Australian GP 15th-18th March 2007 - Friday Press Conference

Length: 5.303 km
Number of Laps: 58 (307.574 Km)
Best Lap: M. Schumacher - 1'24''215 (2004, Ferrari)
Record Pole: M. Schumacher - 1'24''408 (2004, Ferrari)
2006 Pole: J. Button - 1'25''229 (Honda)
2006 Podium: F. Alonso - K. Raikkonen - R. Schumacher

Q: Do you feel the car is suited to the circuit?
KR: Yeah, of course there’s always things we can improve but overall I think it’s pretty good. I think the biggest thing is to find the balance and the speed over one lap and if we find that, the race should be OK.

Q: And you’ve found that?
KR: Probably, we will do the best we can tomorrow but I think we just need to fine-tune it a bit and it should be OK.

Q: An interesting team with Felipe; how do you see your relationship with your teammate and closest rival?
KR: I think we have a very good relationship. The team is working well. I think we have a good relationship and there’s a good, positive feeling in the team. Everything seems to be going in a good way so I think it’s a perfect way to start the season, so we shall see how it goes.

Q: And a different atmosphere within the team, to what you’ve been used to?
KR: Yeah, a little bit. It’s good, everything’s good. I really enjoy it.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Kimi, why did you not complete the lap in the morning and in the afternoon that should have taken you to the first position?
KR: The session was finished and I did not want any penalties. It was the in lap.

Q: (Dominic Fugere – Le Journal de Montreal) Kimi, I wondered if you had time to look at the progress of your ex-team-mate in Nascars and what happened to him in Mexico (KR laughs)… I guess you have, so I would like to know your thoughts on that.
KR: I have not looked too much as I am not too much into the Nascars, but I saw the incident or accident, or whatever happened, but that is a part of the racing and I don’t know if it is good or not, but if he wins the races it is not too bad.

Q: (Paolo Ianieri – La Gazzetta dello Sport) Kimi, from what you have seen today, do you think Ferrari still has the advantage over the other teams that it had during the winter testing?
KR: I did not really have time to look at the lap times and the details of what the others have done, but like I said before it really depends from circuit to circuit. Some circuits will suit other teams better, but it looks like we still have a very good package and we are working hard to improve it and at least we are in a good position, but I don’t know if we have any advantage. We will see in the race what is going to happen.

Q: Kimi, any changes in your life?
KR: No.

Q: (James Allen - ITV) Did all or any of you run both types of tyres today and can you tell us about the performance differences between them and will that be a headache in the race?
KR: There is definitely a difference between the two tyres. We just need to make sure we get them both working as well as we can for the race. Sometimes it can make a difference to win the race. We have to wait and see, hopefully, if the weather gets a bit more warm – let’s see what happens.

Q: (Stephane Barbe – L’Equipe) How are things going for you with Ferrari and Felipe Massa compared to last year?
KR: Like I said before, it is good, the atmosphere is good. Of course every team has a different way of working, but it is good how we work. It is very clear way of working and atmosphere is good. I am happy with the way the team works.