Length: 4.361 km
Number of Laps: 70 (305.270 Km)
Best Lap: J-P. Montoya - 1'15''960 (2002, BMW Williams)
Record Pole: J-P. Montoya - 1'12''836 (2002, BMW Williams)
2002 Pole: J-P. Montoya - 1'12''836 (Williams)
2002 Podium: M. Schumacher - D. Coulthard - R. Barrichello

Q: Michael, it looked like a difficult warm-up for you. You are P3. I guess it hasn’t slipped your notice that Kimi Raikkonen is at the back of the grid again. Tell us about your qualifying session…
Michael SCHUMACHER: Honestly, if I consider the quality of my lap, being third I have to be happy because that wasn’t one of my better ones. I am reasonably okay with the position I am in so let’s see what happens tomorrow.

Q: Do you think that on a perfect lap the pole was there for you?
MS: It would have been difficult. It would have been tight. Probably not. Honestly, the mistake wasn’t that big. But we have to consider the championship situation and knowing where Kimi is at the moment and where we can be tomorrow that is obviously very promising.

Q: How much do you think the track had changed between Ralf running and you going out? Was there more grip than during the warm-up?
MS: Maybe a little bit, yup. It should, be naturally, after all the rain has fallen, it should have improved but by how much – who knows?
MS: It’s difficult to assess, honestly. I think the warm-up cleaned up most of it and whether there was… maybe a little bit.

Q: After Kimi went off, did you change the tactics for the race? You gave the impression that you might have done.
MS: It looked like it in the first corner – I almost did the same thing as he did. So no, I just concentrated on my job and wanted to do my best and tried to use the opportunity, honestly.

Q: You hadn’t changed the fuel strategy at that stage?
MS: As you know, we cannot because after two o’ clock we cannot change anything.

Q: What about the tyre war swing. Do you think it’s gone slightly towards Michelin here?
MS: It looks to be, yeah. The question is: how much fuel is on board? That’s something we will find out tomorrow.

Q: Obviously the Bridgestones have been very, very good in wet weather. Do you still feel they are competitive with Michelin in the dry as well?
MS: I feel we were far more competitive in the wet condition, which was very obvious yesterday and today, this morning, as well. But in the dry, things are very close. Who has the advantage? It’s difficult to say. In qualifying it looks a little bit towards Michelin, depending on the fuel load obviously and in the race, consistency and so on, we will find out.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: Michael, because we don’t know the fuel loads exactly and whatever strategy you will be using tomorrow, how relevant are qualifying times really? Should they have an asterisk next to them under the current new rules system?
MS: Let me put it this way. They probably, in terms of history, won’t have maybe the quality or the meaning of what they used to have because now, whoever wants to drive with very little fuel can maybe jump to pole position and then have to come for a pit stop very early in the race. So there is this factor and to history it’s different. But okay, that’s the way the rules are.

Q: Is that a good thing or a bad thing?
MS: Well, I don’t like it personally.

Q: Michael, what is your feeling going into the race knowing that Kimi is starting at the back of the grid and he’s the guy you’re trying to catch for the championship?
MS: Well, you have to look at the championship and that’s what I’m doing. And obviously, we had some misfortune earlier in the season and with these rules it works sometimes in favour and sometimes against you. We’ll have to find out how much that will help us.

Q: Michael, Formula One is obviously very popular here in Canada, but it hasn’t really caught on in the US. Do you think it ever will catch on there and is it even important to you, your team and your sponsors?
MS: Well, I think if you see the history how long Formula One races in Canada and how long it does in the US, I guess that’s the answer. Plus you have a Canadian driver, we don’t have an American driver, so that doesn’t help. But if you look at the rate of interest and the increase of interest even in the States, I think Formula One develops to the standard it has elsewhere.

Q: Is it important for your sponsors?
MS: I guess so. The more attention we create, the more viewers we have, the more happy our sponsors are and the more they like to invest.