Q: Michael, congratulations. Just talk us through those early stages when you were trailing Fernando as you were.
Michael SCHUMACHER: It was no surprise that it was difficult because we were driving pretty competitively and as quick as we could. It’s a bit more difficult behind when you’re driving in the slipstream and the wind conditions today made it a bit tricky in certain areas. But at the end of the day, on the tyre side, the car side, the engine side and fuel and everything was just superb. Q: You did two superb in-laps, the fastest lap of the race and a great out-lap as well.
MS: Yeah, well the out-lap was not that important – it was just getting out of the pit-lane in front. I always thought we could do it at the first pit-stop, but then I pushed a bit too high at turn six and almost lost it and that was probably the reason that I had to spend more time behind until the last pit-stop, which was interesting because it was varying quite a bit in certain parts of the race where Fernando sometimes seemed a bit slower and then sometimes I seemed to be a bit slower and then I was picking it up again and he had a pit-stop where he was pushing very hard, but we could match his sort of pace.
Q: And perfect strategy. You didn’t seem too happy after qualifying yesterday, but it’s all panned out perfectly as it’s turned out.
MS: We obviously chose to stay out extra lap, which honestly doesn’t give you two tenths. The reason Fernando gained the two tenths was because I didn’t get a perfect lap and he obviously did and that’s where it went. Because I felt we had a good strategy and I felt good about it, and I knew we had a good race pace because on new tyres I knew we could push and it all worked out.
Q: Felipe, a great drive from you. A lot of pressure on Fernando in the closing stages and equally on you from Kimi Räikkönen.
Felipe MASSA: I’m really happy – it was a great result for us and especially with my first podium. The whole car was quite strong, especially at the beginning when I and Michael were both pushing Fernando and then suddenly they got the pace. My car was quite consistent all race and the tyres were working well. Only in the last stint – where I had scrubbed tyres – it was not working so well. It was a great result, it helps the team out for the championship and especially me and Michael for the fight. In the first three races we were not on the pace, so hopefully now there is a chance for us to fight with Renault for the races.
Q: You made a great start too from P3 on the grid. Michael was alongside you in the first corner.
FM: Sure, I had a very good start and I could manage to put my car side-by-side with Michael but he was on the inside so he was able to go ahead. Really, it was a great start and I think the whole thing was perfect with the strategy too. The management of the race was very good.
Q: Michael, a great result, two wins in a row. Next race next week is the Spanish Grand Prix. Fernando usually goes pretty well there.
MS: Yeah. It’s no surprise to expect Renault up at the front, and also they shouldn’t be surprised to see us at the front either. We will battle to win.
PRESS CONFERENCE
Q: Michael, that seemed a pretty perfect race.
MS: Yeah. If you finish first, what can you say? That’s the way it makes everybody happy who wants to see us winning, obviously. It was a great race, great strategy, great performance all the way through.
Q: Did the strategy basically come from Ross?
MS: Obviously Ross is the man who finally decides, but we’re a team and there are several people involved in working out our strategies and preparing everything so it’s a team effort.
Q: It was quite close between yourself and Felipe at the start of the race.
MS: I was just saying to Felipe that I started off and tried to see where he was, somewhere on my left but I couldn’t see him in the mirrors, neither could I see him looking over (the side of the car), so I was trying to get into Fernando’s slipstream thinking that there wasn’t anybody nearby but then suddenly he pulled alongside, so I was a little bit surprised for a moment, but I hope… I guess I didn’t cause any fuss for Felipe.
Q: There was one point, lap 24, when you suddenly lost a couple of seconds. You were saying that the gap between yourself and Fernando seemed to go up and down a fair amount, but you seemed to lose a couple of seconds on one lap.
MS: I had two occasions, honestly. One was when Fernando went into the pits and I pushed, naturally, pretty hard and I got a bad tail wind in one corner which almost took me off the circuit and then during the race, probably lap 24, I went wide in turn 11, I think, which was quite tricky, and I lost quite a bit of ground. But then, at that stage, Fernando was strong in the middle sector of the second stint, I was pretty strong and then we were pretty equal before the pit stops.
Q: And that was the only problem during the race?
MS: Yeah. When you’re up here, you can’t have had too many problems!
Q: Felipe, you were very close at the end to Fernando, but you also had Kimi right up behind you as well.
FM: Yeah, the last five laps were not so easy because I was getting closer and closer to Fernando and Kimi was getting closer and closer to me, because I was getting very close to Fernando and I lost performance, for sure. But anyway, I think it was a great result, I’m really happy, first podium and everything worked fantastically for us this weekend. We brought the right tyres, for sure. The car was working perfectly and the race was very good.
Q: And a demon start as well.
FM: Yeah, I had a very good start. I was side by side with Michael into the braking area but he was inside and so he stayed in front but I think my car was very competitive and it was very consistent during the whole race. Sometimes the wind was changing, the situation was a little bit tricky over a couple of corners, and then the wind changed a little bit and it was a little bit tricky in other corners, but anyway, I could handle it to do a good race without mistakes and that’s very important for me and the team.
Q: It’s been a good weekend for Todts!
FM: Definitely. They won both races in GP2 and finishing third for Nicolas is really good and for Jean, it’s definitely a fantastic job. We’re now getting closer to Renault in every race and fighting every race is very important for us. Hopefully now we will get the right direction to fight every race.
QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR
Q: (Sal Zanca – AP) Michael, after three races, it didn’t look so good for Ferrari. What has made the difference in the last two races? The car? The driver? The team? The strategy? One thing please!
MS: I thought we looked good already at the first race honestly, so it’s not a surprise. We are good now because with the exception of Malaysia where we probably weren’t that competitive, in the rest of the races we had the package available. We didn’t make use of it all the time like in Australia and now it’s just normal development, where you go through the bits and pieces that are coming, aerodynamic, engine and so on where you make little steps. As I said at the beginning, the important thing from now on is who has the quicker rate of development. We have been good, traditionally, in the past, not very good last year but sometimes everybody needs a break.
Q: (Livio Oricchio – O Estado de Sao Paulo) Michael, at the beginning of the second stint, you lost a little bit of performance in comparison to Alonso, more than two seconds. Did you think that your chances could be over at that time?
MS: Naturally when you have a period where it’s a bit more difficult you start to think but then we always have something in hand to react and it worked out pretty well. I think he was going quickly and I was just struggling a little bit more and made this mistake in turn 11 which almost caused me to go off and I had to be quiet for two or three laps and then I could go again.
Q: (Juha Päätalo – Financial Times Germany) Michael, are these two consecutive victories the final confirmation that you will be able to fight for the championship this year, or did you have that feeling already?
MS: I had no doubt, honestly, that we would be in that position.
Q: (Fulvio Solms – Corriere dello Sport) Question for Michael and Fernando: do you like this points system which doesn’t help the show, with only two points difference between victory and second position?
MS: I think you will get pretty logical answers: no for me and probably yes from him!
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