Q: So this is really something that has come from the drivers?
MS: Yes, I think so.

Q: This is the drivers’ giving something back?
MS: Yes. I think Mark explained it very well. Things have just moved further and further away, but there is no real thing to just open the pit lane and let the people come to you as that would be a disaster so Mark and I sat together and thought what can we do, what is possible. That was the first step and we’ve gone on from there.

Q: We saw what happened in Indianapolis last year when the pit lane was open and quite a few of the drivers were available as well….
MS: I think it is very critical to do things like this as well in my view because you have to imagine if you do that and take the top teams and top drivers and they will be under a big command you only one person against so many and you will make only a few happy and a lot more unhappy because you cannot deal with those. So with having a lot of people to control this in certain countries it would get out of control. So I am a bit sceptical to see this as a general happening.

Q: Michael, your feelings?
MS: More positive than last year because the way the circuit has been most of the races on Friday in the first qualifying session I thought it was in bad shape due to other cars running after our last free practice, before qualifying, and I think this is not the case on the Saturday and there is no racing happening and so the circuit should be consistent and should be a fair chance to the first drivers out for the first flying laps and help you settle in for the runs straight after.

Questions from the floor.

Q: Michael, do you think Juan Pablo was justified to react as he did when a couple of comedians came into his press conference yesterday?
MS: Its funny but I am not surprised you asked that questions.

Q: I live to serve.
MS: I think to live in Formula One and do what we are doing means there is always a lot of tension and sometimes you feel better and sometimes you feel worse and do things you don’t do normally. I don’t know what happened exactly I’ve heard a couple of things but everyone has his personal reaction.

Q: Would you have seen the joke if a couple of comedians came in…
MS: I was not there so I don’t think it is a point to talk about how I would have behaved.

Q: There is a lot of discussion particularly after your sixth world championship about who is the all time great in Formula One. Who do you regard as the all-time great and why?
MS: I don’t think it is fair to say there is one in particular in anyway as each one is responsible for his time and working and being successful or not.

Q: But who do you most admire of your predecessors?
MS: It’s actually not anything I was interested in. I wasn’t interested in racing before I got into Formula Three or sports cars. So I never watched any of those guys or had a hero in that era. Not in the way you would say. Not in the way I did in soccer because Toni Schumacher, he was my idol in soccer. But I didn’t have the same thing for any of the racers.

Q: If you were not involved in motor sport in any way, what job would you like to do?
MS: Soccer.

Q: We have two new circuits this year, Bahrain and Shanghai. What do you think?
MS: It is great to see the new circuits and new countries and I have heard of two very impressive projects in Bahrain and in China so it would be good to see them.

Q: You touched on the 18 races. Are you worried about the six races in eight weeks after Monaco?
MS: So there is less testing and more racing and that is good.

Q: And physically it doesn’t worry you?
MS: No.

Q: Michael, Suzuka was an odd race from your point of view. Do you just forget it, park it, or have you analysed it?
MS: I went through it, but there were certain circumstances that made it into an unusual race for me but to come from where I came and to finish where I finished, I was in the end not really happy, but I had no need to be disappointed. I could have finished further down and other things could have happened. But qualifying decided that and that is the way it is.

Q: But, nevertheless, it certainly wasn’t one of your better races was it? Was there any reason for that? Did you feel any different on the day?
MS: You know sometimes in life there are moments when it is difficult and you know that for whatever reason it is supposed to be a difficult race and it is just one of those bad days that you have from time to time.

Q: Alonso said two days ago that he believed some of the drivers he raced in karts were harder than those he races against now. What is your opinion?
MS: It is true to some degree, because you don’t have the close competition in Formula One that you have in karting, because in karting it is permanently wheel to wheel. It’s a close thing plus its easier to get the good equipment and be there. In Formula One it is something else again. And that is why I like karting very much. To say that means the drivers in Formula One are not as good as the ones in karting would be the wrong way to look at it.

Q: What is your impression of the one-engine rule – do you think it will open up the podium positions for the smaller teams?
MS: I would not expect that because if you imagine the resources that a big team has available and the way they approach this new rule they will be very well prepared. The top teams have done very many kilometers and they have prepared themselves. It is just a question of preparation. I see the possibility of an engine failure just as big as I did last year. We will adapt to that strategy. The smaller teams have less resources available and it will be a bigger struggle for them than for the bigger teams.

Q: So you think Ferrari can make a 750 kilometres engine better than Renault, better than McLaren?
MS: I don’t think Renault or McLaren are not top teams. I am talking of teams further down the grid in terms of resources because you suggested we would have problems, but I see it the other way around… The new rules sounds impressive from a mileage point of view, but it is not as difficult to achieve as you or we may have thought. Not such a problem.

Q: And will it make you more cautious over the beginning of the weekend?
MS: Oh, yeah, you will be aware of that fact and deal with it appropriately and not try to stress anything unnecessarily.

Q: So you might have a lower rev limit?
MS: There are plenty of ways to deal with it.

Q: Does that include less laps?
MS: It may include less laps, but on the other side you want to work and prepare for the race and to check out the tyres and prepare properly and you cant reduce your laps too much. You have to find the right compromise.

Q: How much do your engines deteriorate over the period of a race weekend? I know it's hard to judge now because you haven't used the one engine for a full period, but would there be an advantage in perhaps bolting in a fresh engine and taking the 10-places-down-the-grid penalty to start the race with a fresh engine?
MS: No.

Q: No advantages?
MS: No.

Q: Do the engines deteriorate as they get older to any noticeable degree?
MS: Very small amount, I would say.

Q: Thank you very much indeed, gentlemen. Thanks for your time.