was the main target and everything since then has been for pleasure and as long as I have fun, and I feel that I have that for many more years, then whatever comes is great.

Q: I’d like to know from the three title contenders how they spent the days before coming here and considering the track’s characteristics, how they feel about their car here?
MS: Basically I left straight after testing last week. Went to Vegas for a couple of days and then had a little tour around and came here yesterday. On the car side, well, we’ll probably have much more to say that we tried specifically to work for this circuit, have another better engine here and worked very hard on the tyre side. So let’s hope that works out.

Q: How were you received in Vegas? Sometimes you’ve found that you can move around very easily in America?
MS: Same case.

Q: It seems to be suspected wisdom, that Suzuka seems to be pretty much your speciality, your track. So if you get a good result here, does that necessarily mean that this race here is the last chance for the two on either side of you?
MS: No, I don’t think so because I think this year it’s not clear at all what circuits suit you. As well with the development in the final stage of the season is very important and you might be a little bit behind here but then you improve your car just a bit and it will be enough to be up front, because everything is so tight.

Q: Michael, with regard to your career accomplishments so far. Thinking back to May of 1994 when I believe you said at the time that after Ayrton’s death you wondered for a few days whether you would be able to continue. Looking back on that time, was that, indeed, a crossroads for your career and did you even imagine at that point that you might be able to accomplish even more than Ayrton?
MS: I think that in terms of racing this has obviously been one of the worst days in my life because I have never been confronted with death in this sport I love and on the same weekend, we had two drivers having a bad accident and passing away. It has been a big shock, honestly, and I think it will be pretty natural that if you think of not being sure whether you want to continue that, you don’t have any imagination for what might happen in the future.

Q: If you, personally, had the choice next year to keep one lap qualifying or go back to what it was last year, would you keep the one lap qualifying. Kimi?
MS: Don’t care, honestly.

Q: Michael, can I ask you about Vegas? It’s not an obvious place to go for a break. Why did you chose Vegas and did you gamble? (Laughter)
MS: No. (Off: the girls) I was with my wife. (Laughter) Basically, I was invited by Guy Laliberte (Cirque du Soleil) who had a new show opening and we went there to see that, because we wanted to go somewhere so it just worked out to have a good time there for a weekend with friends, meet up and gambling is not my strong thing, no. I did a bit but very little.

Q: What did you actually gamble on?
MS: Just went a bit for the slot machines. I’m a small gambler.

Q: Did you win?
MS: No. Yes, actually I did. Experience (Laughter).

Q: What about the show?
MS: It was interesting different. Very different.

Q: Michael, were you able to move about the casinos freely and relatively unbothered by people or do people now recognise you? And also what sized slot machines did you play: the one dollar, the 25 cent, the five cent? (Laughter)
MS: One cent (Laughter). No, I move very freely around. There are a few European guys who hang out there on holiday who recognise me but usually I’m not recognised by Americans, not even coming here and checking into the hotel, which I thought was good.